Man Jailed for Brown Lawn

[missmanors]

A story in the St. Petersburg Times caught the attention of some people in Florida recently. In the story, a 66 year old grandfather (Joseph Prudente) had been jailed without bail because he had a brown lawn. The man had ignored letters from his local homeowners' association and also a court order, because he simply did not have the money to care for his lawn, he was having enough trouble just meeting his mortgage payments.

One of the people that read the article on a Saturday morning, was Andy Law. Law's own handyman business had slowed to almost nothing and he made a decision, right then and there, to help to get this lawn into shape.

Joseph's wife, Pat heard a knock at the door, and thought "go away". She couldn't get her husband plight off her mind. Joseph had tried to joke with Pat as he was taken to jail, holding a grocery bag full of medicine, but this didn't make Pat feel much better about his situation.

Pat and Joseph had moved into their 4-bedroom home 10 years earlier and lived off his pension.

The knocking at their door did not stop, so finally Pat thought "fine" and got up to open the door. There was Law, who'd found their address in an old telephone book. He told her they were going to get her husband home to her and then started calling everyone he knew to come help with the project.

Law was able to borrow a machine to remove the old grass from the lawn. Then 2 companies donated sod. It didn't take long for the yard to fill up with people helping. Even a County Commissioner (Jack Mariano) who'd read the story came to help.

Pat and her daughter, Jennifer kept trying to feed all the people that were working in the yard, but each one of them declined the offer of food, and said that the ladies shouldn't spend their money.

Some people even came by to drop off checks to help. One man fixed the sprinkler. All this activity made one neighbor cry because she said that these helpful people restored her faith in humanity.

The yard was done by 6 that evening, with blocks of new grass, red mulch, flowers and a working sprinkler.

County Commissioner Mariano (with the help of some other officials) was able to arrange a court hearing on Sunday morning. After hearing testimony that the work on the lawn had been finished, the judge released Joseph Prudente, though he still faces court and association fines.

Pat drove to pick Joseph up and take him home. The family was waiting to welcome Joseph home, along with Mariano and his family, and Law with his girlfriend.

Joseph didn't know about all the work that had been done on his lawn, or about the strangers who had come to help him. When he pulled up into the driveway and stepped out of his car, he cried.

Law welcomed Joseph home and shook his hand.

[badmomma]

That is a remarkable story. It is hard to believe that they would throw someone in jail for not caring for their lawn. You would think that the first step would be a fine.

It is also surprising that someone that they did not know would come to their aid. You don't see this kind of thing happening to often anymore. It is nice to see that there are still people out there that have a heart.

[flip_it_fast]

This almost made me cry! How can anyone throw a 60 some year old man in jail because he cannot afford to pay for the water for his lawn or fertilizer!!! What is this country coming to??? We are in a recession people! There is gonna be worse than brown lawns! I think the local government should be sued for placing this man in jail for such a silly reason. They should be spending their time and our tax dollars catching real criminals!!!!

I am so glad those people stepped in to help this family out!

[missmanors]

This story almost made me cry also. I couldn't believe that this poor guy was thinking more about his wife's feelings as he was carted off to jail with all his medicines in a paper bag.

He just didn't have the money to fix his sprinkler, or to do much of anything else besides feed his family and pay his mortgage. This couple had worked so hard for years, in order to save the money to buy their "dream home", then also took in Pat's daughter and her family as they were almost destitute due to the loss of jobs, etc.

All of these things made me need to share their story with all of you. I'm so glad that so many people cared enough to help them get the lawn in good shape. Now, they won't have to worry so much about the stupid homeowner's association giving them grief. I'm hoping that charges will be dropped and this family will be able to get back on their feet, without having to worry about more court appearances.

[homealone]

This story did make me cry. With everyone struggling right now due to the economy, why didnt those who live in the same area do something to help this man out??? I am sure that if everyone had just taken a bit of time and a few extra dollars they could have done something to help this man. I am sure that they saw the condition of his lawn and knew that the homeoweners association would be taking action. Thankfully there were some who did take notice of what was happening to this poor man and his family and decided to take action to help him out.
I agree with Flip_it_fast. We should all be worried about those who are committing real crimes rather than worry about someone who has a brown lawn.