The War on Leaves

Across the country, Americans are keeping a careful watch on many dangerous wars: the war on in Iraq, the war on terror, the war on drugs. But here in Florida, many Floridians are fighting another war: The War on Leaves. Every morning, our backyard neighbor (the one who has gotten rid of every scrap of grass and xeriscaped her property) unleashes the power of her leaf blower for four solid hours, carefully moving the night's accumulated leaves from her backyard into the street. And every afternoon, our nosy 87-year-old neighbor walks around his yard methodically picking up any rogue leaves that might have fallen in his yard by way of our oak tree. Every geriatric in our subdivision, it seems, wields a leaf blower, determined to keep the irksome foliage at bay. It requires daily attention and while today's battle is over, tomorrow's is just waiting to begin.