I am the Villager who was in the article about taking a neighbor’s paper. As my mom would say, a mountain got made out of a molehill!
I’ve lived on the Historic Side for almost 14 years and know many of the neighbors and have made many good friends. Believe me, they were outraged and shocked when the initial article appeared and couldn’t imagine what had happened. As you all know, there are ALWAYS two sides to every story. Friends were willing to go to that neighbor’s house on my behalf, write letters, start a petition, even send a letter to the Lady Lake Police Department and the officer in charge. I am very well liked, and they know this must’ve gotten blown out of proportion…. it clearly did!
When the officer stopped me, I explained what happened. He basically said they wanted to press charges. I wrote a heartfelt apology to the homeowners and also slipped in $20 to more than cover the paper. The homeowner contacted me, we spoke, and all was forgiven. They then told me they would drop the charges (which they did). The Villages-News.com article then showed up a few days later! Can you even imagine my humiliation? And the fact that they included my age, address, where I am from plus a picture from Facebook? Please put yourself in my shoes, and I can only hope you have some empathy for me…