The anonymity is eventually lost, because the whistle-blower eventually tells someone else about it. Very quickly, most people will know who complained. Sometimes, even the so-called guilty party will find out who pointed the finger at him.
***
A former Sack resident decided to put up a rather inexpensive-looking wooden shed at the top of his driveway. He didn't have a garage, so he wanted the shed handy to put things away.
A few Sack residents were appalled. They felt the shed was an eye-sore and reflected badly on the look of the neighbourhood.
One resident researched the city by-laws and learned of restrictions on the location of such a structure. He complained to the by-law department and the shed-builder was told to move it.
***
Almost everyone in The Sack knew who called the city. Except, of course, for the shed-builder. He started to tell others about his call from the by-law people.
It took a long time for him to build the shed, he said. It would be a lot of work to move it and he didn't have much time. He was also annoyed that someone in The Sack would complain without speaking to him first.
So a bunch of Sack people volunteered to help him move the shed without dismantling it. One of the people who helped was the guy who complained.
***
Oscar and I were there to help move the shed. It was a very weird experience. No one particularly liked the shed and were glad to see it moved. But nobody felt good about how the complaint was made.
We're quite sure there's an ethical lesson in there somewhere, but neither of us want to spend too much time thinking about it. We just want everybody to get along. No feuds, no tension.
I bet there's at least one cul de sac in the world where everyone loathes each other and live in a constant state of mental warfare. With the wrong mix of people, I could see it happening here.
***
Every year Sack residents receive their property tax assessments. Some people talk openly about their assessments and others are more discreet. It doesn't really matter because they can be accessed on the Internet.
The same resident who put the authorities onto shed-builder, complained anonymously to the city because Florence's tax assessment was unusually low.
Florence's assessment was immediately increased to match, if not exceed, other assessments.
***
Eventually, others learned the identity of the whistle-blower and duly informed Florence. For a while, there was a lot of tension in The Sack about this affair. For the most part, it has mostly blown over.
Florence maintains a cool, but polite relationship with the whistle-blower.
***
Oscar and I were deeply disturbed by the whistle-blower's actions. Just because Florence was enjoying an unforseen benefit, there was no reason to complain. The whistle-blower, we felt, had nothing to gain from his complaint.
Of course, one would expect such a position from undercover, suburban anarchists.
***
There is a house in The Sack with a very unsightly lawn.
Gordon was extremely perturbed about it. One day, the owner of the house went out. Gordon brought his lawn mower over and cut the man's lawn. Then he went home.
Oscar and I watched the owner come home and stand on his driveway for a few minutes staring at his lawn. Then he shrugged his shoulders and went in the house.
Gordon has done this several times since then. The owner still doesn't know who's cutting his lawn.
***
In its glory days, Burning Manor used to have a badly-stained yellow blanket draped over its porch.
The blanket apparently belonged to the big, barking and bored dog which was tied in the front yard most of the time.
The blanket annoyed Big Doug to the ends of the earth. He would stand in his front window for long periods staring at Burning Manor with his hands on his hips.
***
One day Big Doug saw the Burning Manor crew drive away. He walked briskly across the street and retrieved it from the porch. He walked to the back of Burning Manor and placed the blanket in a garbage can.
The blanket was never seen again. Oscar doesn't think Dirk and Dora even noticed it was gone.
He could be right about that.
***
If you ever find yourself living in a cul de sac, it might be a good idea to do some research ahead of time. You should brush up on the local by-laws relating to residential living. You should also take a course in making your home look as unobtrusive as possible.
Most importantly, you should buy yourself a very good pair of shin-pads. There is always a good chance that a fellow cul de sac resident is going to kick you in the shins when you're not expecting it.
***
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