Different Responsibilities
 

I had to do something last night that I realized would be pretty foreign to many urban dwellers. We were almost home from our reconciliation service last night when we came upon a truck parked in the road, with its three passengers out walking around. I pulled up behind it and the apparent driver came back. He was pretty bummed out as he had just hit a little buck which was still lying wounded in the road. The guy was mad at himself, since he had removed his knife from the pickup and couldn't put the animal out of his misery. I drove up to the house and got my Winchester and put the deer down. We threw him in the hedgerow and that was that. The guy was so apologetic about not having the proper tool at hand... I guess maybe thats a rural thing as well. In rural areas you really do have a responsibility to stop when somebodies in trouble, which explains in part why so many folks have a pistol tucked in the glove box, it takes away one excuse for not being helpful.

Anyway, here's the question, "What kind of responsibilities do you have where you live that others may not expect?"

At the cafe I worked at back home we are kind of responsible for keeping track of all the senior citizens that come in and eat. If one doesn't show up for dinner a few times we start to wonder, and either find out where they are by asking around or give them a call to make sure they are all right.

Interesting thread, but my question of purely tangential: what's a 'reconciliation service?'

Re: Different Responsibilities
 

I thought it was called a gun-box.

On-topic, though, I can't think of any immediate urban responsibilities. We're expected not to dispose of construction materials in the large garbage cans (I assume they'd fill too quickly, but I'm not exactly sure of the reasoning). I guess the only unspoken responsibility is to have an extra beer on hand for the neighbors when there's the occasional street-fight.

The Catholic sacrament, also known as penance or confession.

It's the catholic equivalent of a get out of jail free card ...

You don't even have to actually go to confession anymore ... the church has taken to given general absolution, partcularly during the lenten season.

(I could be wrong. I gave up Lent for Lent this year. Recovering Cathaholic. Lapsed at age 13. The rules have changed.)

The suburban responsibility list is long, and produces tremendous angst. Examples:

- Grass must never be longer than 4 inches

- Snow must be removed from sidewalks in a reasonable amount of time. That time: when 80% of others have done it.

- Loud noises cannot be produced at any time, with the following exceptions: for 10 minutes on the arrival of the new year; during the daytime use of any equipment to improve the look of one's property; and at respectable parties, which are held only on weekends, cannot include live music, and which end or move indoors by 9 PM.

- Gardening is permitted, and sometimes even encouraged, but tearing up your entire lawn and replacing it with something more sensible such as gravel or ivy is frowned upon.

Different neighborhood, different reasons.

Pick up your dog's warm poop in a little plastic bag.

Make sure sidewalk is shoveled and clear of ice- lots of grandmas in the hood.

Establish a strong but fair livability relationships with the various college party houses. Help clean up projectiles, extinguish burning items, and clear broken glass after stupid drunken hockey riots.

Personal responsibility: Wave at my neighbors and say "hi!" even if they stand at stare at me with the intensity of a dog studying a hedghog. At least the neighbor's dogs wag thier tails when I pull up in my car.

So Seattle had this hippy night "Block Party Night" thing last fall. I arrived at my street in Ballard to find it blocked with barracades, and the denizens seated in lawnchairs and tables porking out and laughing it up. They're staring at me like I've just yelled, "Who wants cake!?", and I'm giving them that "You screwheads know that I live here!!!" look.

So I pulled around to the other side of the block where no one was loitering and drove over the barricade [folding, no damage] and pulled into my driveway.

Maybe it's me. Maybe it's my fault for not reading the paper and refusing to watch the news, but if the morons are that dedicated to the block party premise they need to flyer the neighborhood or make arrangements to let the entire block know about it, and indeed invite them.

Randy Cassingham is a funny mofo.

Anyone else subscribe to TSA or True?

What they said, increases time committment by a factor of ten. Reduces guilt distribution by the same factor. Bonus is the choir.

AT LAST! A practical reason for driving a hummer.

Worst of all worlds.
 

     Actually traveling between towns as I often do I've stopped on the highway 'cause some guy had hit a buck. He had his young daughters with him so he had disposed of the animal as soon as he managed to remove it from his grill. His big ass, shiny truck was most likely totaled. Anyway since we couldn't fit his family and mine into my car, my ex stayed with his kids at the truck while I drove him to the nearest payphone. 'Bout ten miles away.
     I live in town though and my friends or I have had to step in on 'domestic disputes' a couple of times. Living in an apartment or a triplex you are privy to some of your neighbors lives, no matter how annoying it is. I know it's a stupid thing to do, but I couldn't look in a mirror if I sat there and listened to a woman get beaten. So, there have been a couple of times when one of us had to step in. It's actually tended to work out better than it ever does on 'Cops'. Most guys realize that they've gone to far and either leave or settle down fast. This is a good thing.
Edit: I guess I forgot to mention that I usually live in lower-middle class neighborhoods and apartment complexes.

What would you do when you hear a woman being beaten? Go and knock on the door? What do you say when they open the door?