an article appears

Here’s a link to Brian’s article in the East Side section of the Arizona Daily Star, June 29th, 2006.

link to article

I came off pretty well, and remain relatively unscathed by the incident.

how nicely that all ended

June 25th, 2006:

The gate is open!

It’s just like when the Berlin Wall came down! Thousands rejoice!

I am especially optimistic because the chain they had used to lock the gate is gone. (They had a chain welded to the gate which was then padlocked, this chain is completely gone.)

Interesting side note #1: I forgot to mention earlier that for quite some time there had been a space between the 2 sections of gate where you could squeeze through, everybody used it, the gate had been inconsequential. But a few years ago some genius had decided to take an old piece of wire fence and twist it into this space to prevent access. It was a crude and dangerous way to do it (lots of metal shards and sharp points) - but it did keep people from getting through.

Interesting side note #2: The school also seems to be leaving the adjacent driveway open. This would allow vehicles to drive right into the schoolyard, and seems like a really bad idea. The only vandalism I’ve really noticed is from people driving their cars on the courts and fields.

For instance, there is a peelout patch on one of the courts that took the surface off in four neatly defined tire tracks. I have seen people with cars that appear to be with the school baseball team tearing around the field causing damage. They were with someone that had a key to the gates - so what’s up with that?
Oh well….

getting close?

June 21st, 2006:

Brian calls before I can get myself together and call him back.

He is waiting for the Communications Office of TUSD to call him back because as a reporter he has to go through that “channel”.

June 23rd, 2006:

Another call from Brian. Gee - someone calling ME to follow up, go figure…..

Brian met with TUSD and City Parks&Rec simultaneously and….wait for it…..the gate IS supposed to be unlocked.

Apparently there was a “misunderstanding” in the Custodial staff which resulted in these unauthorized gate lockings. They said there had been some “turnover” in that area.
Just like big government! It’s never the leader, it’s the follower. Abu Ghraib was the result of some crazy individuals, the military leaders had no idea……..right!………

The bad news: he says they will still be there to take a picture on Sunday.

But later that day: I get a call from the photographer who apologizes for the fact that actual news has come up and they won’t be able to do the photo op. I silently praise any number of gods and realize that, after some seven months, this problem might actually be resolved!

newspapers tend to respond better than governmental agencies…

June 13th, 2006:

Brian from the AZ Daily Star calls me to let me know that the city no longer has an IGA (Inter Governmental Agreement) with the school. This has happened with other schools in the area as well.

So, the city no longer has anything to do with the outdoor basketball courts I have grown so fond of, and the sign stating the hours of public access is old and should be removed.

Ouch…..

But - Brian is going to follow up with the school and the district as this is a community issue that he feels needs to be addressed. (Good!)

However - he may want to do a story and get a picture of me climbing the fence. (Ouch ouch!)

The thought of my picture in the newspaper is unpleasant at best, and terrifying upon further rumination. I can see it now - all the times I’ve mocked local articles, making fun of pictures of idiots in alarming and disgraceful situations/poses is coming back to haunt me. The times I’ve silently sneered at an unseemly, unflattering picture of some unaware samaritan made to look like a mutant loser is bearing down on me like a 16-ton-Diesel of Disrespect.

June 18th, 2006:

Father’s Day! - gate locked

June 20th, 2006:

Brian calls and leaves voicemails on cell and home phone, wants me to call him back. I’m just not into it today.

Some days I’m ready to “bang head against wall”, some days I don’t wanna….

another custodian

June 11th, 2006:

So I’m down there playing basketball after nearly rupturing a certain part of me that’s involved in procreation, I think you know what that is. (if not - write me for an explanation)

I’m shooting away - and a guy unlocks the gate and comes in to check the grounds. I stop him and ask him if he is leaving the gate unlocked. He says that he can leave it open while he’s there, but has to lock it when he leaves.

“Well, who told you to do that?” I asked him knowingly (this is beginning to sound like the Monty Python cheese shop sketch)

“The Prinicipal”
Hmmm…the same Prinicipal who bursts through the gate several times a week because he knows its open, apparently.

Then, the kind custodian said he would leave the gate unlocked when he left if I would click the padlock shut when I exited. (He also said he would mention this to the school prinicipal after I assured him the prinicipal had claimed it was always open.)

I agreed. He was a gentleman and I would reciprocate.

PS - yes I did lock the damn gate when I left, what do you think? That I’m a school administrator or something?

PPS - another interesting thing the custodian said was that the gate to the tennis courts is left unlocked. Now, that gate is on the other side of the school. You have to walk across the entire school grounds to get to the basketball courts from there. If the concern is about vandalism - why are you encouraging people to cross the entire campus?

Another thought: Tennis is to rich white kids as basketball is to _______ [fill in favorite lower income minority group here]

the paper

May 3rd, 2006:

Gate locked.

I call the Arizona Daily Star and go through several people until I get to a reporter who doesn’t tell me I need to talk to someone else, his name is Brian.

