HOA Life, Neighbors, Competition, Worker Bees

We have a unique neighborhood in SCOV. We call our little group “the hood”. We get together regularly for drinks on the driveway. We’ve been doing this since the pandemic and it is not uncommon for us to have over 30 neighbors. We all get along and enjoy each other’s company. Ok, not sure that many like me, but since my wife is the organizer of the gatherings, so I am invited by default. Also they are often on our driveway.

Anyway, one of long-time neighbors just left the community. As is often the case, they decided it was time to downsize from two residences to one. At our gathering a few days ago they said their goodbyes. It was a very dusty evening as a lot of us kept wiping our eyes. A couple of days earlier I hung out with my friend and he said that it is unlikely that he and his wife will see any of us again. That’s the way life often as we move on or make life changes, no matter the good intensions. Maybe, I said, but he and his wife will always be part of “the hood”.

At our gathering we gave them a rock beautifully painted by our resident hood artist. It said “Lifetime Member of the Hood” and we all signed on the back. Since I found the rock, [acquisitions] delivered it to our artistic neighbor [transportation] and back to our place for the gathering [more transportation] I assessed a total fee of $1,500 to the rest of our neighbors. Since our artistic neighbor lives across the street, one could argue that $1.000 was excessive for transportation fees, but as any transportation company understands, they is always a base fee before mileage kicks in. I also added an artistic fee of $1,000. Sadly, none of our neighbors have reimbursed these fees, but one can always hope.

The big community of SCOV is actually made up of many smaller communities like our little hood. Some smaller communities are individuals who belong to one club or another. Other small communities are just people who met in SCOV and like to spend time together. One way or another, all of us will eventually leave SCOV. So being part of a smaller community which is sad to us go is a blessing and not to be taken for granted.

Competition
My pickle ball friend Chuck recently did something that to me was amazing. He competed in the Phoenix HYROX 2026. What is the HYROX you ask? It is a major fitness racing event. Each participant does a 1k run followed by a functional workout station and then another 1k run followed by another workout station. There are eight different workout stations. For example, one station is the 50m Sled Push where participants push heavy weighted sleds for 50m testing their leg strength. Another event is the 200m Farmers Carry where participants carry weighted kettlebells testing core strength and grip strength. Remember each event is proceeded by a 1k run. Chuck finished 3rd in his age group.

I’ve done some cool stuff. Bike across the US, hike the Grand Canyon to name two. But this is amazing to me. For me to do this I would have to do some serious training and find a new body.

HYROX events are held all over the world. It is a truly amazing competition. No one paid Chuck to do this, in fact it cost him money to do so. Why? Because he is a competitor and I suspect he understands the only really competition is to challenge oneself which can be done at any age.

When one changes the definition of being competitor to someone who challenges themselves to do something whatever it is, SCOV is full of competitors. I am the mentor for beginner pickle ball clinics. I suspect the club president asked me to do it as inspiration to newbies. He probably thought newbies will realize if I can play pickle ball, anyone can, which is true. It’s nice to be an inspiration. Newbies are challenging themselves to try something new and get better at it. That’s pretty cool and an example anyone at any age can challenge themselves.

Challenging oneself is not just limited to sporting events. My neighbor, a retired engineer is a wonderful woodworker. With every project he takes on, large or small, he challenges himself to create a functional work of art. There are lot of individuals in SCOV who challenge themselves in a whole lot of different manners, be it sports, music or the arts.

SCOV provides a structure and opportunities for residents who want to challenge themselves in one manner or another, to do so and that’s pretty cool.

Worker Bees
When I biked across the US I wrote a blog at the end of each day. One day I wrote about the invisible people. Those are the millions and millions of Americans who do jobs that no one notices unless the jobs are not done. For me on the tour they were convenience store works, hotel cleaning staff, and workers at restaurants. We averaged almost 90 miles a day and when we got in we wanted our rooms ready [it was a hotel tour] and quick service an any restaurant we visited. One goal for me on the tour and since then is to be appreciative of all the workers who provide services and make our lives easier.

In SCOV we have lots of invisible people which include groundskeepers/landscapers, maintenance workers, and servers at the restaurant. I have watched all these individuals at work many times and am always impressed how hard they work. Also, every encounter I have had with workers has been friendly. I am thankful for all the workers who maintain and improve the beauty and quality of life at SCOV.

Summary
SCOV is not perfect, no community is. It is has problems and challenges. It also has a few people, very few people actually, which it would be nice if they moved to Saddlebrook. But it is also a place where neighbors can be friends for life. Residents can challenge themselves in many different manners. And staff work very hard for the benefit of all the owners.

Often I have been told by resident or another he/she has worked hard to be here. That’s probably true. But a lot of people work hard but were either in low paying careers or have unplanned expenses that make a place like SCOV impossible. I try and remember this every day and be thankful.