You know those situations that you confront on a daily basis? The ones that, upon reflection, had you made a different choice, would not be following you years, even decades later? Well, I made one of those terrible, unfortunate errors this week that I may not be able to go back on.

I joined my community Facebook page.

I had avoided it up until now. I preferred to live in community ignorance. Oh sure, every so often one of the “connected” neighbours would let me know that someone had posted something about my “dangerous” dogs being “terrible” off-leash.

But then a friend mentioned that some other people were attempting to have the City change the designation of our local park from “on-leash” to “off-leash”, and would I mind letting these folks know what happened last time, since I was the person who crafted the petition & appeared before Council? I asked if there wasn’t some way to just talk with them offline, since I had no need for hearing about everyone’s issues once joining the group. Nope – it had to be online.

So I joined the group, and let them know what happened. In short, I pointed out how any park designation change would require appearance before Council, and that an “off-leash” park is considered a “destination” by the City, meaning they expect people to travel to the area to use it. So I pointed out how that would quadruple vehicle traffic in the neighbourhood, and the limited street parking meant that people would end up parking on City right-of-ways on lawns.

Plus – extra garbage and dog shit!

Finally, I highlighted how most conflicts could be easily resolved if people just leashed their damn dogs when people without them were approaching, since Bylaws only comes when they get a phone call. “Be careful what you wish for.”

**sigh** The responses were…mixed. Nothing inflammatory, but at least I now know who my enemies are in the neighbourhood. I do think I helped kill the proposal, as voting on the issue seems to have ceased. Most people never considered that the designation would attract visitors; they just want to let their dogs romp without fear of a $40 ticket.

Besides – a truck got broken into last night, and they just know it was the Indians from the reserve next door! #BlueLivesMatter

Tonight’s … entertainment?:

• Left Turns:
  • IndyCar Racing:
    • REV Group Grand Prix at Road America Race 1 – 5:00PM | NBCSN
      • The REV Group Grand Prix at Road America Race 1 in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
  • NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series:
    • Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 – 6:00PM | FS1
      • The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 from Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky.

• UFC 251
  • Prelims: From Abu Dhabi – 6:00PM | ESPN / TSN
    • The first in the “Fight Island” series, where someone on this site pointed out this is the moment UFC turns from legitimate corporation into the plot from “Enter The Dragon”.

• Fútbol:
  • Copa GNP por Mexico:
    • Guadalajara vs. Mazatlan FC – 7:30PM | UNI
    • Club América vs. Cruz Azul – 9:55PM | UNI
  • MLS is Back Tournament:
    • Atlanta United vs. New York Red Bulls – 8:00PM | FOX / TSN5
    • FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew – 10:30PM | FS1 / TSN

• Southern Hemisphere Tackle Footy:
  • Super Rugby Aotearoa:
    • Hurricanes vs. Highlanders – 11:30 PM | ESPN2 / TSN2
  • Australian Football League:
    • Richmond Tigers vs. Sydney Swans – 1:30 AM | ESPN2 / TSN
    • Carlton vs. Western Bulldogs – 4:30 AM | FS1 / TSN2

Maybe next week, I’ll join the Community Watch. I always wanted a Streamlight Stinger flashlight.