Be careful what you wish for

To the Editor:
“All for one and one for all.” Funny, that seems to be the battle cry of people like me. But hey, I guess it’s the battle cry of anyone who takes a side on any issue. Now, I haven’t hired a lawyer, but I do know that Lee County requires the beach accesses to be clear and 50 feet wide.
That is a fact, that is the law. I have also seen the original plans for Lee County parking on the beach accesses. They call for a lot of diagonal parking spaces marked with signs. We fought this many years ago and now have what we have. I would be very careful because, as people always point out to me, be careful what you wish for.
I don’t need to be flippant here, but if you live near the airport … I have lived on Banyan Street for almost 32 years. Victoria and I have also owned a home on Park Avenue for almost 20. Tori has been an islander for 50 years.
Banyan Street is a major destination on the island. There isn’t a day that goes by that we do not hear the shrieks of happy children and the really bad Tarzan impressions of their parents. Sometimes we are lucky enough to peek out the window and see two young people embark on their marital journey. We know the history of Banyan Street, which was planted over 100 years ago by Mr. Riley, the overseer of the railroad. He planted the trees that line our street for the benefit of the community. We have no qualms about continuing that legacy. The Park Avenue house is across from the Catholic Church, and several times a week the entire neighborhood is filled with cars.
A couple of times on Easter Sunday our cars have been blocked in from leaving, but hey, it’s Easter Sunday.
When we acquired the property, we actually took out the irrigation system and plantings that the previous owner had used to deter parking, because we knew those public spaces were not an extension of our little sliver of paradise.
Addressing the issue of trash, all I can say to you is, trash happens. There’s trash on Mount Everest, there’s trash on the moon. As for people relieving themselves in your yards, I’ve never seen any evidence of this except for a discarded pamper or two, but I would tell you … s@#t happens. If you have evidence of such droppings, I guess we are going to have to review those photographs. I have some Ansell Adams photographs that we can throw in to take the edge off.
I agree with you that drinking on the beach is a no-no. Lee County has an open container law, which technically should ban keg parties on the beach and sipping beachfront martinis at sunset on the seawall.
Ms. Cowperthwait says, “Boca Grande has always been a friendly, accepting place to live, with an all-for-one and one-for-all spirit. Pitting one group against another doesn’t help anyone. I hope we can all work together and solve these parking problems in the near future.”
I say Boca Grande has always been a friendly, accepting place to live, work and play.
That includes three groups on our island, three groups that make up the symbiotic relationship of almost every town in this country, almost every town in the world.
In defense of Marcy’s editorial, I don’t think that she’s pitting groups against each other. She is merely pointing out that it doesn’t take a deed to go to the beach. Run that one by your lawyer.
Skip Perry,
Hooterville, Planet Earth