When I first bought Columbus Street back in 1980, the chain link gate was attached to the very front of the house. I'd gotten tired of having to get in and out of my vehicle to open and close the gate, so I had it moved about halfway down the drive to allow for two cars to park there.
Our lives on Columbus Street have evolved over the years. I became very attached to that gate. After the storm when I was surrounded by fallen walls and wavy fences, it served as protection and a burglar alarm. I could hear any time anyone was coming through the gate while I was living back in the apartment.
Even after a wooden gate and door were constructed and installed after the storm, I still wanted the chain link gate in place. While I was in France, tenants actually backed over the chain link gate and pulled one of the side poles out of the concrete. My property manager suggested we take the gate down. I was firm...no, absolutely not. I wanted it repaired and functioning again. Good thing-the wooden gate hasn't survived. It came off it's hinges one too many times durng too many storms. It has been repurposed.
I have always kept the chain link gate closed. When I returned this January, it had become practice among my tenants to keep the gate open, but close it at the end of the day. I've gone along with this practice until recently. I realized that in addition to giving up privacy that I have been used to, I was not not feeling safe. So, as of Saturday...our chain link gate remains closed at all times.
I am more comfortable sitting out in the yard. I hear when people are coming and going, AND I feel safer in my own home that had not exactly been feeling like it was mine anymore. Once again, now I can BE here.
Who would have thought closing a chain link gate could mean so much?
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