I've Been Gypped!

First, I'd just like to say that I'VE BEEN GYPPED!! Everyone on my block has these beautiful trees that are all turning wonderful colors of orange and yellow and red; as is the season of Fall. Here's what their trees all look like...



Now, not that I'm greedy or anything, but living in Washington State basically my whole life we don't get to see this that often. And my block is lined with these beauties.....except for my tree! I get the dead ass tree with not a single leaf! All the leaves in my yard are from the neighbors trees! This is what my tree looks like....



Now, to be fair, my tree looks like this year round, and normally it doesn't bother me. But I love the fall and winter seasons. And one of the main reasons I love the fall is because of the beautiful color changes. It seems like everyone gets to look out their little windows and see beautiful, colorful trees and I look out my window and see....dead, mossy branches.

Not to sound like I'm complaining too much, after all it is a free tree. But I do pay to live here (sortof) and I feel gypped! First crabgrass and now a dead tree. I suppose in about a month it won't matter, because everyone on the block will have a tree like mine. Maybe I'll just look at it as trend setting.

Yea, trend setting....I've always been a trend setter, I'm just getting a jump on it this year!

Now, a few words on the meaning of the word "gypped" just in case you're curious

The verb gyp, meaning 'to cheat; swindle; defraud' and usually found in the passive, is one of those words that has received attention due to the possibility of offending ethnic sensitivities.
Gyp is derived from Gypsy. Though the noun Gyp meaning 'a Gypsy' has always been very rare, the noun gyp meaning 'a thief or swindler', first recorded in the 1850s, has been relatively common for most of the century, and gyp verb, from 1880, is quite common indeed.

First, we should observe that the very word Gypsy is sometimes objected to. This word is derived from Egyptian, under the mistaken belief that the Gypsies were from Egypt. (In fact they are originally from northern India.) The people refer to themselves as the Roma, after Rom 'a Gypsy man', ultimately derived from a Sanskrit word meaning 'a low-caste musician'.

In relatively recent times--since the mid-1980s or so--some people have objected to the word gyp on the grounds that it is offensive to the Roma, since it stereotypes them as swindlers. It should be noted that the word gyp has apparently never been used as a deliberate ethnic slur, and many people are unaware even that gyp is derived from Gypsy. Thus gyp may be perceived as offensive, but it is never used with such intent.

Now, don't you all feel enlightened??