Grumpy Old Man

The new parking rule of one-side street-parking being implemented in our village has solicited both praises and complaints from homeowners. This is kinda expected with the types of characters living in our neighborhood. And I mean characters.

Take Mr. A for example. He is the type of person you wish would be thrown away to a far away island alone where he would live up his dream of being the self-righteous A-hole that he is. Vote himself the lunatic king of his own island. And live according to his dumb rules, whichever suits him.

My Tita S, who happens to be the VP of our Homeowners’ Association, calls up Mr. A to remind him about the new parking rule which he apparently keeps on forgetting to follow.

“Mr. A, the Board would just like to remind you about our new parking rules being implemented in our village,” Tita S politely informs Mr. A.

“What’s that?!” Mr A’s angry response followed by a very crunchy cussing of the P-word.

“Mr. A, I called you up to politely inform you about our village’s new parking regulations. You do not have an iota of a right to cuss me about it. This is precisely the reason why people in our village find little reason to respect you, considering your seniority.” Tita S says, aghast.

“Whoever thought about that new parking rule? And why weren’t we informed and consulted about it?” Mr. A’s hoarse voice inquires.

“Mr. A, this rule wasn’t cooked up solely by the Board of Directors and Officers of our village. This was handed down to us by the MMDA when we asked them for help regarding our parking problems. And we did invite everyone for consultations. Twice, in fact. You didn’t attend both general assemblies,” replies Tita S.

“Why should we follow them? This is a private subdivision. They cannot impose their rules upon us,” rebuts Mr. A.

“Mr. A, are you kidding me?” Tita S laughs sarcastically. “Don’t you remember that we already gave up those rights when we turned over the duties of paying for our neighborhood’s public utilities to the city government? And what’s funny is that I distinctively recall that you were the President of the Homeowners’ Association during that time. How could you forget?” Yup, folks, that is a perfect example of how dumb and obnoxious Mr. A is. And FYI, Mr. A was voted President by the homeowners as a result of a "let's-see-what-you-can-do-as-president-you-Mister-Reklamador" campaign a few years ago.

Mr. A mumbles something incoherently with his irritatingly hoarse voice.

“You had your chances to voice out your opinions,” informs Tita S. “And you didn’t grab them. It’s not our fault that you are too busy with other extra-curricular activities,” probably hinting about Mr. A's openly discussed habit of taking home bar girls when his wife isn’t around.

“I will not follow those stupid rules. Tow my vehicles if you can. And we’ll see who prevails,” sort of a threat from Mr. A.

“We will definitely tow them if you deliberately break the rules Mr. A. And yes, we will see who prevails.” Tita S hangs up the phone.

Poor Mr. A. Little does he know how well-connected Tita S is. With just one phone call to the MMDA or Mayor’s Office (yes, she has direct access to those people), Mr. A’s vehicle would be towed away just like that.

Yeah, Mr. A, let’s see who prevails. I bet my newly tuned-up vehicle that in the end, our streets would be more spacious. And you, with all of your stubborn witlessness, will have to find out about it the hard way.