One miserable person is all it takes these days.
Via Watchdog
Let’s imagine Lucy from the old “Peanuts” cartoon strip decided to perch her famous psychiatry booth in front of her house, which we’ll imagine was in Shreveport.
The Caddo Parish Metropolitan Planning Commission might lay the smackdown on her with a cease-and-desist letter for having a commercial venture in a residential neighborhood, assuming her booth was a permanent structure.
As faithful “Peanuts” readers may recall, Lucy charged five cents for her often useless advice.
Now imagine a real-life Shreveport man setting up a similar structure in his own neighborhood, except he’s set up a Little Free Library for he and his neighbors to exchange books.
Ricky Edgarton told Louisiana Watchdog he doesn’t make a cent from his makeshift library.
Caddo Parish officials, however, still regard it as a commercial enterprise and last month sent a cease-and-desist letter to his house.
The now-retired Edgarton, who said he has so many books at his home that he and his wife need a rolling ladder to reach them all, established the Little Free Library.[…]
“They said it was an anonymous caller who complained about it, and when somebody complains then the city is obligated to act on it,” Edgarton said, adding he and his wife were incredulous when they received the letter.
“We’ve gotten signatures from every house on this block saying they agree with the Little Free Library.”
Most of the books, around 30 in all, are mysteries, romance novels, children’s literature and even one Bible, Edgarton said.
