Is it all about power or is money really at the root of all evil?  Or is it a combination of both?  I am of course taking about this notion of a fourth layer of government or, as they are more commonly referred to, mandatory membership homeowner associations.  Whatever the reason for their proliferation, consumer choice is not one of them and consumer acceptance is a myth.  Municipal mandates ensure a steady stream of tax free dollars flowing into the public coffers while power hungry board members are always on hand to enforce  alleged rules and regulations.  Let’s not forget the special interests behind the scenes orchestrating everything.  For them it is definitely power, money and greed.  So what is a homeowner to do once the honeymoon with their new house is over?  They usually hit the internet and start searching for a friendly voice out there and the they do, they are like to find my guest.

Ward Lucas joins us On The Commons.  Ward is an award winning TV anchor from Denver, Colorado who has the wonderful ability to see the humor in so many things including his own battles with his HOA.  Now retired as an anchor, the heart of a journalist still beats hard in him.  He first wrote a book called “Neighbors at War; The creepy case against your homeowners association.  That was followed by a blog by the same name where he talks about some of the daily disasters in associations to grab the headlines.  His second book is more of a personal story that allows the reader to glimpse the family life that has to be the reason for his wonderful sense of humor.  Even the title is fun, “Get this Mother Published.  The wacky world of a recovering army brat family”.  And for all his fans, stay tuned because book 3 is in the works. We’ll talk about the books, his web site, some of the stories from his Neighbors at War book but mostly about what is happening in HOA land across the country.  Tune in as we wander around the whacky world of controlled living, American Style. 

I find it ironic that we spend the first 18 – 22 years of our lives learning how to be adults and to make decisions that will affect us and our lives only to end up in an HOA, feeling like we did in when we were in kindergarten.  “Eat your vegetables”, “Wash your hands”, “Pick up your toys”, “Go to bed” and if you don’t behave, it is “time out” or “NO TV”.  Only as an adult, supposedly having been taught how to make the right decisions, in an HOA it tends to be, “Your blinds are the wrong shade of white”, “You have an unapproved garden  hose”, “no cars in the driveway”, “Too many roses in your yard” OR ELSE, “fines” “foreclosures”. and other nasty penalties hurled in our direction.

We’ve all heard the saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!” .  It makes sense and sounds easy enough but what if life hands us more than mere lemons?  What happens when life comes at us full force, out of the clear blue and knocks us for a loop?  And that can be especially true if we live in one of the nation’s hundreds of thousands mandatory Homeowner associations.  How do we make lemonade out if that mess?  And that is especially true when one of the absolute big taboos is HOAs is “LEMONADE STANDS” ?  Even children trying to be helpful and mature beyond their years have found themselves in the crosshairs of a rather stupid HOA. What to do?

Dr. Wes Rocki, MD, PHD joins us On The Commons.  Wes is a retired physician who has been working in alternative medicine for a while.  Much of his focus has been on self-healing which is something that is sorely needed in every life and especially in what resembles battle zones in our neighborhoods.  We talk to Wes about our natural and normal reactions to finding ourselves being attacked and in harm’s way.  We find out how to protect ourselves or, at a minimum, how to react and even how to put our opponents off balance.  We touch a little on “fear” which is a big part of how we are controlled and put at a disadvantage.  We talk about how we react and can take charge of at least part of the situation.  You will want some of Wes’ advice in your survival tool kit.

Tell us your stories in your own words 

If I could draw I think I would write the HOA book as a series of cartoons because that’s how my mind tends to work.  Many of those cartoons would be funny, others not so funny.  But over the years never has there been a sumo wrestler in any of my imagined doodles or cartoons – until this interview.  That’s when I started putting sumo wrestlers in the picture .  But a gratuitous, enormous hulking, naked man in what appears to be a diaper, in the middle of a manicured, sterile, characterless, controlled residential association wasn’t quite connecting.  So, I decided to read up on sumo wrestling and sumo wrestlers. And all of a sudden it was a perfect fit, diaper and all.  I discovered, among other things, that although some of these massive men appear to be invincible, they have been toppled by smaller opponents.  A sumo historian is quoted as saying he believes the circular ring was chosen to assist smaller fighters to slip away and that the sumo rules tends to root for the underdog.

If you find yourselves in the bullseye of an HOA battle, facing what may seem like a sumo wrestler, grin at the diaper and know that you can win.

Dr. Wes Rocki, MD, PhD joins us On The Commons.  Retired from practicing conventional medicine, Wes now focusses on alternative medicine, including techniques on self help and self healing.  He explains how we can empower ourselves to better handle any conflict.  We talk about how we can step away, mentally and emotionally to get a better grasp of the situation.  Wes gives us a lot of really good advice on how to not only survive being at the center of an HOA storm but how to survive emotionally, reframe the conflict, empower ourselves and win against that massive sumo wrestler in the ring with us.  So many light bulbs went off during the course of this interview.  Listen and be empowered.  Well worth a second listen. 

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