SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hey, and welcome to Boomers on the Edge. Some guys in their 60s who still think they're 16. Your hosts, Kat and Ron. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hey Ron, Boomers on the Edge coming back at you guys. Yeah. Ron, I was wondering the other day because we got a letter from our homeowners association. And you know, that usually has to do with you know annual dues. Yeah. And I was wondering.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Yeah, I've avoided those for well, we can get into that.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Well, I know you live in a pretty nice neighborhood, but I was wondering if you belong to a homeowners association.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Yeah, no, I I I I have avoided the whole homeowners association bit because I bought a place that's a parcel that looks like it's in the subdivision, but it's not in the subdivision, which has been great. Because you don't have to follow the rules. Yeah, and I mean I live on a lake community, and I told them I'd be willing to pay the fee to you know to help the lake, but they wouldn't do that. They wanted me to sign my, you know, my rights away. So so yeah, I've avoided that whole thing.

unknown 1:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

It sounds like maybe you haven't. I have not. I belong to a homeowner's association. We have uh annual dues, and if you have the if you abut to uh one of the ponds, you get the extra benefit of having to pay a little bit more to put the chemicals in the phone. I mean, I kind of get that because you benefit from it. Well, I th my feeling is that everyone benefits from it. You know, they all get to enjoy the beauty of the ponds. What about the guy across the street? Does he get to see the pond? Well, he has the right to go over to the pond and and if he drives through the neighborhood, he gets to see it. Okay, all right. And their kids can come and fish if they want. Okay, I think it's because all the property that abuts the ponds are commons.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

But you know, people hate HOAs. Like this, you know, being boomers, the boomers, you know, they uh they've all I'm sure everybody who's listened to this show is has experienced HOAs in some way, shape, or form.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

And they're not all good.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

And well, I mean, there's reasons for HOAs, but you know, tell me about some of your experiences with HOAs.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

When we moved into the neighborhood, uh, we found out that there was a fairly active homeowners association, and they even had the these two ladies, they served as like the HOA police. Yeah, of course, and they would walk around the neighborhood every single, you know.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Well, that's that was that sub-new. Was it like everything's it was newer? It was probably everybody's all excited.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

It was probably in the five to seven year range. Yeah, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. They built it over time.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

So they just got into it and you know, yeah, they're all excited.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

And they felt important, yeah. Same thing happened in our neighborhood. And then when we had the meetings, the re the police women would would report. Yeah. And they would uh devise a plan on how they were gonna go about rectifying these vi, you know, the violations. So did you have any run-ins with these people? Well, I did. I did have amazing to me. Well, I had more than one, actually. You could call me, you know, I would more than one? Well, I was a violator.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

This is a shock.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

And um, there was there was one time when I had my you and an hoa?

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Well, there was one didn't you sit on an ho? No, later on, because I would get was that you figured you could maybe get yourself out of some of this stuff?

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yeah, I was getting in trouble so much. I thought if I was on the board, I could, you know, you know, help myself. No, I I did I did have jet skis in my driveway too long. You weren't that was a violation. I think you called me and told me that you did because I I got called on that. I had my was this in the 90s? Yeah, yeah. I had my pop-up camper. No, it was in the early 2000s. Okay, I had my pop-up camper in the driveway too long, but I'm gonna use it on the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

I gotta like but you violated it in those ladies, they were they were recording, they were the undercover unit.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

That's right. No, they weren't even undercover, they were very blatant about it. So I had that, but the one really interesting run-in was with the president of the board, okay. Uh, of the association.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Surprising that you would be running in with the head dude.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

And so we lived on a pond, and anyone who knows about our family, they knew that my son played hockey at a fairly high level, and we actually had the whole team come over and skate multiple times during the winter. On the weekends, it would be on the pond. On the pond, like every Saturday and Sunday. They'd be out there frozen. The pond's all frozen over, the team's over. Yeah, it's nice. We'd make pizza and bringing out to them pizza and pop, and they're having a great time. You know, if you want to really be good at hockey, it's all a factor of ice time. And so these, in fact, one of the guys on the team's a professional player right now. Uh uh, one of the guys that was out on the ice with the the rest of the team. In the NHL. In the NHL. Yeah, that's right. Anyways, so one day I had the great idea of pulling out my portable fire pit so the guys could get a little warmth, you know, instead of having the room.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Which kind you use for a fire, you know, for a like a fire at your house kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, a little portable fireplace. So I wheeled it over there across, you know, to the pond, and I got one of those, I think they're called dura logs. Yeah. You buy them at the grocery store. Kind of like a fake log. Like a fake log, and it says light here. You get that little igniter. Straight up your alley. Right up my alley, and I put one stick in there so it would smell like a campfire. That thing burns from it. Dura logs aren't allowed in H O A L. Maybe. But anyways, but the president was gonna, he knew I was a violator.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

