I have tremendous sympathy for those who have to live in inner cities and neighborhoods that have boom cars disturbing the peace. However, I want to emphasize just how stressful the proliferation of leaf blowers has been to my life. I think gardening machinery in general is a scourge on society. I think leaf blowers should remain a major priority too. Some people are only bothered by them 20 minutes a day and don't realize just how horrible they can be, so I wanted to share what my life has been like with leaf blowers. It has been completely unbearable and I wonder if anyone else has been bombarded while trying to live a normal life at least three hours daily for 12 years.

I wasn't aware that leaf blowers existed living in forested Mill Valley, California, but in 1989, I married and moved to Sacramento, the city of trees, to live in a beautiful townhouse community. Our townhouse was adjacent to a wonderful little shopping complex with great stores such as Williams Sonoma, Ann Taylor, Ralph Lauren Polo, Banana Republic, and Borders Books! I thought I was in heaven living so close to great places to shop. There was a very nice office building next to the shopping center, also adjacent to our townhouse property.

As newlyweds, we had been living there about two days when early on a Saturday morning we decided to try out our new patio furniture on the back deck and have an outdoor breakfast. We set the table with fresh cut flowers and the new linens, silverware and dishes we received as a wedding gifts. While Greg made waffles in the new heart shaped waffle-iron, I made coffee and squeezed fresh oranges. During all of these preparations we could hear some buzzing sounds off in the distance, but did not pay much attention to it. By the time we actually brought the food to the table, the buzzing was a bit louder. We ignored it so we could continue our romantic breakfast outdoors. When we actually started eating, the noise became unbearable. While trying to cover our ears, we grabbed as much as we could from the table to carry it inside and close the door which still did not block out the sound. It was horrifying. We tried to continue to enjoy our breakfast, but the mood was broken. I decided to find out what this noise was.

I stuffed some tissue in my ears and got a ladder from the garage to climb up and see what was on the other side of the redwood fence. There I saw two gardeners using machines called leaf blowers. I started shouting as loud to get their attention until they finally turned off the blowers. I pointed at the blowers and said that they were much too loud. The gardeners did not speak any English and appeared confused about what my problem might be.

Over the twelve years we lived in that townhouse complex, the shopping center and office building next door had gardening companies that used leaf blowers to clean the parking lots seven days a week, including holidays. On the first Thanksgiving in our townhouse, I was just putting the turkey in the oven when my cousin and aunt arrived; I had not seen them in four years. At the time at their arrival, two gardeners were on the other side of the fence with leaf blowers going full blast. We had to shout our hellos while we helped my elderly aunt out of the car and explain by gesturing and pointing to show my cousin where he could park his car.

During our years living in this location we became active politically in with Citizens for a Quieter Sacramento. They were working on a ban with the city of Sacramento. It wouldn't have done anything for our problem with the shopping center because we were just outside the city limits. We wrote numerous letters, made phone calls, and issued complaints to the property management, but didn't get a response until we wrote to the owner at his home. Then management called and said that their gardeners would not use their leaf blowers near our fence. That would last a few weeks at a time; then the gardeners would be over next to the fence again until we called to complain again.

Thursday Noise Terror

On Thursdays, I listened to leaf blowers in close proximity from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. They can be a serious menace. I want to tell you what my schedule was like on Thursday. Our complex also employed gardeners with leaf blowers that came every Thursday. We repeatedly asked at our Homeowner's Association meeting to hire gardeners who did not use leaf blowers, to no avail. The leaf blowers would start at 6:00 am at the office building next door. When those gardeners were finished, the gardeners at the shopping center next door would be starting up to finish about 9:00 am.

During these years, I was going to college. I worked as a private nurse part time helping the elderly or disabled in their homes. I would arrive at my first patient's house at 9:00 for a two-hour shift. Working there, I listened to leaf blowers being used by gardeners next door to his house and across the street. At 11:00, I would return home to have lunch and take care of my 19 year old cat. This is the time when the townhouse gardeners would be working near my townhouse. While I was inside the house, they would be out by the front door. When I left at 1:30, they would be behind my garage. They had to move out of the way while I got in my car and pulled out. In the afternoon, I took care of a 91 year-old man who lived in a nice neighborhood in East Sacramento. While I was at his house, gardeners would come to his house and to his neighbor's houses all during the four-hour shift using leaf blowers. Listening to leaf blowers for 12 hours a day can be very stressful.

Presently, we are living in an apartment complex in Thousand Oaks, California and the situation is vastly improved. We are not so close to any parking lots. A gardener with a leaf blower comes by my front porch and the window where I am working at the computer every morning around 10:00. I always sweep the porch before he gets here and keep the curtains wide open, so when he sees me, he backs away fairly quickly. I realize, though, that many people across the country could face the same situation I faced in Sacramento.