Recently I shared the state of my ‘hood in a posting here. Events demand a short update.
On the positive front, the jungle that was taking shape across the street has been hacked back to what passes for a yard.
The promised lawnmower arrived. It was put into use and, after many a fit and start, success was achieved by the renter there.
Previously I’d alluded to the sale of a house up the street causing concern among its immediate neighbors due to shady behavior by the newcomers. Already there is some confirmation of those early worries.
Police were called, apparently from someone within the lengthy roster of residents, to deal with domestic discord. Since then, there have been reports of assorted comings and goings but it is not clear if anyone currently is living in the house.
As if on cue, another house just a few addresses up on the other side of the street from me has gone on the market. It’s owner died last year, but the house has remained unoccupied. We can only hope that a family with some modicum of stability purchases it and helps restore some domestic tranquility to the block.
The focus of another neighborhood update is not a resident, but rather our mailman.
A few days back I saw a mail truck parked in front of my house – unusual in that it most often is parked at the corner up the street when it is the customary delivery person. Only when it’s a parcel delivery does the truck tend to end up in front of my house.
Closer examination revealed the mailman across the street. He was shooting basketball with the neighbor kid at the driveway hoop. The play went on, and on, and on.
I’m estimating, conservatively, it ran at least half an hour and more like 45 minutes. Lunch?
By the way, I received no mail that day. Perhaps if I had a basketball hoop?
Finally, allow me to share something that falls under the category of ‘hood happenings only because it involves me. It was my lot to be contact person in efforts to sell one of my mother’s cars.
It was a low-priced vehicle, advertised by my son with a ton of caveats as to its condition and future road-worthiness.
And yet the average inquirer, after opening with how much under the asking price they might be able to limbo, seemed to want varying degrees of guarantees as to future reliability. New cars have been known to come with less in the way of warranty.
Included in the sales effort on Sunday was me picking up a prospective buyer, driving him to look at the car, accompanying him on a test drive of 15 miles or so, and then taking him back to his apartment.
He didn’t buy the car because he failed in his quest for OPM – other people’s money – from within his family to fund his purchase
Someone else did end up taking the car off our hands today. And, thankfully, I’m spared this daily interchange with the unreasonable among us on the subject of low-priced cars and projections of their future use.
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