Editor,

When I opened the Whidbey News-Times edition of June 29, I noticed more letters about Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, or COER.

When we moved here in 1979 we rented a house on the west side while I settled into my new job and we began looking for a place that we wanted to be our home for many years.

We checked many things such as location to schools, easy to get to work, the neighborhood around the house that we would have to look at every day for years to come, and much more. After about four or five months we found what we wanted, gave up our rental and moved into our “dream” home.

It appears not all people give thought to one of the biggest investments they will make. And be stuck with for years to come.

I like the story I hear about a man walking north on Main Street on a nice sunny day. Walking south on Main Street was a woman, also enjoying the day. As they met he said, “I like you, let’s get married” and she “OK,” so they crossed  the street and went to the county courthouse and took out a marriage license. Happy as could be, they spotted a minister working in his yard and showed him their new license and asked if he would marry them. Yep, he would, and did.

So, the new married couple are ready to take on the world.

Soon, some problems began to arise that they did not consider before they married. She was Catholic, he was Jewish. She liked home cooking, he liked eating at fast food joints. She liked big band-type music, he liked rock n’ roll.

She wanted a family of three or four children, he did not want children. Their problems got bigger. Somebody made a major mistake and it was not them. So they tried to sue the county for issuing them a marriage license. Then they put the blame on the minister. Who else can they sue? How about the TV station for not programming something they both like? They are not responsible for their actions.

Just like buying real estate, the hypothetical couple did not look at all aspects of what they were signing up for, but it was not their fault. It was someone else’s.

Remember the old Flip Wilson TV show punch line, “The Devil made me do it?”

My wife and I have been married almost 62 years. My job has taken me many places, causing us to buy and sell seven houses. Only the first house was a bad purchase, but that was our fault, not the real estate people’s.

We concentrated on the positive points of the house and ignored completely the negative points.

Our fault, our loss.

I would like to see people take responsibility for their judgment and actions. Stop blaming others.

Robert Brown

Oak Harbor