Shhhhhh

My mother used to say this about my Auntie Mill and Uncle Homer, "They were so poor until the highway came through, then they retired and traveled the world". It was true. IH-5 went right through their modest Californian bungalow back in the 1960's. I don't know what they were paid, but I do remember lots of their photos and slide shows of trips to Jamaica, Russia and square-dancing in Scandinavia, not to mention the really great birthday and graduation gifts that came my way.

Well, the "highway" came through here, but we won't be taking any trips soon. We have come to an agreement on our easement non-rights, (the use of "rights" here would be un-American and an insult to our Founding Fathers). We rightly contested their last minute change of language on the contract and they agreed (I told you lawyers were involved!), and we will sign next week.

MY saga is over for now. But I will forever be interested in eminent domain cases. The "public" good seems to be a nebulous term, and fair market value is most definitely determined by the big guns in these cases.

Still, it's over. It's over. It's over. Oh wait, the fat lady hasn't sung yet. Shhhhhhhhh.