September 07, 2022 Opinion » Letters to the Editor

Did you ever live next door to a thoughtless neighbor?  One who wouldn't turn his music down late at night.   The guy, let's call him Hayden, blasts his stereo so loud that you can't shut it out.  As the evening progresses, he tends to turn it up louder.  Close the windows, close the door, turn up your own TV, put on headphones.  To no avail.  The bass and drums come right through it all.  Sometimes the windows rattle or the lamp shade quivers. You want to sit outside and enjoy the cool Bend evening.  Forget about it.  Open up and let the breeze waft through.  Not gonna happen.  You just keep everything closed up and turn on the subtitles.

If you complain, Hayden just ignores it.  If you talk to the building manager, you learn that Hayden has "connections".  He's  Just.  Too.  Important.  Besides, he "always goes to bed at 10:00."

Well, I don't want Hayden to lose his music.  Some of it is kinda nice.  I just want him to turn the damn knob to the left. Keep it to himself.

He's like the neighbor who throws his lawn clippings over the fence to your lot.  It's nice that he mows his lawn.  But you don't want to clean up after him. 

If any of this sounds familiar, it's because we live with it dozens of evenings a year.  It's time to put some reasonable limits on Hayden's volume control.  He can have his music, and we can have the quiet enjoyment of our homes on summer evenings in Bend.

I've wanted to move to Bend for 15 years. I fell in love with it, and dreamed of living here. I loved the natural beauty and the friendly people I encountered.

Three years ago a job opportunity appeared and finally, I was going to move, with my family, to Bend.

Over that time, Bend did not disappoint. It was everything I wanted and more. I was thankful that I'd left behind all the aggression, the road rage and violence that surrounded me living near a big city. That I would no longer have to worry about going out to public places with groups of people. My family and I could live in a friendly place, a place where nature reminds us of what's good in the world. A place of security.

That all changed for me on the night of August 28, 2022.

I got a call from our daughter asking if we'd heard about the Safeway shooting. Immediately my heart sank for the innocent victims, my stomach turned as I thought of their loved ones who will need to try to deal with their loss, my own personal dreams of living in a friendly, peaceful city, shattered.

In an instant, Bend became... just another city... another city in a gun addicted, sick, backwards looking nation.

Now, as a survivor, I have to somehow come to grips with, being concerned, and worried, whenever I or my family goes out into the public. Every emotion I thought I'd left behind, is once again sitting on my shoulder. Eating away at my soul.

I see little hope for a country that continues to condone excessive violence, verbal and physical. A country that is eating itself alive.

I'm tired of ending letters with the words "keep safe." Keeping safe used to be, and should be now, something we live with daily.

So for now on, I'm changing my sign offs with.... Good Luck, cause that's all we've got. 

RE: What's the Deal with ADUs? Take Me

I'd like to comment on the column Take Me Home—about ADUs (additional dwelling unit) in the Sept. 1 issue. Written by a real estate broker, the article puts ADUs in a positive light. My husband and I have lived in our single-family dwelling for 39 years. It's a very well-established neighborhood; most of the houses were built in the late 1970s. The couple next to us had an adjacent extra lot. When they sold their property, the lot was sold separately. A few years later the city changed their zoning code. Now they encourage ADUs. Then a monstrosity of a dual living ADU would be built there. Everyone in the neighborhood called the city to complain. We were all told that the building would be constructed per the city permit process. Now there are renters there and occasional loud parties. Our quiet neighborhood has been destroyed because of this ADU. We don't think ADUs as in-fill in established single residential neighborhoods are a good idea!

RE: Water at Home. Feature, 8/25

Thank you for pursuing this! We use Watersmart reports and are happy to see our water use is down in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020 due largely to converting irrigation heads from spray to rotating or drip.

—Beverly Michaelis via facebook.com

So, I grew up in Corvallis. One of the things they know about, because Oregon supplies the world with grass seed is GRASS. I once asked my neighbor who was a PhD in the soils department when and how to water a lawn. His answer, "It doesn't take much water if you aren't stupid" was his reply. He said, water at 5 am for 15 minutes every other day. The grass and soil are ready to accept the water then. If you water after the sun comes up, the water just runs off into the drain because the plants can't accept it. They are bracing to survive the sun and reject most of the liquid as does the soil. So, don't be stupid. Don't water at 3pm. You are throwing away money and the water is doing your lawn and plants more harm than good.

—Margot McIlvenna via facebook.com

Margot: Thanks for the reminder. If you must have grass and if you must water it, at least try to do it at a time when it takes the least amount of water to produce a good result!

We are publishing our water series—including covering at-home water use—at least in part for instances like these, where one story can lead to more conversation and more sharing of knowledge for everyone. Come on by for your gift card to Palate!

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