Give Him Liberty!

"These people are not schmucks," Siegfried says. "They're just doing their jobs. But I'm sunk. I know it."

If he is, not only will all dreams of a boat sail away, but Siegfried will have to clean up his entire yard--or pay for the City of Lakewood to do it. "Even this redwood would have to go," he says, thumping a big pile of wood. "They don't like these things, but am I not in the back forty of my own house?"

The hearing officer has yet to deliver a verdict.
"It may be lost in inter-office mail," Brown offers.
While waiting for it, though, Siegfried had another vision: a ten-foot-tall Statue of Liberty, to be constructed of chicken wire except for her torch, which would be made from one of those solar landscape lights you can buy at Home Depot. It was so clear he could practically see it, and he got to work. Within twelve hours, he was finished.

Today the statue sits largely on Siegfried's front lawn. It carries a sign that announces, "Lady Liberty Is Zoning Violation."

What effect will this artistic sabotage have on his zoning file?
"Really, we're not out to hassle anyone," Brown insists. "Really. Really. Mr. Siegfried is very creative and very talented. Also," she adds, "very difficult to communicate with.