Ted said, Alan, oh. I said, I'm happy to share the footage with the board at your next meeting. I think it will be clarifying. Ted said, Yes, I think it will. He paused.
He said, I have to ask, did you grow those peppers specifically near that fence because of the theft situation? I said, Ted, I grow what I choose to grow in my garden. I have a particular interest in unusual pepper varieties. Carolina Reapers are a legitimate horticultural achievement, and I find them fascinating from a botanical standpoint. He said, That's not exactly an answer.
I said, No, it's not. He was quiet for a moment. Then he made a sound that might, if you were being generous, be described as a suppressed laugh. He said, "I'll see you at the meeting." The HOA meeting.
The monthly HOA meeting was 3 weeks later. I arrived early. Frances came with me. She had printed on her home printer a photograph of a Carolina Reaper pepper with the Scoville rating printed underneath, which she intended to use as a visual aid if the situation called for it. I told her that was possibly unnecessary.
She said she would keep it in her purse just in case. The meeting room was reasonably full, about 20 residents. Gary was there in the back row with the particular posture of a man who has convinced himself he is the wronged party and is ready to present his case. Ted Blalock opened the meeting and moved through routine business. Then he said, "We have a resident matter to address.
A complaint was filed by Gary Hutchins regarding garden plantings at 6 Sycamore Court." Gary straightened up. Ted said, "Gary, you want to summarize your concern?" Gary stood. He said, and I want to relay this as accurately as possible, he said that he had been walking near the fence line in his yard and had noticed what appeared to be cherry tomatoes growing near the fence and that he had picked a few believing them to be accessible from the boundary area.
He said that eating these fruits had caused a severe reaction and that he believed I was growing something dangerous. He sat down. Ted said, "Ellen, your response." I stood. I said, "I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
I want to address three things. First, the plants. Carolina Reaper peppers are a legitimate pepper variety certified by Guinness as the world's hottest and are widely available for home cultivation. They are not toxic. They are not dangerous.