HEDGE TRIMMING OUTLAWS

      Sunday started out nice enough, a few South Grove citizens gathering to clean up our bike path, the one that runs south along Main Highway.
  Most homeowners do a good job of keeping their hedges from encroaching on the path.
   








 
    You can't say that for the residents of  "The Moorings", the gated community on Biscayne Bay.  For years they have let their massive ficus hedge grow into the asphalt trail. Two years ago their greenery nearly blocked the popular thoroughfare until government workers cut it back.

    Tired of this, several neighbors gathered with the necessary hardware for some hedge trimming.  Francesca and I came upon them while riding the path yesterday morning.

    Only minutes into the trim-athon, a swarm of police descended upon these do-gooders.  The cops had been told that strangers had invaded The Moorings intent on destroying private property.
    
The officers were surprised to find it was just a few locals trimming branches blocking the public path.  

The head officer told the group, "There's an angry man over there saying he represents the Moorings residents. He wants me to put the four of you in handcuffs.  I think you're doing a good thing but that guy is about to pop".

    I went over to speak with the angry man who was loudly lecturing another officer.  I said, "Don't you want the bike path to be safe? Couldn't you have your gardeners trim the hedge?"

   He refused to answer saying the Moorings residents owned everything out to the street -including the bike path- and they could do whatever they want.

    Someone suggested that he could try having the hundreds of people who enjoy the bike path arrested for trespassing. 
    The angry man did not respond.

     Realizing that the police were not going to arrest the hedge trimmers, he 

asked the officers to get their names, adding, "I'm going to sue them all for destruction of property!"
      Not wanting to hear his spiel any longer, we left.
  
      Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and the Mooring residents will finally make the Grove's bike path safe. 
It's there for everyone to enjoy, even if they're "trespassing".
                     _____

                               ("Trimcus interuptus", the Mooring's side of the path revealed)