Sunday, 7:30am and some asshole is out with a gas-powered leaf blower cleaning the massive parking lot of a church a block away. I finally had it. So I leashed up the dogs and headed over.
Of course the guy couldn’t hear me over the exhaust-spewing racket and industrial strength ear protection. So I used some universal hand signals.
He cut the engine and I flat out told him to stop. I didn’t ask politely. I didn’t make a case. I did what most people won’t do – which is make a stink. I rambled on about the timing and wanting some peace and quiet.
He started to explain his case, but I cut him off. What could he possibly say that would convince me that 45 minutes of noxious noise and fumes is necessary to remove a negligible amount of pine needs from a 2-acre parking lot.
Common courtesy would dictate you don’t make that kind of noise in general, on a Sunday morning. But common sense would tell you a leaf blower is an exercise in futility. Whatever work you do with one, is completely undone, within less than an hour of finishing.
If I were to pull up in their lot while they were holding their Sunday service, and blast a recording of the that leaf blower at the exact same level of decibels, you know the cops would get involved.
I’m on something of a personal crusade against those stupid tools. Crusade is probably too strong a word since I haven’t done anything other than yell at people when they use them. But honestly, following some actual process like getting a ban passed sounds absolutely futile. The only thing actually works in the moment is flat out telling them to stop.