I Keep My Side of the Sewer Ditch Clean

     

Before...

...and after

In my backyard, behind a six-foot fence, is a  cemented run-off ditch. It's there because my neighborhood is built on a former dairy farm and swamp, so rainwater must be drained to a nearby lake when it rains a lot. It is a right-of-way for the Metropolitan Sewer District but is the responsibility of us homeowners.

I keep my part of the ditch mowed. Some others do and some others don't. Eventually the ditch is clogged with encroaching weeds, grass cuttings, and mud. I want water to flow smoothly through the ditch to prevent flooding (water reached my back porch once in 1993) and to minimize mosquito breeding.

 Bear with me. There's a good analogy coming.

Once in a while, I take a shovel and clean the muck out of the ditch. I  don't see anyone do that. Water from my downspouts and sump pump are piped to the ditch, and I want to prevent problems. I clean my side of the ditch. I leave it up to others to clean their side.

The Big Book, page 77-78: "We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that nothing worth while can be accomplished until we do so, never trying to tell (others) what (they) should do."

I leave my neighbors alone. I don't warn them they need to clean out their part of the ditch. I don't warn them of problems if they don't. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...."

But if asked, I would help others clean out their ditch. That's what neighbors do.