What we have here is a fine case of what the right would yell socialism at us for. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.

So: I typed out a note to the city public works department and said, My understanding is that Bradford pears usually live 15-25 years. Mine was planted in 1987. As far as I can tell, it’s got a bad case of fire blight and that fire blight has started infecting my other trees.

I asked them what my choices would be if they chose to replace it.

I sent that off Saturday night. Monday morning comes a response (including an apology that no, they don’t use fruit trees as street trees. Well, no, I didn’t really expect they’d want plums plopping on the sidewalk nor cherry pits under the tires but it was worth trying.)

Half an hour later they were at the door to inspect it and to plan what to do.

The guy thinks it can be saved. That will mean chopping away maybe even half of it and hoping the rest makes a comeback; there are bird nests up there, it’s been a beautiful tree, as he looked up fondly into it. Clearly he loves his trees.

There is no curing fire blight; there is only cutting it out. Maybe, just maybe, that will be enough.

He left and I thought, we are so lucky.

Gas, water, electricity, sewer, garbage–the city owns those, too. No fighting the endlessly manslaughtering PG&E, you just (remember this one?) call city hall. They’re right on it.

Because their city hall bosses will get voted out of office if they don’t, the council members know it, they have incentive to treat people well, and by and large our people take pride in serving and being a part of the community. That’s the one good thing about PG&E: everybody who doesn’t have to deal with them is so grateful to have the good guys on our side.

The pipeline that blew up a neighborhood in San Bruno? Which runs for miles including a block from our house? The state required PG&E to inspect every inch of it. They ripped up the street here. They cut corners. They broke the law again. They had to come back and do it again, with a temporary gas line laid out on top of the road next to traffic. That was fun.

It is so much nicer to have people that answer to us and all the better, who don’t mind at all that they do. Who take pride and who value that they get to do their job well.