Musings: Firepit smoke irks my neighbor
A portable firepit burns in a back yard. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto/grandriver
Summertime has always been fun, with people sitting around a small fire at night with a drink and great conversation. I tried three times to enjoy one of these evenings and — every time — I heard a knock on my door. I’d open it and see the local assistant fire chief asking me if I have a fire. I told him yes, and he informed me that the fire department was called because the neighbor was smelling smoke — all three times.
Needless to say, I am not happy with that neighbor. The assistant chief informed me that firepits are illegal in the Town of Babylon.
Why is it illegal to have firepits but not illegal to sell loads of firewood at many local stores? In summer, who is having a fire inside to warm their houses?
If a family cannot enjoy an outdoor fire with s’mores and more, then stores should not sell firewood in July and August.
— Karl Wilhelm, West Babylon
Pot smoke not welcome here
I’m wondering whatever happened to the fear of secondhand smoke?
Now that marijuana is legal, no one seems to care what others, like me, are forced to ingest with no recourse.
Where are all the protesters now?
— John Cornicello, Lynbrook
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN OUR DAILY CONVERSATION. Just go to newsday.com/submitaletter and follow the prompts. Or email your opinion to letters@newsday.com. Submissions should be no more than 200 words. Please provide your full name, hometown, phone number and any relevant expertise or affiliation. Include the headline and date of the article you are responding to. Letters become the property of Newsday and are edited for all media. Due to volume, readers are limited to one letter in print every 45 days. Published letters reflect the ratio received on each topic.
