Editor:
The idiom, ‘Live and Let Live,’ means that people should be able to live their lives anyway they wish, regardless of how others may feel.
These days I find myself less and less in a live-and-let-live mood, especially as it pertains to my neighbourhood.
Increasingly, I’m seeing homes that were once lovingly maintained quickly deteriorate due to new owners who do not upkeep their house and garden. One such house is on my block. For as long as we’ve lived here, the house was well kept. It had a coastal look, with an outdoor carpet that welcomed visitors up the front steps to a red- coloured door. With trees planted along a cute picket fence, plants and flowers growing in the front garden, it was a treat to walk by.
The house was sold this year and a new owner arrived. They quickly and haphazardly cut the tops of trees, probably wanting more light for the clothesline that was erected next to the front door. Shrub bushes were hacked, not trimmed, leaving stumps and debris littering their lawn for weeks. Weeds now flourish where they can amidst burnt grass and dead flowers. The house remains mostly abandoned, particularly during these summer months.
This leaves me sad, confused and concerned.
My sadness comes as I watch a stately home become nothing more than a property in disrepair. The confusion arises as to why anyone would pay so much for a house only to destroy it. I question why they would not hire someone to at least maintain the yard in their absence, which I hear is overseas. Concern emerges as I consider what this will do to property values in our neighbourhood.
‘Live and let live’ isn’t sounding as good to me as it once did.
Jennifer Zehner, Surrey