Am I Missing Something?

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This time next week I’ll have my vinyl privacy fence up and won’t have to worry about the big-butt dog next door possibly jumping the fence and having me for a snack. Part of the process involves calling 811 (the BUD - “Before U Dig” - people) to have the property marked as to where the underground utilities are. Here’s where I wondering if I’m missing something. Obviously there’s no public utility buried in my back yard, but I do understand the necessity to “make sure.” And, as it doesn’t cost anything, it doesn’t bother me to call and have it checked. However…. When I got the e-mail notifying me that all the utilities had checked and assured me that there truly ARE no public utilities in my back yard, the message concluded with a notice that “this is good for 21 days.” Are they going to sneak in my back yard and bury a fiber optic cable for the local cable company in a month or something??? I personally think it’s the perpetual nosiness of the government (“we want to know what you’re up to, and what better way than to have you call us and tell us under the pretense of checking for a buried gas line”), but it just struck me as weird that they want you to call again in three weeks should something like weather postpone the work. And Talking Heads told us “Don’t Worry About the Government”!