He had it in for you, I think.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

I think he did. And so so I had to go take a leak. I I I go back in the house real quick to go to the bathroom, and uh, I come back out. My wife says, Ken, the police are looking for you. I said, What? The police I peed in the house. I didn't pee outside, and so this cop comes walking up to me, and I am instantly pissed. And I was in my head shocked. I was in my passion tone. Uh-huh. And I might have even uh let out a few cuss words. And my wife's trying to religious man that you are. Well, I wouldn't do it today. I wouldn't do it today. I don't think the old you yeah, the old man before I was a deacon. Yeah. So before I was ordained as a deacon, and that's what you listener to comment you've got to do the journey that you've been. That's right. And so I start yelling at this cop and telling him I know that's not a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

I know who the hack yelling at cops.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

That guy's an FNA hole, and I'm like just you know, yelling and screaming because I'm so pissed. Because you knew who turned you in. I knew who turned me in. And and oh, interestingly, all of his lights were turned off.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Like he was looking out the little, like little he was probably acting like strained aside and looking out.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

So I have to fill out this report with the police officer about this potential violation. About this Durolog violation? Yeah. And so uh I'm filling it out and I'm still miffed, and all of a sudden, I hear the sirens coming. Here comes the fire department. Oh boy, the big fire department.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

He's called the fire department and the police.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

They probably he probably called the fire department, and the police raced there first. So the fire truck pulls up. This crew of four or six guys jump off. They got those outfits on, they had everything, they had their helmets on and their suits. Were they gonna cut the wax? I don't the the log. The wax log. So they uh they come running up to the um fire, the portable fire pit. And he goes, What's going on here? I go, This a-hole that lives right here, he called the cops. The one looking through the window. He called the fire department because he thinks I'm committing some violation. I go, Am I committing a violation? And he goes, and this the like obviously the guy that was in charge of the fire truck or the fire group there. He goes, Well, the way I see it, uh, Ken, it looks like you're in the proved fire, you're in approved fire container. You got a cover on it, that's good. And uh, I don't see any violations here, but you know what? We still have to write it up because we did make a run out here. I go, oh great. So I had to fill out like for the next 15, 20 minutes, fill out another report. And then um later on the next day, the guy comes up. A known HOA violation. The next day the president comes up to me, and I'm gonna damn sure have the hockey team out there the next day. You know, because that was later on in the the night before. And so I'm out there shoveling the snow, and he comes out. Now all of a sudden he's manly enough to come out after the every all the action is that over with. Uh-huh. Acting like he had nothing to do with it. Yeah. And I said, I know that you were the one that called. And he goes, What are you talking? I go, You called and then you took off you or you acted like you weren't home. That's bullshit. And I go, Oh, by the way, uh, what violation do you think I committed? He says, Why would you start a fire like this? You could start a forest fire here. I go, Well, that's not how the fire department saw it. And I go, and you ask me, why would I light a fire over here in this little fire pit? This little portable fire place? Yeah. I go, I figured you for being an Eagle Scout. And I go, and you'd know all about fire and safety and all that. And I go, it's in an approved container. And if a fire did start, it would probably start out kind of slow. And I go, what's right next to the fire bed? I go, snow shovels? I go, maybe we could throw some snow because there's a lot of snow here too. It's not real dry in the winter. And I go, we could throw snow onto the fire that might have started. I go, anyways, I go, you know what? He goes, Ken, can't you stop shoveling so we can talk about this? I said, he says, you could have put it out there on the pond. And I go, where they're playing hockey. They're good, they're gonna have a fire on the pond. On the pond. Uh-huh. Where they're playing hockey, they can use it as an obstruction and skate around it. Anyways, I says, that's silliness. I he says, Ken, you gotta stop so we can talk about this. I said, No, I gotta shovel the snow because the team's coming over in a little bit. I go, why don't you grab the other shovel and help me shovel the snow the pond off? And then that's when he left. So I guess I made him a little bit upset. But he made me more upset. So you were a known violator. I was a violator, but then I got on the board and I was a great contributor to the board.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

And I went So you were putting other people under rules.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Yeah, but I didn't I didn't play that nonsense that they did. I didn't I didn't call the fire department. I didn't bring anyone up on rules.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Yeah. Okay. So, you know, that's the thing. We were talking about HOAs and uh and and you were telling me about, you know, and and I'm sure, like I said before, most of the listeners can probably have some relation relatable story. And the problem is you get people together and they don't all agree on rules and so forth.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

But doesn't it usually have to do with like people's lawns and their gardens?

