The older you get, the more you realize that life really does have circles and cycles and old memories come back in surprising and amusing ways.
When I was a dumb teenager one of my first broadcasting jobs was as a talk show host on a Seattle radio station. Talk radio was not the mega-monster it is today and I probably made a buck-fifty an hour for a two hour show.
Believe me, talk radio was not my forte and my listeners probably numbered more in the dozens than in the thousands. But we had plenty of famous people show up to be interviewed about books they’d just written. Invariably, they’d autograph a copy and give it to this newbie radio kid.
One of those guests was Chuck Yeager, the famous test pilot who first broke the sound barrier. As green and uninformed as I was, I barely knew his name. But we struggled through an hour long interview and fortunately he was a much better talker than I was.
Anyway, my mouth dropped open at this week’s story in the Sacramento Bee about 91 year old Chuck Yeager being dragged into court by a Homeowners Association! The Park River Oak Estates Homeowners Association is suing him for $28,000 claiming he won’t pay his HOA dues.
Yeager argues he’s not even a member of the association. His property is nearby, but it was never annexed into the HOA, and Yeager has never requested nor been offered any of the HOA’s services.
Ah, Chuck Yeager. You undoubtedly don’t remember me from forty-five years ago but we were on the same side of the microphone then. And we’re on the same side of the platform now speaking out against the many atrocities of the out-of-control HOA movement.
Hang in there, Chuck. Break another barrier!
(link to Yeager HOA story in Sacramento Bee)
I hope someday these HOAs pick on somebody that stomps them into the turf and it goes viral and makes international news!
Thank goodness the media will expose these HOA stories when they involve highly-recognized/celebrity people. It sure helps spread the message about how insane they are!