Don't forget the rules!

Thank you, oh great and considerate next door neighbor, for always doing
what is right. We can count on you to do the right thing, 24/7.
Because that's what you do best.

Take this morning for example. Since the drain from my upstairs
plumbing was blocked hopelessly, and I couldn't seem to unblock it with
chemical warfare, plunging or snaking, I needed the cheerful help of the
experts. Darren Binns from Regional Drain Service sent a nice guy over
to deal with my problem. Since I was exhausted from staying up late
cleaning up the poo-poo water that had poured from the toilet, flooding
the bathroom and hallway upstairs while my daughter showered, raining
poo-poo water into my basement, I forgot the rules of the road. Silly
me. When the plumbing guy parked his van with the bumper a few inches
over the line, not blocking the SHARED LANEWAY from use or anything, but
breaking the rule about how close you can park to a driveway, I didn't
notice. Since this was really the only spot near my house, and the
plumber had some heavy tools to carry in, he can be forgiven for not
following the rules exactly. After all, his priority is the plumbing.

Luckily, the neighbor was on it right away, and phoned the by-law
department to deal with this important infringement. What if a Hydro
crew had needed to get an oversized crane between the houses to replace
a pole or something, and the plumbers van was parked too close to the
driveway's edge? I'm so glad she noticed this while she was on her way
to catch the bus to work. She wasn't even inconvenienced herself in any
way, and yet had the good sense to make sure that the rules were
followed to the letter. Such a responsible neighbor.

When the by-law officer arrived, it only took a few minutes to convince
him that issuing a ticket would be taking it too far, and another
neighbor offered to let the plumber park in his laneway, since he could
just knock on my door if he needed to get his car out.

It's so important that we all follow the rules to the letter all the
time. So if your neighbors are greiving a death in the family, having a
crisis with the house, or are ill, and forget an important by-law, like
keeping the cat's registration tag up to date, parking within 8 inches
from the curb, or removing noxious weeds from the property, we should
all remember that a quick call to by-law will make sure that those
important rules are never overlooked.