Acceptance

If you saw this sign, not far from our house, you might wonder how it's going. We were a little startled when we saw this, but fortunately, we've found a lot more acceptance in NC than the local Baptist church sign might indicate. They're not quite that quick to identify the heathens in their midst.

We went to our annual homeowners association meeting this week. It's about 65 homes so far. We were curious to see how it would go and it went very well. As a bonus, we met some new friends and picked up an invitation to dinner this weekend.

Sweet.

We stopped attending our HOA meetings in California. It became too frustrating and annoying. It was run like a South American Gulag by a bunch of elderly, combative, and extremely cranky old men who had long ago lost their filters for civilized interaction. With no clear understanding of financial planning and a total disregard for any concerns or opinions except their own - it was a nightmare. Every meeting would devolve into shouting, insults, hurt feelings and disgust on both sides.

The end result was that no one wanted to join this contentious board or work with them. Homeowners only got involved when they did something insane - like the time they decided to remove all the mature trees. Which they did, in 1 cul de sac in one day. Fortunately 1 cul de sac was all they could accomplish in a day before they were stopped by shocked homeowners returning from work in the evening.

In marked contrast, our NC HOA meeting was a study in the Southern version of Robert's Rules of Order. We were so impressed. The board of directors was very well prepared and professional. It was obvious they had put tremendous effort into budgeting, negotiating, evaluating options, and making their recommendations. There were some controversial issues; not everyone was in complete agreement. But, no one shouted and people were polite, respectful, and spoke in turn. It was a breath of fresh air.

We met in a big, mostly empty, warehouse building across the road from the development. No carpet, no heating - bring your own chairs. We happened to be in the front row. During the meeting a mouse scampered from left to right across the front of the space, behind the speaker. I managed to suppress a shriek and an involuntary leap onto my chair, but not a gasp. Then the mouse did a couple excited spins and dashed left. And then right again. He continued to traverse left and right throughout the course of the meeting.

The leadership didn't go so far as to allow him a vote, but they did let him stay.