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Paulette Walsh doesn’t want to be a Grinch, but she’s about had it with pranksters trespassing into her yard and rearranging her holiday ornaments. And doing the same to her neighbors too.
The reindeer seem to be special targets for the culprits, who have repositioned the lighted ruminant mammals into mating positions.
“One evening, the vandals came once to reposition our reindeer and we just unplugged the lights so the inappropriateness would not be illuminated. We figured that we would just leave them in the dark until morning,” Paulette shared. “However, the vandals came back that night and plugged in the three frolicking reindeer for all to see. There is a set of reindeer in Heathrow Hills that has been repositioned, too.”
She does have a sense of humor. But enough is enough, she says.
“OK, maybe it was funny the first time the reindeer around the neighborhood were repositioned inappropriately. But every night now? The vandals have visited my yard many times, from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm to after midnight. They are not only repositioning the reindeer, but they are damaging them,” she wrote in an email.
“Parents of Princeton Hills, Fountainhead and McGavock Farms, please talk to your children about respect for the property and boundaries of others. The Brentwood Police have been notified and will be making more patrols though our neighborhoods in the next two weeks,” she continued.
I asked Paulette if she had any pictures she could share.
“The photo I took of our frolicking reindeer would not be appropriate to publish,” she replied with a Smiley face emoticon.
Yes, I LOL when I first heard the story. You probably did too. But the joke’s old now. So if you or someone you know is behind the propagating lawn ornaments, be reminded of the reason for the season -- and that some of those lawn oranments cost a pretty penny.
I’d hate for kids or their parents to face vandalism or trespassing charges this week. And I’d hate for their names or actions to end up in the Brentwood Home Page Crime Report – our best-read feature.
Speaking of Christmas lights and decorations, I’ve missed the Nativity mural – and the old barn – at the Turner farm more than I ever realized I would. Something's just not right about driving or riding by the Franklin Road landmark and seeing nothing but darkness around the shadow of the surviving silo.
But I must say the light displays all around town – whether professional and flashy or understated and serene – are fantastic this year. We drove by Little Jimmy Dickens’ Brentwood Hills home Saturday night to see if he had decided to bring back his decorations that had wowed kids and their families for years. I'm sorry to report that the Grand Ole Opry legend’s over-the-top lights and decorations remain packed up but a beautiful red cross shines bright for all driving up West Concord Road.
And best of all, the martini glass still toasts the season from the ridge in Brentwood South. I hope it remains for a long time to come – or at least until the mural can make its way back to the farm.
They have two different messages for sure, but both always brought a smile. Here’s hoping next year we'll have two reasons to smile again.
Susan Leathers is editor of Brentwood Home Page. Click here to read previous columns. Email her at susan@brentwoodhomepage.com |
