My First Run-In With Mrs. Busybody

[mick56]

Yesterday, Sunday, I was driving through a small town about 15 miles from where I live, and I see there is 2 blocks of sidewalks tore out. Cool, my md is in the trunk, so I park on a side street with one block each way from where I park.
I get out my md, and walk up to the corner to start, and a woman (The Busybody) comes out of the corner house and stands on her front porch. I hadn't even made one swing, yet. This is about how it went:

BB: What is your name?
Me: Excuse me?
BB: What is your name, this is private property.
Me: You mean, you own the sidewalk?
BB: Well.......... I don't know.
Me: I won't be going on your grass, I am staying where the sidewalk was, and the city owns that.
BB: Well...... I don't like what you're doing.
Me: (Shrug my shoulders)
BB: You are very rude!!! (She goes back into her house, and I can hear her lock the door)

I couldn't help but laugh. I didn't find anything, anyway.

 

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[tannerhatley]

That is awesome. Was she some old bag?

 

[fella]

Central Wisconsin...sidewalk tear out...city initials FC?

 

[dholland02]

Gotta love those old annoying people who think they own everything

 

[mick56]

That is awesome. Was she some old bag?

I would guess she was 55-60, same as my age range.

 

[mick56]

Central Wisconsin...sidewalk tear out...city initials FC?

City initials JC.

 

[dieselram94]

Excellent not giving her your name. It's none of her business, your on city property.

Sent from my SCH-R930 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Uncle Jeff]

I am a private contractor, I have been hired due to the suspicion that there maybe toxic gas emitting from this exposed soil. Get back in your house and lock any small pets in your bathroom to limit their exposure. I need to get my ground frequency emitter back to sweeping now... Bad idea? lol

 

[luvsdux]

Reminds me of when a friend had to push a shopping cart out of the way while a gal jabbered on her cell phone about the "rude" person moving her cart in the aisle. No question in my mine as to who's rude. I've seen it suggested that while detecting sidewalk strips it may be wise to wear a safety vest to look official.
luvsdux

 

[dieselram94]

Reminds me of when a friend had to push a shopping cart out of the way while a gal jabbered on her cell phone about the "rude" person moving her cart in the aisle. No question in my mine as to who's rude. I've seen it suggested that while detecting sidewalk strips it may be wise to wear a safety vest to look official.
luvsdux

Safety vest and body armor!

 

[bigscoop]

I had a lady today at the beach, and after some short but pleasant small talk she ask me what I thought God would think of me taking advantage of the misfortunes of others? (I didn't see that coming at all!) Her question sort of set me back a bit but I regrouped fairly quickly and told her, "I pray to God every night that he lets me find this stuff and since I'm not doing too bad I can only assume he's Ok with it." Man, did she get instantly pissed!

 

[dieselram94]

I had a lady today at the beach, and after some short but pleasant small talk she ask me what I thought God would think of me taking advantage of the misfortunes of others? (I didn't see that coming at all!) Her question sort of set me back a bit but I regrouped fairly quickly and told her, "I pray to God every night that he lets me find this stuff and since I'm not doing too bad I can only assume he's Ok with it." Man, did she get instantly pissed!

That's a riot Bigscoop!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

mick56, of course you know it's your duty to please that lady. Explain to her, make her happy, and put a good-face on our hobby. So here's what you need to do: Go down to city hall wherever that was, and get "written permission" to detect inside those orange ribbons you no doubt stepped over (you scafflaw you!). Be sure to show up at city hall with a shovel in your hand, lest they not understand the full implications of your request. Then once you've gotten their blessings, you go back to her door, show it to her, to her satisfaction. Afterall, it's your duty to show her you "have permission" and it's "legal". Now .... go do the right thing, and head to city hall to "clarify" this pressing issue of your un-just booting!

