Tree to be Removed: Robin Boyd's The Australian Ugliness Turns 50
Robin Boyd,
Robin Boyd wrote
EXHIBIT A: An Ugly Scene in a Beautiful Place...
A leaf blower whines as I write this. Mozart cannot be played loud enough to drown it out. No matter, it reminds me of a limpid Friday evening a few months ago. A ruddy sun sparkled on the leaves of the blue gums, the breeze was a gentle early summer whisper, an evening one could fall into like a calm sea. I could take it no longer. I traced the errant whine to the dead end of my street. After waving for a few seconds to catch my neighbor's attfention, he turned off his blower and removed his sensible hearing protection so we could have a conversation which went something like this:
"That's an awful racket you've been making. It's almost eight o'clock," I said.
"I know it's a bad sound. I'm sorry. But it has to be done."
"You're blowing all the leaves into the street. They'll clog up the drain and Council will have to pay someone to clean them out."
"I am not aware of the technicalities of what I'm doing."
"I clear my place in fifteen minutes with a rake. You've been running that thing for almost an hour."
"Fifty minutes, yes."
"Then use a rake."
He gestured, lord of the manor, "Look at my place. You expect me to use a rake? Just look at how big my place is -- I have a cobblestone driveway."
I began walking away, "Yeah, well it's a horrible sound. It's noise pollution. And I'm sure Council will be interested in the fact that you're blowing them all into the drain."

