The Story of the Fruit Bandit

I want to share a story with you. This is a story about jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst in people.

This story involves three people:

1. The Grasscutter

2. The Lookout

3. The Good Friend

About three months ago, my neighbor started cutting part of my grass. It is a section that sits separate from the rest of my yard, in a powerline right of way. We have 2 grape vines on it and nothing else.

I did not ask my neighbor to mow this portion of the grass, I do not even really know him. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll call this neighbor Grasscutter. After a few months of Grasscutter mowing a portion of my yard, he was outside and flagged me down. He asked if he could cut that strip of grass. He explained that he was already on the mower and just enjoyed cutting grass.

He told me that my other neighbor, “Lookout,” told him that it would make me mad if he cut it. I do not know Lookout very well either. I really had no strong opinion on whether anyone cut my grass.

That same day, Lookout knocked on my door to tell me Grasscutter was cutting my grass and asked if I minded. I said I did not. He also said Grasscutter took some of my grapes. I said that I did not care as long as he did not take them all. There were plenty.

Fast forward two weeks. We get home after a long trip and the grape vines are stripped of all grapes. I got upset and figured Grasscutter got a bunch of bowls and bags and took all my grapes while I was gone.

I did not mind sharing, but taking them all was excessive. Since I could not prove who took them, and it would be over the top to call the police, I did what any passive aggressive neighbor would do. I put up a sign that said, “Taking fruit that does not belong to you is still stealing.”

Another few days passed and my third neighbor, “Good Friend,” sends me a text. He said that he has solved my Fruit Bandit mystery. He leaves early in the morning for work and said a big 8-point buck deer was chomping through my grapes at 5:30 in the morning.

The moral of the story: not everyone is out to get you. And, also, deer cannot read.

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Craig: Craig Page is a self-proclaimed “data geek” with nearly 20 years of EAM/maintenance consulting experience. His favorite work is data migrations. He enjoys solving the puzzle to make the data fit and keep the integrity of the information. When Craig isn’t in front of a computer, he is probably running a chainsaw or a tractor. Have a question for Craig? Send him an email!