Life in the Gulag

This week there has been much activity around the house. We are repainting the outside, and it looks so pretty. I just fold my hands and gaze at the perfect paint job. And we’re not even done yet.

On the other hand, our dogs were very annoyed and irritable three mornings ago. Some men were perched on an adjoining wall, as I found out later. And this is what they were doing:

An explosion of razor wire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, huge rolls of razor wire now adorn the wall at the back of our house. As you can see, the beautiful greenery has been invaded. I hope it doesn’t upset our wild birds. Might be a secure place for a nest, though.

This is not the first time the Curse of the Razor Wire has erupted in our neighborhood. Our wealthy neighbors (especially the super-rich ones next door) are becoming increasingly paranoid about security. Razor wire seems to make them feel good. There are also the less visible metal spikes along the tops of the walls; and we are grilled up to the eyeballs. And yes, of course – there are walls anywhere. We don’t want criminals looking in our yard. Our next door neighbors built a few extra feet on their wall last year, installed razor wire and a huge security light – like daylight. Next, perhaps, jackbooted guards and those moving searchlights combing the walls…sirens…

My sister in the UK set up an electronic fence round her chickens to deter the foxes that preyed on the poor things. When I saw electric fences around the military-style compound in which the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius lived, it reminded me of my sister. Will that be the next security upgrade for our neighbors, I wonder?

So, welcome to the Gulag that is uptown Kingston.

As for us? We may be foolish, but all we have is our two fierce dogs. When they bark, passers-by and potential criminals jump out of their skins.

Here’s a great quote on security from that adventurous woman, Helen Keller:

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

Tell that to our neighbors!

Prison camp style. Well, we are in a prison of sorts, aren’t we?

 

 

 

Related articles

• Inmate uses clothing to escape over razor-wire fence at Pine Grove Correctional (cbc.ca)
• Mayor opposes razor wire on border fence (cnn.com)
• Ghosts from the Past – Abandoned Gulags Revisited (hague6185.wordpress.com)