Brian will make some calls and get back to me.

In the meantime: gate locked, gate locked, gate locked, etc…..

amazing new driving safety device

While driving in Tucson today, I discovered the most amazing device that could change the world of driving as we know it.

It seems that virtually every car on the road has access to this insanely useful tool. I just need to get the word out so people can understand how to locate the control and make full use of it.

It has the seemingly telepathic ability to indicate to other drivers what your intentions are so that they can prepare for the actions you take, before you take them!

Think of it - other drivers getting magical information about your driving plans, and reacting accordingly so that the risk of accident and injury is minimized, all with the touch of a lever.

If this becomes widely used, I feel it could significantly decrease traffic congestion AND increase road safety for all of us.

If I can only get this information out to the people that need it!

I started by looking the device up in the driver’s manual and its called, simply enough, a TURN SIGNAL! Wow!! Maybe I can get the newspaper to run a story….

ultimatum of the mild-mannered

April 17th, 2006:

I again call Tanya, get voicemail, and leave a detailed message about the previous day’s events. (I know the drill.)

Additionally, I ruminate about the importance to the community that this public facility is open as directed and available for public use.

Possible angles:

• We’ve got an epidemic of overweight children and we’re looking them out of a public area?
• The vandals can climb the fence but younger and older people cannot, age discrimination?
• the tennis courts are open, but the basketball courts are not: rich white vs poor minority?

I’m stretching the point to insane limits; but I’m ready for that, nothing else has worked.

I also mention that this is the last time I will call the school system, next time time it will be the newspapers and then the City Council.

my head explodes

April 16th, 2006:

For a few weeks after that last message to Tanya at The District the gate mysteriously remains open.

Then - abruptly - the gate is again locked. Maybe I’m missing something important. Should I be offering up a sacrifice before going to the school, examining the entrails of a sacrificial lamb to see if the gods are smiling on this endeavor? Hmm - if the entrails are propitious, I go down to the school; if not, I go back inside and wait for a sign…

After climbing the gate, I settle down to relaxing session of solo basketball.

After about 45 minutes a young lady (presumably from Facilities) comes to the gate, unlocks it, and locks it again behind her. A short while later when she is leaving I stop her and ask her if she can leave the gate unlocked behind her:

She: “I have to keep the gate locked.”

Me: “I’ve been told that this gate should be unlocked during non-school hours, who tells you to lock it?”

She: “The AP of Facilities.”

Me: “Who is the AP of Facilities?”

She: “Abel R_____”

Me: [sound of head exploding]

I think I may need to make another call on this.

sunny…..then cloudy

Well kids - for a few weeks after that the gate remains unlocked.

But the residents of HappyVille are not going to smile for long, because the dark spectre of bureaucratic incompetence crawls ever forward; relentless, ruthless…..clueless.

March 13, 2006:

I call Tanya again, and leave ANOTHER message.

bouncing back and forth

Feb 8th, 2006:

I never hear back from Abel, maybe his voicemail is broken and the student/receptionist had to take maternity leave…..or maybe he doesn’t want to ever hear from me again?

I call Tanya, at “The District”, and leave a voicemail. I am getting this uneasy feeling that everyone I’ve been calling is thinking they don’t want to talk to the “crazy gate guy” anymore and are standing by the watercooler saying “you should hear about this guy that keeps calling me, he’s totally obsessed with this gate at Sahuaro High School!”

Tanya calls me back the next day and informs me that neither the Prinicipal nor the Asst P had received any communication from me in the last few weeks(?!?!) and that they are sorry about the occasional accidental locking of the gate. She said the Principal told her he walks through the gate several times a week so he knows it is almost always open.

Hmmmm…..this is getting more interesting. I know that isn’t true. I’ve called Abel twice in the last few weeks and he’s never returned my calls, and if the Principal is walking through that locked gate several times a week he is one very tough hombre. I haven’t noticed metal shards and twisted wire laying around when I’m climbing it - maybe I’d better take a closer look next time.

In the meantime I’ll keep a log of the dates and times when the gate is locked so I can at least refute specifics. But a larger problem looms in the background, “Why do I care?”

calling, calling, calling….

January 31st, 2006:

I never hear back from Abel.

I call the High School front end number and ask to speak to him. The presumably-high- school-kid-working-for-free-for-some-kind-of-credit receptionist informs me that he is is out and will be back on Thursday, Feb 2nd. So I leave a message with her, giving her a brief rundown of the story so far, and trying hard to make it NOT sound like some crazy cranky old guy thing.

locked, locked, locked

January 22nd, 2006:

gate locked

January 24th, 2006:

gate locked

I’m sensing a pattern here. “Exists there a wheel so squeaky that it might disturb the deepest slumber of the uncaring public official?” - Plutonius; L’histoire of Excess in Civilian Structure; pp.945-947

I call Abel, he asked that I do this - and so I will. I call his direct line, the number that HE GAVE ME, and get his voicemail. No problem, i will leave a detailed message so that he will know the system has failed and he can repair the kink in the flow of information between the AP (Abel) and the rest of the schoolyard world. I also request that he call me back and provide the number.

back to "The District"

Since the Assistant Principal at Sahuaro High School has been no help whatsoever (not even managing a consistent excuse), I call "the district" again. This time I'm thinking I need to be more descriptive of the problem when I hit the main switchboard, and see if I can get to someone whose angle is complementary to the goal.

