My grandmother’s wrought iron fencing looks ancient. From the ornamental look of it, you would assume that it was always there. It is one of those wrought iron fences that doesn’t mess around. It is ornamental, but it is dangerous. It has sharp spikes at the top, towering above curly cues and inlaid metal flowers. It contradicts her gentle nature, implying that it was put up there by a previous, less charitable citizen of that old colonial house that she lives in. Yet the truth is that that brought iron fence is only a few years old. Is not from some strange, reclusive ancestor. Rather, it is there because the neighborhood is changing.

You see, my grandmother is not a wrought iron fence person. Up until a few years ago, she had no fence at all. She has a wrought iron balcony, preferring the security of metal to a more flimsy wooden rail. The fence, however, goes, against beliefs. She has always been one of those people who runs a house where practically anyone who knows her is welcome to walk right in. For her whole life, she has loved entertaining other people more than anything. It is her true passion, and putting up a wrought iron fence that makes her house less welcoming breaks her heart. Nonetheless, she had to.

You see, about three years ago, there was a string of robberies. It started off on the other end of town, but soon it moved through her neighborhood as well. It turned out in the end to involve only a few people, but for weeks at a time people were always afraid. There are a lot of retirees in the area, and they felt that there was no way for them to be safe. If they left their houses, they could be mugged, but if they stayed inside, they could be robbed. I had wanted her to get a security fence at the time, arguing that her safety was more important than anything else. At first, she had refused to get a fence of any kind. Finally, she had agreed to get the wrought iron fence, but only under pressure. You could tell she did not like it, although she would put up with it.

Fortunately, over time she has grown to like that wrought iron fence. My grandmother has always loved anything with patterns and ornamentation, and a fence wrought iron has both an abundance. I just hope the neighborhood one day returns to normal so that the wrought iron fence become a luxury, not a necessity.