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Yeah, well, that was what I was gonna tell you. I was I was you know, so I mean there's two sides to this, right? There's the the part where you know there's a reasons for H oasis, I guess. Yeah, there's some and and then and then there's the ridiculous, like you just walked through and people get power and they get excited. So my butt we've talked about on this show before. I think it was Eugene. We called him Eugene. That's a fake name for the audience, by the way. Um, he's a big heavy set guy, just to remind everybody. You know, about he was about 360 at least, yeah. And uh and a real character, and he had kind of funny voice and stuff. And and so he bought this beautiful place on a lake. On a lake, yeah. And it was a nice place. But they had a golf course associated with it, just to give people an idea. I mean, we're talking like a resort setting setup, okay? Yeah, and exclusive, all right. So he buys this thing, and I'm like, wow, nice, you know. So in his usual way, he was a bachelor, and I don't know why he wouldn't just pay for have somebody do his lawn. I never understood that. But I'd pull up at the house, and the weeds would be, you know, like one of these guys where the dandelions were all going into seed, you know, like he was cultivating weed. It was like, yeah, yeah, it was like a dandelion guy or something. Oh, you'd love to live after that guy. And I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, Eugene. Like he was my friend, so I can say what I want. I'm like, this is ridiculous, you know? And and um, well, I could do what I want. I go, wait a second. And this gets into the whole HOA thing, right? He's like, he's like, I can I bought this house, it's my house. I can do what I want, I do what I can want. And I'm like, Yeah, I guess, but why did you buy this house in the first place? You bought this house because all these other people here were in this HOA for the extra. When you drove in here and you thought, Oh, look real nice, it's because people were following some rules, yeah. And he's like, It's BS. He's like, I I buy the house, I can do what I want, I can, but you're not making any sense. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

Wait, let me let me interject something. Yeah, everything you're saying is absolutely true, right? In my neighborhood, that was true as well. And I just even though I was violating by having like the sea dew in the driveway, yeah, my lawn always and still does look the best.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Are you trying to say that that makes up for the violation of the sea do? Well, maybe. So, anyway, he you know, I was trying to get the point across to him as like you wanted to live here because it looked a certain way, and now you're not going along with the rest of the people. He's a violator. Yeah. So he says, he said to me, he says, so it's got a little heated this conversation. He's like, I can do what I want. It's my house. I had the right to do what I want. And I said, I'm like, okay. I said, so let me ask you a question. I said I heard this actually happened in the neighborhood, another it was in the news at the time. I said, so if I was in the home next to you and I built an eight-foot pink penis, pink, pink, then that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

I wonder if we I wonder if we know anyone that would do that. And his answer was that's ridiculous. Yeah. Was it pink or was it purple?

SPEAKER_01 14:53

For those uh inside joke on that, uh you might want to go back and listen to um role models. Yeah. And there was a pink or a purple penis mentioned. But yeah, so I think I won that conversation because it was like the reason an HOA exists is so people can't build eight-foot pink penises in their backyard.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

And some people might even light them up.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

Can you just imagine that eight-foot penis?

SPEAKER_00 15:21

No, what would have really been funny is if someone had really done that next door to him. I wish they did. That was my whole point. That was my whole point.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

You and your damn dandelions. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So that's it. That's our uh that's our visit with HOAs. I'm sure all of you in the audience have probably have some kind of HOA story.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

And it's and the younger gens might have something to look forward to, like with HOAs.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

But that was both sides of it. You know, it's like here's the reason why there's an hoa, because you don't want you know pink penises in your neighbor's backyard. Or Eugene. And and and on the other hand, people can get over, you know, get overboard with you know worrying about yeah, little fires in that don't matter. So anyway. Thanks for listening. Absolutely. Talk to you guys later. Bye. Hey, thanks for joining us here on Boomers on the Edge. We hope you'll join us again. And until then, have a great time. Thank you.