tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post1784866753692759125..comments2024-03-19T00:43:35.769-04:00Comments on Freemasons For Dummies: Heartless Freemasons Defoliating Neighborhood GardenChristopher Hodapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-9657708354917056772011-04-26T18:18:23.248-04:002011-04-26T18:18:23.248-04:00I know one of the gardeners. Of course the HOT has...I know one of the gardeners. Of course the HOT has every right to do what it is doing, and personally I support it 110%. The building must be preserved. But it would be good relations for the Temple to meet with the gardeners to try and help them work out some arrangements, with a promise that if and when the renovations are complete, they will reconsider reopening the garden.<br /><br />The garden is important to the neighborhood and many who live there don't have the sense of history that we do. They just know their garden is being "taken away." Not to mention that neighborhood gardens and food security is the First Lady's issue, it would go a long way to show some compassion for the neighbors, even if they are being irascible. I think it would be win win for everyone.Eric D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08448753389237677609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-62118611975780852062011-04-21T22:29:17.709-04:002011-04-21T22:29:17.709-04:00Squatters. I bet Brent and Art ran them off.Squatters. I bet Brent and Art ran them off.Wayfaring Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13751379276577510809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-43441610737505836342011-04-20T11:50:03.906-04:002011-04-20T11:50:03.906-04:00Long before I became a Brother, I owned a house a ...Long before I became a Brother, I owned a house a block away from the Temple. We have been in the same house for twenty years now. The perspective that was missing from the Washington Post article and other venues is the only one that really matters for a neighborhood. Namely what kind of neighbor has the House of the Temple been? Well, I have seen lots of changes go on in my neighborhood, but one real consistency is that the Scottish Rite was always an exemplary neighbor. When apartment buildings caused trouble with trash and noise in the past (and sometimes still do), the House of the Temple was always different by contrast. Well-kept, neat and clean. People have long used the Temple steps as a neighborhood gathering place and recreation area. Why did they feel safe to do so when the neighborhood was considered more "dangerous" in the past?? Precisely because everything was orderly and well-tended, and thus inviting. This is what it means to be a good neighborhood. I believe I would say the same thing if I was not a Brother, but still just a neighbor. That is, I wish a lot of folks in this neighborhood had been half as good a neighbor as the Scottish Rite has been!! For the House of the Temple has been the bedrock of good neighborliness here. That is simply a fact of neighborhood history. Any discussion, of gardens or anything else that does include this all-important perspective is just ridiculous, unfair, and in terms of neighborhood well-being, pointless.ppfuchs- Peter P. Fuchshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07185148974635794105noreply@blogger.com