Simply put - I tell the front end that I am having a problem with a school and they put me through to Community Relations. I speak to a helpful and professional sounding woman named Tanya, she tells me that she will contact the school, get more info and call me back.

A few days alter I get a message on my cell phone from Abel, the other AP (Assistant Principal). He tells me that he is sorry for the inconvenience and they will make sure that the gate is not being locked during the hours proscribed for community use. He also says I should call him if I have any further trouble.

Despite my previous experience and a troubling feeling of hopelessness, I think I might have this thing under control. Its only a simple gate, they WILL stop keeping it locked - its not like its some twisted iron symbol of oppression and power; a monolith devoted to the pristine appearance of an unused schoolyard, unblemished by the footsteps of happy children....

after the break

January 10th, 2006:
Holidays are over - gate is locked....

Again I place a call to Joni, this time getting an entirely different response.

She says that the staff is having trouble with this unlocked-gate concept, because leaving the gate unlocked is causing VANDALISM. This seems to be the schoolyard equivalent of TERRORISM, causing administrators to quake in their respective Wal-Mart style boots. Just as the federal government has used the threat of TERRORISM as a bogeyman to diminish civil liberties, the school is using the fear of VANDALISM to justify keeping this gate locked. Never mind the fact that if I can get over the fence so easily, young-adult-vandals would scarcely find it a daunting task. ("Let's go tear up the school!!!"- "damn! - never mind, the GATE IS LOCKED!" - "Oh well - I guess we'll have to go back to behaving properly and peforming civic duties.."

Joni also informs me that "The District" is working an a plan to permit access to the courts without providing access to the surrounding schoolyard. This sounds intriguing, and incidentally like a total waste of everyone's time. "How long will this take?", I enquire knowingly. "Oh it could be several months.", comes the all too predictable reply.

I think it is time to call "The District" again.......

a few weeks later....

December 7th, 2005:
I am disillusioned and chagrined because the gate is once again locked.

Mere words cannot express my deep rooted sadness that all faith in humanity is leaving my body like the blood being squeezed from some giant, hellish turnip.

Plus - I have to climb the fence again.

This becomes problematic, as I leave after sunset and misjudge the distance from the top of the fence to the street. Once the back of my head has securely found the curb, I am again properly oriented and continue home.

I call Joni again - this time getting her voicemail. I leave a message and hope for a return call, forgetting that the black hole of xmas break will render all attempts at communication useless for a month. Curse you, TUSD holiday calendar!@!#!

(Note: the posted sign states that this facility is for public use from 5PM-10PM on schooldays, and 6AM-10PM on weekends and school holidays - so its not inherently stupid that I was there after dark, although arguably a questionable call.....)

no luck

November 22nd, 2005:
Hmmmmm.....gate is locked again.

Well by golly I will just call one of the assistant principals. I pick Joni, as that name sounds friendly and consumer-conscious (think "Joni Mitchell"...she cares - right?)
I get through the secretary and speak to Joni. She is very apologetic and feels badly that I have been inconvenienced. Wow....this is great. She will see that this problem is solved/resolved/re-solved.

optimistic? yes?

1st contact

November 15th, 2005:
I contact TUSD (Tucson Unified School District) - main office. I have heard from those in the know that getting the attention of the school is much easier when the message comes from the district. I call the front end number and go through a few receptionist-types before getting a call from Beth. Beth handled community use of school facilities, and mentioned that she was getting this issue because no one knew what to do - therefore it got shuffled over to her department.

Beth communicated to the school that the gate should be open during the proscribed hours for access to the aforementioned basketball courts because of the aforementioned federal grant money. She said if I had any further trouble I could contact the Vice-Prinicipals at Sahuaro High School, Joni and Abel (no last names for now).

Looks good - smooth sailing......

the beginning

Here's my motivation : there's a high school about a block and a half from here. It has outdoor basketball courts which are open to the public during non-school hours (something to do with a federal grant 30 years ago for outdoor lighting). Anyway, a few years back they started locking the gate to these courts, the same gate that has a sign saying they are open to the public and listing the hours. I play ball down there every weekend - and after two years I get tired of jumping the fence so I decide to take a civic-minded approach and contact the school. Once they realized their mistake they would surely keep the gate unlocked as posted......right? I thought briefly of cutting off the padlock but decided this would be too anarchic - I wanted to play by the rules.

That was in November of 2005......I'm still trying.....