The hedges

There were so many problems from the builder. He sold me a apartment with no privacy, and when people walked by they could see directly into my apartment. It was terrible and nothing I could do. I bought the apt from plans, a little dream with my own private gate leading to the pool and tennis courts, a sacred home with all of the amenities of a luxury condo, but I was stuck.

I was heart broken, my investment down the tube. Anybody I showed it to was horrified. I tried to sell it but something held me back. It then dawned on me that if I could get the rites to the builders planter box, I could enclose it with hedges. The rich do it all the time....One longs to look in to their homes, but cannot through the many hedges

Easier said than done

The builder did not care. He had my money and had no desire to turn over his planter boxes to me. I would wait out side of his office to talk to him for hours but he would brush me off; he was a mean one...I was insistent and consistent; I knew his planter box was the only way to save my investment. Lo and behold, one day I got him and he gave me a letter granting permission to his box. At my own expense of course I planted ficus and they grew and I was thrilled.

P. S. I needed a faucet to water them and the builder and I fought again.... till a wonderful plumber came along and said, it is nothing I will put one in for you.

But the board was not happy and would come along and order the gardener to cut them down. I would scream and cause a scene to get them to respect my bushes. It was an on going nightmare and battle and of course they were cut down when I was not at home. Then if it was not the board it would be the non English speaking gardeners who did not know any better than to sizzle them down with their angry machines, and there I was screaming again at these little men who did not understand what I was talking about, looking at me with my soaring blood pressure, with a blank.

Then came the new neighbor. He demanded to see the pool that was being blocked by my ficus from his apartment and the board again came and cut them down. I completely lost it. I had fought and fought and yet nobody had any respect for me and my ficus, and the letter from the builder, my worhless investment without my privacy bushes.

One day the board got it. They came with a ruler, according to the rites given to me by the builder, and marked off the height they would maintain the bushes. You see it was their responsibility to maintain them, something i would have done, but had neglected to put in the builders letter.

This year the neighbor conceded and so did the board. They now respect my ficus and me. Not only that but there was a terrible bug that killed ficus bushes all over the city and guess whose was spared?

Carol Sue Gershman