Brown Boxes

THE TWO BLOCK WALK from my house to the dollar store takes me past houses with privacy fences around their yards, which reminds me that when i was having my house built, a friend of mine suggested that a privacy fence might be a good idea for me.

I knew from the start that a privacy fence would indeed not be good for me, prtly because it would be too expense with my big yard, and partly because i have never been abel to learn to like them, even though  i have tried. Try to like a little bit of everything, i say. But privacy fences i no can do.

The ones in my neighborhood were installed after i moved in, and i watched them going up. How, less than five years later, they all have boards missing, warped boards, boards broken off at the top and bottom, boards with large gaps in between due to warping out of shape.

And the same is true of every privacy fence I have ever seen, everywhere. Also, they all eventually change color, from the nice healhy light tan brown wood to a dingy grey color. Presumably there is a proper coating that can be put on them to prevent most of this, but few people seem to use it. It must be very expensive, or people don't think they need to do it. Shouldn't they, though?

All the privacy fences i see are untreated and deteriorating badly, but of course, i live in a relatively poor part of america.  there may be places where privacy fences stand up healthy and shiny. I often see them partially completed, and they stay that way, sometimes for years, presumably because the owner ran out of money, and never got around to finishing the project.

I don't want to put a fence around my yard that prevents me from seeing beyond my own yard, even though i like my yard. I want to see the world beyond, and whether other people see my yard, my house, or inside my house is of no concern to me; i tend to stay away from shameful behavior, at least during the week.

Any privacy fence which is missing a single board - and again, they all are, sooner or later - allows anyone who really wants to see in to see in, effectively defeating the purpose of the fence. The people inside, however, still can't see out.

actually, I rather like the idea of a visual barrier around my yard, for some reaon, but i want it to be green, and natural. I'll look at a hedgerow, or a row of bushes, flowers, or trees, all day, everyday, but not a brown fence, from within a brown wooden box.

To me it seems strange how popular privacy fences are in america, considering that they limit the people who put them up mor than anyone else. But, in a sense, they are appropo to american culture, a symptom of the indivualistic, isolated, competitive nature of american society. Privacy at all costs, even at the cost of beauty.