Gasoline-Powered Leaf Blowers

Seeley explains that “used properly” these abominations are not dirty or messy. He does not address the considerable noise problem.

I happen to have seven neighbors--two across the street and five over my three fences! All but one have people who come weekly and use the blowers in lieu of rakes or brooms (not in lieu of water).

To give you an idea of the havoc they wreak, I just bought a new white Fiberglas camper shell, had it installed on my white Toyota truck, had the whole thing washed and parked it in my driveway. This was on a Tuesday afternoon.

The next afternoon, I went to use the truck. The whole thing was covered with a thick layer of silt (and it really looked horrible on the black glass of the shell.

Then I remembered that, as usual every Wednesday, both neighbors on either side of me had those “wham, bam” so-called gardeners use the blowers over their complete property including strips behind the garage, which consist of unplanted dirt (silt).

They blow this all into the street and then blow the dirt and leaves in the street into a pile before they pick it up! And while this is transpiring, we can’t even converse, the noise is so loud!

No, Mr. Seeley, you are not very observant or not the type of gardener used by my six neighbors (and most everyone else).

BURTON W. FARBER

Van Nuys