Welcome to Camazots!

It was a bit hard to select the one photograph for this week's Photo Friday challenge [1] as there were several I wanted to use. After selecting the one I wanted and posting, I then checked Photo Friday [2] and found this:

Please only submit **one link per challenge**, even if you have several photos for the week's Challenge. If you need your link changed for whatever reason, contact us [3] and we'll change it.

“Photo Friday: How to Participate [4]”

So technically, I'm not limited to a single photograph, even though most participants (including me so far) only submit a single photograph, and most weeks so far, selecting one single photograph hasn't been a problem (most of the times, it's just selecting the one from about a dozen or more of the same subject, just taken at different angles or with different lighting) but this week, I had a few photographs that I wanted to use.

[Neighborhood I: Waiting] [5] [6] [Neighborhood II: The Armed Gate] [7] [8] [Neighborhood III: The Gate [9] [10] [Neighborhood IV: No ID, No Admittance] [11] [12] [Neighborhood V: Closer than they appear] [13] [14] [Neighborhood VI: More waiting] [15] [16]

I guess that the next time I find myself with multiple pictures for a Photo Friday feature, I shouldn't hesitate to use them all.

The photographs themselves were taken a month ago [17] while I was waiting to get into a friend's house. He lives in this exclusive gated community; so exclusive that there is only one way in and out—through the gate (and it's not just a small cul-de-sac either, but several large cul-de-sacs spread out). I've joked with my friend that all some terrorists need to do is take over the gate house (which is quite large as gate houses go) and simply block traffic. Given the pathological need most Americans have towards driving and commuting to work, just blocking car access at this one gate is enough to hold an entire community hostage!

The week I was there they had an inexperienced guard at the gate; it took over half an hour to get through (as you can see, the line extended back towards the main street). Most annoying, and let's face it, it's about as effective towards security as the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) [18].

And thus welcome to the modern American neighborhood.

[1] /boston/2003/08/29.1

[2] http://www.photofriday.com/

[3] http://www.photofriday.com/suggest.php

[4] http://www.photofriday.com/suggest.php

[5] /boston/2003/08/29/thumb.p1010019.jpg

[6] /boston/2003/08/29/p1010019.jpg

[7] /boston/2003/08/29/thumb.p1010036.jpg

[8] /boston/2003/08/29/p1010036.jpg

[9] /boston/2003/08/29/thumb.p1010041.jpg

[10] /boston/2003/08/29/p1010041.jpg

[11] /boston/2003/08/29/thumb.p1010043.jpg