Last weekend a young latino man ("Jimmy") approached my elderly mother as she worked in her yard on Garden Parks & offered to do hedge & tree trimming for her for $25. He was with an older African-American man in a white pick-up, who did not leave his vehicle. She told him that the job was too big for that fee, it couldn't be finished before dark & heavy trash wasn't scheduled until later in the month. He assured her that he had 2 helpers & a trailer to haul-off the debris. He stated that they were around the corner working on another yard. So she agreed to let him take out 6 sapplings. He hastily did the work alone & said that he lost a couple of limbs in the yard behind us, but told the neighbor he would pick them up. Once the sapplings were down & piled in the middle of the front yard, he asked to be paid in cash - stating that his trailer had a flat & he needed to get it fixed before he could haul off the debris. She paid him, tipped him double because it was a big job & gave him a bottle of cold water. He "god-blessed" her & never returned. The next day our long-time Misty Vale neighbor knocked on our door, asking about the mess in his backyard ("Jimmy" never talked to him.) She had no idea so many limbs had been pitched over the hedges into his yard. It was a huge mess. -- I suppose the lesson in this story is to make landscapers show you their trailer & don't pay them until it's loaded. Be on the look-out for this duo & don't let them scam you & jepordize your relationship with your neighbors. -- The newsletter should also let Gulf Meadows residents know about these guys.