Ron stopped by for a while today and we hung out at the pond. He noticed a (very) small ordinary Bass right before I located a rare green Dragonfly and he then just kept talking and talking about how he envies my ability to find rare animals, and then the amazing rapport I have with them once I find them (the dragonfly was practically eating out of my hand).
Well, yes, I guess I should feel good about that extraordinary gift, but if I had a conscience I would feel rotten about some of my other talents. Anyway I had dinner with Bill and his family tonight and we talked about the spontaneous fiesta. He said it was just a series of unfortunate events and one time thing. He actually thought they were fairly well behaved and didn't really see anything wrong with their throwing beer bottle tops on the ground, but does now understand how much it bothers me. (And I have always understood that someone who thinks that the pond looks just fine surrounded by junked cars won't be bothered by casually discarded beer bottle caps.) He also understood about the music but can't hear well and didn't realize how loud it was. Mainly though, even though it is his yard, he regards the pond as our project and he said he wouldn't ever let anyone like that visit it again. I felt so much better I went out and picked up the beer bottle caps.
I've been sitting and watching the pond activity for the past hour. I have felt a responsibility from the beginning, and as I nurture the area I feel that responsibility grow. Most of the people we have introduced to the place have been able to feel it as well as see it, and have allowed themselves to be immersed in the pond and its unique atmosphere, but all of us have brought a nut or two by. One of my childhood friends who I haven't seen since he went to prison 25 years ago dropped by last Summer (What was I thinking?). I was at work at the police department when he pulled into town, so I got a real brief history. After serving several years in prison on heroin related charges, he was released early due to the relentless efforts of another childhood friend. He then became a meth addict to kick the heroin habit he had maintained through the years in prison, and soon afterward had a car wreck while shooting up as he was driving to work, causing injuries so severe he was a bedridden vegetable for many years. He had only relearned to walk and talk in the past few years and was on his very first trip with his new drivers license. In view of all of that information I thought he might appreciate a relaxed and soothing environment, so I had him meet me at the pond. He had been there for probably 30 minutes before I got off work and when I showed up I asked him what he thought about it. He thought it was okay, but he kept worrying that the bench might break, and thought the noise (waterfall) was really annoying. He had been sitting there, smoking pot and drinking beer, and he wanted to continue that plus talk about how much he hated his life and how much he loved Jesus. It became a very long day. My boss, the Chief of Police, loved the pond, and dropped by many times each day. I worried a lot that he might drop by, but as I listened to him ramble, I also realized that my old friend was so conditioned to performing socially (aware of always being monitored and acting accordingly) that being alone, or almost alone, in a quiet place was very uncomfortable for him. If I had "kicked out the jams", and smoked pot and drank beer with him, the pond would have been burned in him memory as a happening place. It would have been a background, something we were using. To speak quietly, walk softly, and let the waterfall and bird sounds dominate created an erie and unnerving experience for him. He doesn't have sufficient mental anchors to withstand a clear view of the real universe and all of the people who want to bombard the pond with their noises and pheremones are responding to the same thing.
Oh well. In the end there are those who foul the communal nest for a whole range of reasons from ignorance to malice, and all of them need to be corrected or excluded as soon as they are noticed. I told Bill it's like walking into a church and finding Satan. It doesn't matter why he is there, he needs to leave and not come back.