Approaching Absurdity
Sometimes a story is so well written that it seems to tell itself. A fine example is "Out on a Limb Over Trimming Fiasco," by columnist Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times.
Lopez grabs the reader with his first sentence.
Everybody's got a horror story about a bureaucratic nightmare, but if you can top this one, call me collect at your earliest convenience.
He then launches into the talkable tale of Ann and Mike Collard, a young couple who followed the Glendale Fire Department's order to trim some trees, then received a letter from Glendale's Neighborhood Services administrator.
"Dear Owner," it began. "The city of Glendale is committed to maintaining a community with quality streetscapes that include the care and well-being of protected indigenous trees."
The letter informed them they had improperly pruned 13 trees, some of them on city property because they were near the street, and some on their own property. The fine was listed on Page 2, where the Collards were informed they would be charged "two times the value of the damaged tree(s)."
"Total: $347,600."
We hope that Lopez will do a follow-up to tell us how this amazing tale ends.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez28nov28,0,7375819,full.column