It's been noisy around Olympic House the last couple of weeks. The walls that previously surrounded the grounds on which our building sits are in the process of being torn down. Why? Because "someone" said so. This "someone", like "He who must not be named" in a very famous movie, is a bit of a villain in my mind. Unfortunately, this person also has a lot of power.
A friend told me this person can order pretty much anyone around. This person, has "asked" the the National Olympic Committee and the other user groups around us to knock down our outer walls to create a more "open space". Why? Because he likes it. Because, from where he lived overseas, that's the way things are with more open spaces and he likes it. Along the the same lines, if this person sees a wall that is painted the "wrong" colour, he'll ask the property owner to paint it a colour of his choice.
Of course, me being me, I asked, "what if someone says no"? She replied, "No one can say no" to which I did not understand. There is no law against having a wall is mismatched with those around you. Nor is there a law that says you can't have walls up. I know I have no control over it, but it irks me that one person in a position of power can disrupt so many people's lives with a few words and perhaps a wave of a hand (or wand in the movie mentioned above). Sure, if in a neighbourhood where all the walls were white and an eccentric resident chose to paint his/her wall in a multi-colour splatter, I can see them being asked to conform. But, only if it the majority of those living in the vicinity of this resident agree that the wall should be white and even then they can ask and not force this person to change.
So here we are at the NOC, down to almost no walls and feeling rather naked and exposed to everything else around us. The walls provided a feeling of security and identity. Not just for us, but probably for people like the ones I can now see through the window at my desk; the living area of the few live-in workers in the building next to ours. The walls were a boundary that told us "this place is ours". Now, anyone can walk onto our grounds and enjoy them, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as we have a beautiful place. It's just that there is little privacy anymore. But if the ducks have it their way on the grounds, no one will get to enjoy the grounds. (I tried today to cut through the outdoor dining area of the restaurant attached to our building and they chased me out. These ducks also like to leave little gifts all over our driveway and grounds).
A friend told me this person can order pretty much anyone around. This person, has "asked" the the National Olympic Committee and the other user groups around us to knock down our outer walls to create a more "open space". Why? Because he likes it. Because, from where he lived overseas, that's the way things are with more open spaces and he likes it. Along the the same lines, if this person sees a wall that is painted the "wrong" colour, he'll ask the property owner to paint it a colour of his choice.
Of course, me being me, I asked, "what if someone says no"? She replied, "No one can say no" to which I did not understand. There is no law against having a wall is mismatched with those around you. Nor is there a law that says you can't have walls up. I know I have no control over it, but it irks me that one person in a position of power can disrupt so many people's lives with a few words and perhaps a wave of a hand (or wand in the movie mentioned above). Sure, if in a neighbourhood where all the walls were white and an eccentric resident chose to paint his/her wall in a multi-colour splatter, I can see them being asked to conform. But, only if it the majority of those living in the vicinity of this resident agree that the wall should be white and even then they can ask and not force this person to change.
So here we are at the NOC, down to almost no walls and feeling rather naked and exposed to everything else around us. The walls provided a feeling of security and identity. Not just for us, but probably for people like the ones I can now see through the window at my desk; the living area of the few live-in workers in the building next to ours. The walls were a boundary that told us "this place is ours". Now, anyone can walk onto our grounds and enjoy them, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as we have a beautiful place. It's just that there is little privacy anymore. But if the ducks have it their way on the grounds, no one will get to enjoy the grounds. (I tried today to cut through the outdoor dining area of the restaurant attached to our building and they chased me out. These ducks also like to leave little gifts all over our driveway and grounds).