What does 'quality of life' mean to you?
By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
Here's a question: what is a decent "quality of life" for you?
That phrase is a favorite one these days when people are describing their neighborhood, town or city. Everyone wants a good quality of life, but obviously the definition varies substantially from person to person.
For instance, our friends who live in southern Vermont have a great house on a dirt road in a very small town. They love the privacy that the woods on both sides of their home afford them.
It's a good thing they've got a nice barrier, because their neighbors down the road have a home that is, literally, a junkyard. It could win a prize I'm sure in a competition for best stereotypical hillbilly home. All that it's missing is some bald-headed kid strumming the banjo on the front porch.
So even in a fairly pristine area such as the mountains of southern Vermont the issue of quality of life varies much.
Now in the more populated areas of western Massachusetts, we have a vivid diversity of what passes for "quality of life" that was in full bloom this past weekend.
For reasons I don't understand, there is a fairly large group of people who believe the garbage they throw from their cars just disappears. Of course it does, when the resident who finds it in his or her yard or driveway must pick it up.
My favorite garbage technique is for someone who doesn't live on my street to park in front of my house and throw their bag of fast food refuse under their car in such a way that they run it over as they depart.
It's almost artistic.
Of course the disappearance of garbage goes hand-in-hand with the vaporization of dog poo. We walk Lucky the Wonder Bichon about three times a day and each time we go out with a bag in order to pick up his calling card. We notice that other dog owners seem to believe in some sort of organic farming, but alas as a former farm boy I can tell you that dog poo is not good for plants.
If you were walking your horse or cow down the sidewalk and they used the grass on the tree belt that would be another story.
I also find it interesting that some people just can't part with their vehicles of years past and believe their quality of life is enhanced by storing them illegally in their backyards. Perhaps they become nostalgic for the good old days when they raced up and down the street in a piece of crap car that is only slightly different than their present piece of crap car.
Another difference of the definition of "quality of life" has to do with the fact that man invented with Divine intervention, I'm sure items such as The Walkman and iPod so one could enjoy music without bothering other people.
However various forms of portable sound systems that do not come with headphones are clearly the work of The Great Evil.
My wife and I spend the better part of each summer cranking our television louder and louder just so we can hear it over the music being played by our neighbors on the street behind us. Frequently we close our windows and turn on the air conditioner to help in this effort.
And many times this is not enough. Calls to the police do not seem to make much difference.
All of this sometimes makes me yearn for winter.
By the way, I hate winter, but at least then I don't have the family that shoots off thousands of dollars of fireworks every July 4th and I don't have a sound vibration coming into my home that rattles the plaster.
And the snow covers the litter and the dog poo.
You know the drill. These are my opinions alone. Send your comments to mdobbs@reminderpublications.com or to 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028.
|
|
