One Flew over

the

Cuckoo’s Nest

A COMMUNITY MANAGER’S STORY

By Michelle Kenny, CMCA President, Home Again Community Management

Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, makes a lot of crazy sense to some community association managers. That’s not to say that homeowners are like inmates and managers are like Nurse Ratched! Putting it another way: Many have heard the phrase “Without bad luck, there would be no luck at all.” Many have often even heard that you can’t appreciate a nice sunny day without some rainy cold days. With that in mind, it might be equally true to believe that you can’t appreciate the glamorous, heroic jobs in this world without first considering, the community association manager. Of course this is a slight exaggeration. But, sit down with a community manager and

28 | COMMON INTEREST®

hear one out. After taking in a few tales of the trade, it might be plausible to believe this theory to be true; or that one really did fly over the cuckoo’s nest.

While firefighters can rightfully talk about saving someone from a burning fire, community managers will, more often than one would expect, field calls about how Mr. Bennett’s German Shepherd keeps leaving “surprises” in the common area. While a Peace Corps volunteer proudly orates on their accomplishment of rebuilding an irrigation system in a third world country, a community manager is snapping covert pictures of a homeowner’s lawn that happens to have grass 1 ½ inches taller than allowed. With responsibilities such

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