I'm Going To Start A Sham 69 Tribute Band Next Door To Him

For the record, I don't own a leaf blower. I'll never buy one. It's just another power tool - and power tools are built to break. I don't like power mowers, snowblowers, weed trimmers - largely because in my hands, they all become metal slag in my garage. Doesn't matter how I keep 'em lubed, oil changed, whatever - they all break within a use or two.

However, if I lived next door to this guy, I'd be out on my sidewalk on Saturday morning running a leaf blower while I play my bagpipes and the electric guitar:

When he began his quest for a quieter, cleaner city months ago, little did Stephen Rueff know he'd run into throngs of people who believe they have a right to bear leaf blowers.

But oh, they're out there, legions who think that the roar of the leaf blower is the sound of liberty.

No, that's the sound of the P-51 Mustang and the M-4 Sherman.

And anything that drowns out the sounds of people like this.

The Twin Cities are are clogged with the type; people who think we'd all be so much better if we all just did everything their way.

"It's pretty interesting," Rueff said. "There are people who don't accept the notion of a greater good. They don't see that what happens on their own property impacts their neighbor."

I don't know Mr. Reuff. But I have a vision of neighbors, sick to death of Reuff's constant mewlilng about the self-serving "common good", taking up the oboe, snowmobiling, skeet shooting...

Reuff is the south Minneapolis man who started a crusade to try to get Minneapolis to follow the lead of about 250 other U.S. cities and ban leaf blowers.

He'd also seem to be a regular subject for Doug Grow, oddly enough.

When his efforts first were reported back in November, Rueff became fodder for conservative talk radio. He was seen as another of those wild-eyed, tender-eared progressives who has no appreciation for personal rights, property rights, or the rights to make noise and blow dust.

Ah. It's about politics!

No, more than that...

This harsh tone surprised him.

For starters, he loves to have conversations with people who disagree with him. But nobody on the radio programs bothered to give him a call. (Hey, why converse when you can rant?)

...it's Talk Radio's fault!

"Left or right, if you just hang out with people who agree with you, it doesn't do much good," Rueff said. "It seems like we have a lot of frustrated people who like only screaming and yelling together. It must make them feel better."

"...when you can just trot off to City Hall and try to bring the full weight of government in to settle the argument for you!"

Still, he knows where his bread is buttered:

Although he will work to pass the partial leaf blower ban, Zimmermann said he believes there are worse sounds in the Minneapolis air.

"Maybe those leaf blowers help drown out the sounds of that bad punk rock music," he said.

Rueff, naturally, is involved in a different genre.

I suppose once the leaf blower thing is done, all you rockers out there'd better watch your backs...

Posted by Mitch at March 15, 2005 01:29 AM | TrackBack