Behind the Fence

Guest post by Tyroanee

I am no stranger to fence builders. They have been built to hide behind and or take a stand, or some might feel it is a right of passage and ownership.

Just as we have the right to bear arms, building walls came easily to man, so simply in fact, that creating two countries from one is how the imaginary lines are drawn. By tearing a country in two what is left behind are the victims of misunderstanding and distrust in which words can never be fully comprehended (click on pictures to enlarge):


This is my neighbor, he lives across the street on the right, and that is my metal fence (middle of picture) on my property that surrounds my pasture which keeps my horses from entering onto the roadway. He had decided he would erect this fence so I wouldn’t catch him in the act of one of his many tirades.

His mind works mysteriously and highly unpredictably, and at times mimics that of an adolescent child. But over the last ten years it has developed into something like Palin’s: Unpredictably mean spirited, and just a downright quirky demeanor that all must adhere to.

He follows no rules, only those of his own, they change frequently and conform to his way of life for that minute in time, and if anyone chooses not to adhere to these rules? They pay the price.

Well, when all else fails in the making up of lies to the authorities, he doesn’t retreat, he reloads his 50 caliber weapon and shoots repeatedly so all can hear him in the valley floor. Throwing rocks and wood fence posts at passing cars has become routine for the five families that live down this dead-end road. The neighborhood must accept this behavior as he hurls spittle across your path. We now know he has a mental illness of some sort, it just has gone on hidden behind fences and undetected for so long it’s just become routine for us all, even for his family.

That was until last July, when I had installed a 24 hour surveillance system to monitor his behavior…


So this is the smile we look at as he jumps out across the roadway- lurking behind bushes and trees. To erect this fence on my property to shield him from being caught in the act of his ridiculous behavior that we have endured must have taken balls… or is it that fences make better neighbors?

What could have been going through his mind to construct such a thing eight feet high? Was it the guilt and shame he was hiding from, or was it the fact he knew he was finally caught in this web of lies that he must cover it with a fence so no one ccould see proof of his behavior?

He had even taken it one step further and painted the other side bright white so as you round the corner in the dark, a large white wall would be glaring to meet you. The neighbors soon dubbed it our own private drive-in movie theater screen.

So the world has its Great Wall of China and we have a drive-in movie theater. Thousands pass over year after year to see and walk upon this manmade wonder peering out from as far as outer-space. It is this overwhelming presence felt from space that leaves but only one question:

Why and how could it have gotten so toxic that walls are laid to hide behind without people fully understanding one another?

Thousands of lives are altered and given ultimatums to conform as the cold structures surround their very lives, and ultimately their minds. They are entombed in a shroud of darkness from the real world as it haunts them, gnawing ever so quietly as each revolution passes round without them feeling or knowing what the other side is all about. Their knee-jerk reaction leads to endless frustrations, not only for themselves but the the children that will never fully understand it.

Granted, given sufficient time, the world has evolved and sees this behavior as irrational and therefore tearing down walls has become monumental, and sometimes with grandiose celebrations of tearful reunions of the loved ones left behind.

It is in sharp contrast to the building of the walls; this has always seemed somber, and therefore strangely morbid, in hindsight. Stone by stone, a little colder it becomes and we must ask ourselves have we as humans learned from our past mistakes, or is this the ultimate conquest man shall never overcome?

Man has built a better mouse trap, but we have yet to build a fence that has cannot be breached in someway or another. Whether it is emotionally or physically, it deeply penetrates from within one's pride, not intelligence.

If over time a pit-bull (without lipstick) can learn to love a feline, then why as humans have we become so uneasy with one another and life’s challenges that we need fences to hide true self?

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