Robert Frost wrote that good fences make good neighbors.
That's because the presence of a fence delineates property, sets aside a personal space that brings comfort to the owner and certainty to those around him.
There is nothing like a fence to say this place is mine.
But for public entities a fence represents something more. The higher the fence, the more important it is that someone be kept out or in.
So when we heard about the 12-foot fence to protect the Douglas High School track and football field, our first urge was to poke fun.
After all, don't large football players wearing cleats batter each other on a football field? Don't those large players often fall on top of each other, sweat, bleed and drink sports drinks on the field?
But that's not the point.
The football field was designed for football players. That's part of its normal operation.
It was not designed to a have large blue "C" painted across its surface or to have someone plant a tree in its center.
The rivalry between the Douglas Tigers and the Carson Senators is a long and bitter one.
But the cost of that rivalry could be pretty high for Douglas should the Senators figure out a way to overcome the fence.
So perhaps its time for the rivalry to simmer down a bit.
Good fences make good neighbors, it's true.
But sometimes its far better to just be a good neighbor.
