Faux Pas
... Faux Iron Fence
A faux iron fence once enclosed our oversized front garden.
What a mistake, that fence has got to go, I said back then. That’s a faux pas faux iron fence, it’s tacky and I’m standing here watching it rust. It’s got to go. Yet, for a few years, rather than address the eyesore, we threw away our money at the big box stores to trade out the rust bucket fencing with new unsustainable black powder coat metal steel decorative fencing. Aside from the rust effect, the fence would slant and tilt and lean and sink in the shifting salty sand we call dirt, in tandem with the ever always misaligned double pavers, thus creating a safety issue and a bad impersonation of The Addams Family fence. Finally, we said no more and section by section the cursed fence has become a blessed memory, with the exception of Millie’s Run, a small area gated off the expanse to contain our sweet pup who without proper limits would run the length of the faux pas faux iron rust-ridden fence quite forgetful of her senior dog status. We lost our best girl way too soon along with her pal Gino, a couple years previous of her passing and for awhile, Millie’s Run was hard to look at, much less examine or consider repair or even kick because of the sharp loss. At some point, our hearts pounded enough sense into our brains to finally remove the one section hanging on like a rusty razor blade in search of a lawn maintenance employee.
Wild flowers nicknamed beach daisies now tumble through the opening. Yet, flowers or not, the access off the street is wide open and I find myself cutting through the space rather than use the gate to collect the ever dropping palm fronds. For some reason though, I feel safe tucked inside the few remaining sections of the faux pas faux iron fence likely because for anyone who has ever loved an animal who has gone on beyond to wait for you, they are often here with you while they wait.
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”… And my hound dog is sittin' on a barbed-wire fence.”
Bob Dylan, Sitting On a Barbed Wire Fence
Thanks for reading everyone!