I think I know where I got it from

It's been a while since this wee little mouse wrote on his blog and this has been gnawing at me as feverishly as I gnaw on a slab of sweet cheddar cheese. The other day as I was getting in my car to work I came across a man in a beat up pair of blue jeans, white t-shirt, and an equally beat up old white work van outside of my yard and on the narrow strip of land that runs parallel to the street that I live on. He was going about the business of plucking a sizable amount of mangos off the tree just out side of our fence which, while not growing from within our property does have part of it which extends inward into our property. With a long metallic pole that had a hook at the end and a large green plastic trashcan he was gathering a great deal of mangos. I saw him and said "Good morning" and he said the same and I went about my business of driving to work. Oh if life were just that simple.

To understand where this story is going it's important to put the historic value of this tree in perspective. As a wee young mouse I used to practice my mad skills of tree climbing with it all the time - even now I remain fairly nimble and quick when it comes to scaling the tree and navigating through it's labyrinth of branches. In my youth it also served as my clubhouse of sorts for myself and my friends & cousins. Yes, a few planks of wood and some nails CAN be a clubhouse with enough work and imagination. Lastly, this tree has been a true survivor. It has had chunks of it ripped off my numerous hurricanes and even survived a collision with a driver of an 18 wheeler truck who apparently was unaware that drinking excessively and driving into said tree was an unwise choice of action. Needless to say this tree has character.

I get to work and around 45 minutes after I am working I get a call from my mom whom lives with my family. Even in her extended age she is a firecracker of a woman and while this is her strength sometimes it is what lands her in the most trouble. She asks me if I saw a man plucking mangos off the tree when I got out and I say "Yes". Then she proceeds to chastise me for not telling her about it or telling him to go away. I tell her that the tree does not grow from our property so it is not ours regardless of whether part of it extends inward into our house. She says I am wrong and that it is our tree and that when the leaves fall from it that it is our responsibility to clean it up. Whether the tree is ours or not is still subject to debate - I don't think it is but if I tell her this she snaps at me with a defiance that is something special to behold. So she proceeds to tell me that she berrated the man for "stealing" the mangos to which apparently the man responded with a flurry of filthy languages as nasty and offensive and Malvado and Agent Beryllium put together (no small feat mind you). He resorts to threatening her, telling her that he is out of work and needs the mangos to sell and that he lives only a couple blocks away. He tell her "I know where you live and this is not the last you will see of me." So what does my elderly mother do? She laughs in his face and tells him "Get the hell out of here before I call the cops. I am not afraid of your threats." She did indeed call the cops who came, filled out a report, and told her if the guy shows up to call them and they will handle the situation for her.

Now I appreciate my moms courage and tenacity but I told her she should have thought this thru. She is along in the house for the better part of the day since she is retired and my father passed away about 2 years ago. When she is not alone she is with my two kids, both under 10 years of age or with my wife. So if this guy does show up it, as I explained to her, at the wrong time it could be disastrous. Then she came at me with something that I have not been able to get off my mind and needed to blog about. She tells me (and this very close to an exact quote) "Son, if you allow people to put one foot on you an step hard on you with it then they will take the second foot and step hard on you as well. Before you know it, you will have people trampling over you your whole life, trampling on what you believe in most and the people who you care for. You can't let people do this. You have to stand up to people like this."

When I think about my life and the way I've lived it, less so in my youth when I was getting my bearings but more so in my adult life when I had to carry more responsibility on my shoulders I understand where she is coming from. Whether  the tree is ours or not is not the point but standing up to people who threaten you or try to walk all over you is the point. You have to protect your ideals and the people you love  in life or else you're just going to become a human doormat to every loud-mouthed, violence loving asshole out there.If you lay down then every jackass who thinks that spouting off with some highbrow Merriam Websters dictionary vocabulary, every crass chick with a bride of Frankenstein complexion, anti-Semetic prick or morally mediocre assclown will think they get a free pass in life to trash those you love and that which you believe in without repercussions or some form of response. The trick though is knowing what to do and when - easier said than done.

I've told my mom that we should cut the tree down in order to avoid any further problems. We would need consent from the city to do so but I don't think it's worth any continued trouble. I admire her for standing up to the situation the way she did even if I do not necessarily agree with her on all points. I can tell she does not lik the idea of chopping the tree down and while I think it would avoid alot of future problems deep down inside I don't like it either. The tree has character and history and it would be a shame to see it removed. It'sa tough choice but one I think I will have to make in the near future.

People often wonder where I get my fiery disposition, my defiant personality that refuses to stand by and allow people to treat others like victims within my presence. I hate bullies, always have and always will. I hate cowards who hide behind their fake words when going after people unjustly. Thinking about it I realize that  there is alot of my mom and dad in me beyond just genetic code - they gave me the blueprint to stare people who would do wrong in the face and tell them "You are wrong. When you victimize people you are wrong. When you harass and unjustly vilify people you are wrong." So in this respect I am very proud to be their son. My mom is right. The moment you allow people to step on you once they will eventually try to trample you and I'm just not the kind of person to let that happen.