Good Neighbor Law

Mom drilled, “Watch what you say! You don’t want to end up eating your words.”

Now I happen to love words. They can do anything. Make a grown man weep, a grumpy cat smile, bring down a country and put wings on an idea. They can be trotted out on a smirk or climb onto a grin.

Not wanting to eat my words, I obeyed Mom and watched mine until I only had a few left to look at.

Standing around bored with my little pocket full of words, I wondered how others got so many they carelessly pitched them away.

Howard was not only eating his words, it was fine dining for him. Figuring he makes about $1,000,000 bucks each time he utters “wow,” I saw right then and there… he is rich, I am poor, Momma was wrong.

What a genius, that Howard. He figured out how to re-cycle words so the ones he eats are served on fine china and topped with five layer truffles.

Darn! My words were gone. What now? Borrow? Take somebody else’s? ERRR can’t do that. Words are property, and pirating ones that don’t belong to you is stealing.

Yet over the 60 years since Mom taught, “watch what you say,” someone changed the rules. Now stealing is fast becoming the popular way of doing business.

Why just this past Sunday, my husband and I were surprised when we saw a fancy billboard with an aerial photo of our farm and all the land around it. A fat blue line strung along south of our farm, then hooked to the north and hogged right across our yard and home.

The artist either had one too many Jack Daniels, or someone instructed him to paint our farm to pretty up their prospectus and profit gain.

There’s an element out there that plays the formula of stealing like Liberace did the piano. Dazzling us in breath taking costume changes, they beg need of re-zoning, battlefield or corridor and claim of endangered species. Their dressed up theft leaves us bloodied and breathless.

Words are used in many ingenious ways to fill piggy banks. One example: We use public/federal lands to graze cattle. We have a contract with, and pay the government to do so. We also tend these lands around the clock and request no compensation.

Others, including the Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club, use these lands by virtue of placing foot on them, and including the words “public, federal land” in their fund raising materials. It is said they do this without contract or payment to the government.

If either party had to stop using our public lands, both would go out of business overnight.

If Howard Stern stopped using certain words and I started using more words, maybe he'd become poor, and I'd be the one eating words served on fine china.

In a word, now you know what Howard Stern and Roni Bell have in common.

Roni Bell Sylvester
PO. Box 155
LaSalle, CO 80645
970-284-6874


	What Do Roni Bell and Howard Stern Have In Common?
	Most people own property. It may be a house, horse, land or band; caboose, goose, water or fodder. It could be a song or a thong, a jewel or a mule. Regardless your property, it has value to you and you have the right to protect it. If a human being removes the value of your property without your permission, that’s called stealing. Some people generate their livelihoods by working words. They may use these words verbally, or place them on paper.
Mom drilled, “Watch what you say! You don’t want to end up eating your words.” Now I happen to love words. They can do anything. Make a grown man weep, a grumpy cat smile, bring down a country and put wings on an idea. They can be trotted out on a smirk or climb onto a grin. Not wanting to eat my words, I obeyed Mom and watched mine until I only had a few left to look at. Standing around bored with my little pocket full of words, I wondered how others got so many they carelessly pitched them away. Howard was not only eating his words, it was fine dining for him. Figuring he makes about $1,000,000 bucks each time he utters “wow,” I saw right then and there… he is rich, I am poor, Momma was wrong. What a genius, that Howard. He figured out how to re-cycle words so the ones he eats are served on fine china and topped with five layer truffles. Darn! My words were gone. What now? Borrow? Take somebody else’s? ERRR can’t do that. Words are property, and pirating ones that don’t belong to you is stealing. Yet over the 60 years since Mom taught, “watch what you say,” someone changed the rules. Now stealing is fast becoming the popular way of doing business. Why just this past Sunday, my husband and I were surprised when we saw a fancy billboard with an aerial photo of our farm and all the land around it. A fat blue line strung along south of our farm, then hooked to the north and hogged right across our yard and home. The artist either had one too many Jack Daniels, or someone instructed him to paint our farm to pretty up their prospectus and profit gain. There’s an element out there that plays the formula of stealing like Liberace did the piano. Dazzling us in breath taking costume changes, they beg need of re-zoning, battlefield or corridor and claim of endangered species. Their dressed up theft leaves us bloodied and breathless. Words are used in many ingenious ways to fill piggy banks. One example: We use public/federal lands to graze cattle. We have a contract with, and pay the government to do so. We also tend these lands around the clock and request no compensation. Others, including the Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club, use these lands by virtue of placing foot on them, and including the words “public, federal land” in their fund raising materials. It is said they do this without contract or payment to the government. If either party had to stop using our public lands, both would go out of business overnight. If Howard Stern stopped using certain words and I started using more words, maybe he'd become poor, and I'd be the one eating words served on fine china. In a word, now you know what Howard Stern and Roni Bell have in common. Roni Bell Sylvester PO. Box 155 LaSalle, CO 80645 970-284-6874