Peter
Our Life is a Theater of the Absurd The background of this history is a plain thing. In our dacha village there are two neighbors - "doors across the side street" women. Thirty years they were friends, since the time village had been founded. At the very beginning of the foundation one of these women had planted three saplings of birch in the middle of her lot. When thirty years had got along her friend-neighbor suddenly revealed that birches had been twenty meters high and fifty centimeters in diameter. This was an and of their friendship. She began to demand to saw away these birches because they may fell down and destroy her cabin. The former friend refused flatly because she couldn't live happily without these birches. Interference of board of administration didn't help - the lot where the birches was placed was the private property and we couldn't forced her to do anything. Then the "scared" neighbor decided to solve her problem by herself. She had contrived to privatize her lot had caught a segment of a drain ditch which was the common property of our dacha village. Then she blocked the ditch and put forth the ultimatum: the birches must be sawn, otherwise let all the part of village near her be drowned. We went to law but judge said that her action was indoubtedly illegal, but he couldn't cancel the verdict of previous court allowed privatization. So the only way out was to ask the woman to allow us to saw this damned birches at our own cost and expenses. She had minced some time and allowed us to saw the tops of trees (only god knows why did she need the bare trunks). Her neighbor went back on her's track too. But this is not the final. Workers who was sawing down the trees had cut not only the tops but the half of trunks too. Now the owner of this birches threaten us with the lawsuit.
Aug 31, 2015 7:37 PM
Corrections · 3

Peter, hello!

 

Corrections in red; stylistics in blue.

 

Our Life is a Theater of the Absurd

The background of this story/history is a plain thing. In our dacha village there are two neighbors -- "doors-across-the-side-street" women. Thirty years they were friends, since the time the village was founded. At the very beginning of the founding, one of these women had planted three birch saplings of birch in the middle of her lot. When thirty years had passed, her friend-neighbor suddenly discovered [1] that the birches were twenty meters high and fifty centimeters in diameter. This was the end of their friendship. She began to demand that the birches be cut down, because they might fall down and destroy her dacha/cabin. The former friend flatly refused/refused flatly, because she couldn't live happily without the birches.  The intervention of the board of administration didn't help -- the lot where the birches were planted was the private property, and we couldn't force her to do anything. Then the apprehensive neighbor decided to solve her problem by herself. She had contrived to privatize her lot, and acquired/obtained a segment of a drain ditch which was the common property of our dacha village. Then she blocked the ditch and put forth an ultimatum: the birches must be cut down; otherwise the entire part of the village in her vicinity would be inundated/flooded/drowned. We went to court/law, and the judge said that her action was undoubtedly illegal, but he couldn't overturn/overrule/void the verdict of the previous court which had allowed privatization. So the only way out was to ask the woman to allow us to cut down the damned birches at our own cost and expense. She had minced some time [2] and allowed us to saw off the tops of trees (only God knows why did she needed the bare trunks). Her neighbor went back on her's track too. [3] But this was not the end. The workers who worked on the trees cut off not only the tops, but the half of the trunks too. Now the owner of the birches has threatened us with a lawsuit.

 

[1]  When обнаружить basically means найти, узнать, it's better to translate it by "discovery."  When it means проявить, use "reveal."

[2]  Sorry, I know the word "mince," but don't know what you mean by "minced" in your sentence.

[3]  Sorry again.  I don't understand the sentence.

 

Your story proves once again that "life's a birch." *

 

*I made up the phrase "life's a birch."  The real expression is "life's a bitch", which means that life is very difficult.  The long form is "Life's a bitch and then you die."

September 1, 2015
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