Big-scoop, yes, that is actually (no kidding) some people's perceptions of our activity. That we prey on the mis-fortunes of others, keeping their valuables, etc.... One time I was helping a lady find her keys on the beach. She'd lost them several days earlier. As I hunted, I told her:

"it's possible that someone else might have found them already, since this is a popular touristy beach, and there's sometimes a hunter or two here following the weekend crowds"

When she heard that, she asked me: "What would they do with the keys, if they found them?" That question caught me off-gaurd, because as she asked that, my mind drifted to the countless keys I've found over the years, that I just pitch in the garbage can with my other junk. So I answered her question with this:

"they'll probably throw them away"

Yeah yeah, I know, I didn't "think out" that answer forward enough (but it's true, right?). When the lady heard that, she was UTTERLY AGASP at the LOW DOWN ROTTEN MD'Rs who just take other people's stuff and "keep it" or "throw it away", etc... It was a real eye-opener to me to remind me that .... people who are not in our hobby, just don't understand that it's not at all like the stuff we're finding was "lost yesterday" type thing (although it's certainly possible!)

 

[dieselram94]

mick56, of course you know it's your duty to please that lady. Explain to her, make her happy, and put a good-face on our hobby. So here's what you need to do: Go down to city hall wherever that was, and get "written permission" to detect inside those orange ribbons you no doubt stepped over (you scafflaw you!). Be sure to show up at city hall with a shovel in your hand, lest they not understand the full implications of your request. Then once you've gotten their blessings, you go back to her door, show it to her, to her satisfaction. Afterall, it's your duty to show her you "have permission" and it's "legal". Now .... go do the right thing, and head to city hall to "clarify" this pressing issue of your un-just booting!

Big-scoop, yes, that is actually (no kidding) some people's perceptions of our activity. That we prey on the mis-fortunes of others, keeping their valuables, etc.... One time I was helping a lady find her keys on the beach. She'd lost them several days earlier. As I hunted, I told her:

"it's possible that someone else might have found them already, since this is a popular touristy beach, and there's sometimes a hunter or two here following the weekend crowds"

When she heard that, she asked me: "What would they do with the keys, if they found them?" That question caught me off-gaurd, because as she asked that, my mind drifted to the countless keys I've found over the years, that I just pitch in the garbage can with my other junk. So I answered her question with this:

"they'll probably throw them away"

Yeah yeah, I know, I didn't "think out" that answer forward enough (but it's true, right?). When the lady heard that, she was UTTERLY AGASP at the LOW DOWN ROTTEN MD'Rs who just take other people's stuff and "keep it" or "throw it away", etc... It was a real eye-opener to me to remind me that .... people who are not in our hobby, just don't understand that it's not at all like the stuff we're finding was "lost yesterday" type thing (although it's certainly possible!)

Some people just perceive everyone else as "GREEDY"
It's the sad state this country is in these days. People sure have been indoctrinated...

 

[onfire]

Actually the city owns the first 13 ft. from the curb. Doesn't mean you can trample on it you just have to maintain it as a home owner.

 

[stefen]

Wear a T-Shirt with BOMB SQUAD emblazened front and rear...gotta have big-ass earphones too...and maybe strap a 45 auto (BB Gun look-alike) in a leg holster...

Look like you belong...

Fart every so often...

Maybe carry a police scanner radio too...

 

[Peyton Manning]

I always say I'm rush limbaugh

 

[bigscoop]

Actually the city owns the first 13 ft. from the curb. Doesn't mean you can trample on it you just have to maintain it as a home owner.

I've never quite figured that whole thing out, how that came to be. From what I understood the home owner can even be held liable if an accident resulted from poor upkeep. Could never quite twist my head around that one.

 

[dieselram94]

I've never quite figured that whole thing out, how that came to be. From what I understood the home owner can even be held liable if an accident resulted from poor upkeep. Could never quite twist my head around that one.

Where I live in this small town, the town has a right of way to allow for streets and in town the town also has a right of way for sidewalks. I know the town has been sued for stone walls collapsing on the edge of sidewalks and not the property owner. I am sure it varies from place to place though.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

. . .
Me: You mean, you own the sidewalk?
BB: Well.......... I don't know.
Me: I won't be going on your grass, I am staying where the sidewalk was, and the city owns that.
BB:

I'm with the lady.

If I gotta shovel the darned snow off it I figure I claim any value underneath it. And city property is different than citizen's property. Pools are city property but they charge for access. Police cruisers are city property but you can't hop in and drive one off.