Oct 13, 20172 min read

Garden Grove: 1 Vandalism & The Town by LV Gaudet

Garden Grove Cover - McNally - front cover

Beep Beep Beep.

The incessant beeping and growling of construction equipment relentlessly fills the air, driving all the nearby residents to distraction.

Last night was Halloween, the kids are all over-tired and cranky and so are the parents, some of whom were up dealing with sick achy stomachs from kids scarfing down piles of sweet candy bliss.

The morning dew still sits as an icy crust on the grass and the orange glow of the rising sun still fills much of the sky, leaving remnants of the dark shadows of night clinging where they will.

Three deer jog across the road in single file. First one, who looks back to show it’s safe, then another, and finally after a pause in the road the last one brings up the rear. They always come through at the same time. You could set your clock by it.

They are unusually alert and nervous.

The chill frost in the air seems to be making them uneasy, or perhaps it is the recent changes to their environment that has awakened their sense of danger.

Their usual winter trail has been irrevocably changed by the construction and the crispness in the air has urged them to turn to their winter habits despite the lack of snow on the ground.

Trees have been ripped ruthlessly from the ground and the topsoil scraped away and carted off to be sold back to the homeowners after the houses are built. Roads for new houses are being roughed in by the hulking metal monsters that roam back and forth growling and beeping.

Canada geese fly overhead, their flight patterns seeming to make no sense while they make their practice runs in preparation for the great migration.

They seem confused, or perhaps they too are agitated by unusual activity on the ground where they previously fattened themselves on the grasses.

Inside one of the houses bordering the construction area, a group of housewives hunch over their cups of hot coffee after sending their kids off on the school bus, plotting how they can silence those infernal construction tractors that are taking away the woods, desecrating the adjoining farm fields, and have destroyed the tranquility of their quiet community to build a new housing development.

The large billboard sign welcoming all to the new addition to the community taunts them with its artist’s depiction of the perfect happy family and the large lettered words:

GARDEN GROVE MEADOWS

Where Families Come to Live