I want that notice to include a warning that future incidents will result in fines and referral to the appropriate authorities." Ted looked at the other board members. They nodded one by one. Ted said, "The board agrees. Gary, you'll receive written notice within the week."
Gary stood up. He looked at me. He said with some heat, "You planned this." I said, "I grew peppers in my garden, Gary." He said, "You put them there for me."
I said, "I put them there for my garden. What you do in your own yard is your business. What you do in my garden over my fence without my permission is very much the board's business, apparently." He walked out. Frances beside me opened her purse and looked at the printed Carolina Reaper photograph.
She considered it for a moment, then put it back. She said quietly, "Saved for another day." What Gary did next I want to tell you that Gary reflected on his behavior and became a better neighbor. I want to tell you that. What Gary actually did was go home, get on his computer, and post about the situation on the neighborhood social media group.
The community Facebook page that approximately half of Willowbrook Estates uses to share lost pet notices and road work updates and occasional heated debates about leaf blowers. His post said, and I am paraphrasing because the post has since been deleted, that a neighbor had grown toxic plants near their fence specifically to harm him, and that he had been made ill by these plants, and that the HOA had sided with the neighbor without a proper investigation. The post received 41 comments. I want to walk you through the arc of those comments because it is informative. The first several comments were sympathetic to Gary in a general way.
People expressing concern, asking if he was okay, wondering what had happened. Normal community response. Then Frances commented. Frances's comment was nine sentences long and included the Scoville rating of a Carolina Reaper, a brief explanation of capsaicin chemistry, a statement that she had personally witnessed Gary on a step ladder at Ellen's fence on at least three separate occasions over the past four years, and a gentle suggestion that Gary might want to reflect on the circumstances that led to his pepper encounter before characterizing it as someone else's fault. The comments had shifted.
Several people asked Gary directly, "Were you in Ellen's garden without permission?" Gary's response to this question was to not respond, which was its own kind of response. More people commented. A woman named Darlene who lives four streets over said she had also had fruit go missing from her garden over the past three summers and had always blamed birds. She tagged Gary in this comment.
Gary did not respond to that, either. A man named Robert said he had a garden on the side of his house that backs up to the path Gary uses when he walks his dog, and that he had noticed fruit missing from his plum tree twice. Gary still did not respond. The post was deleted by Gary approximately 18 hours after he posted it. By that point, it had generated 73 comments and what I can only describe as a significant community conversation about garden theft that Gary had not intended to initiate.