I can’t imagine what it was like years ago, before maps were created. Then they were invented and many different companies, cartographers, created their own versions.  I am sure that there was a debate, way back then, on where do you drawn the line – 1 mile east, 2 feet to the south or on the fence…was it just “too bad” if you built the fence farther into your property and now your neighbor owns that piece of land?

What about under water?  Does the line move with the shifting silt and sand at the bottom of the ocean…of course it doesn’t.

No matter. It never stopped me from looking.

I used to watch, as we drove through the Lincoln Tunnel – into and out of the city when we were kids. Watching for the NJ/NY State line – we would try to hold our breath, but it is about 1 1/2 miles and only 35 miles per hour – we never made it.  (Since I did the math, we would have been holding our breath over 2 and a half minutes – and that is only IF we were able to travel 35 miles per hour, which rarely happens.)

I would wonder, did New Jersey have more of the tunnel – were we in NY longer and just not able to figure it out.  Some might have asked, whether NJ got it’s fair share of the tunnel…as if that even mattered. The Lincoln Tunnel only existed to get to New York City – at least that is what I believed. Others might argue it was there to escape from it.

Back to the fence.

Our fence was built before we bought our house. Does it matter that the property line is 4 or 5 more feet past the fence line. The fence and the buildings align. It is neat. Organized. Structured. Today it doesn’t matter. We like our neighbors, we have a gate that allows us to easily pass through the fence to get us from one side to the other.

To play. To share a glass of wine. To take a shortcut to the parade route.

To us, it doesn’t matter.

Yet, elsewhere, and in many different analogies, there is a never ending debate, of what is fair and what isn’t fair. I guess that I am at the point of asking, when and where do you draw the line putting a stop to the arguing about what is right, equal and balanced. There might actually be a right answer, a legal answer but still, quite often differing opinions depending on whether it is to benefit your family or your enemy.  Let’s stop looking for the center line. It isn’t actually there.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl