Friday, December 02, 2011

So this is how it ends?

Longtime readers have heard me complain often about certain crazy next-door neighbors on the west.  There was a time my only complaint was the way they so often sneaked onto my property and stole my morel mushrooms.


That was back before their house burned in the middle of a December night.  I guess you could say that's when things started going downhill.


Their house was left a burned-out shell.  They received insurance money afterward, although it was less than $100,000; still, had they rebuilt on the site of the old house, it would probably have been sufficient.  
However, they were waiting on a settlement; the man of the house had been hurt on a construction job, and they were expecting a sizable sum.   There were many sad stories told by the lady of the house while they waited on that settlement, but at last it came.  Horses and diamond rings were purchased (and certain substances), and a monstrosity of a house began to be erected.  It was a do-it-yourself-with-all-your-partying-friends sort of project.  It was never quite finished; the lawn was never mowed; the whole place deteriorated and was finally more or less deserted.     
I could say so much more, but I won't.  
Today, I glanced toward the driveway of the abandoned property and saw...


Wait... is that a cop car?


It is!  It's a cop car!


The other car belongs to the banker who was unfortunate enough to have loaned somebody the money to build this mess.  The patrolman came over and told me the bank has taken possession of the place, and they'd like us to report it if we see anybody carrying things off.  You see, the house has been stripped of a lot of things while it sat "empty", most especially anything that might have copper in it.  The house wasn't exactly empty, since the original owner of the house squatted in the basement for months.  (Hmmm, I wonder who stripped all the goodies from the house?)  
Folks, this unfortunate scenario has nothing to do with the economy.  It's all about a bank loaning money to someone who was never a good risk for anything.  These people had, at one point, plenty of money to build the house without getting a loan.  They just had other things they wanted to spend that money on.   
But at least now I can look forward to different neighbors.  And trust me, anybody will be an improvement!

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:47 AM

    I have learned that people who always have sad stories to tell and are so often victims, are really not at all. They bring it on themselves, and by telling their tales of woe, are wanting you to be soft on them, in case you have something they can get from you: favors, goods, whatever.

    People bring this stuff on themselves and the most recent such person I have known like this, takes and lies, and is always the innocent victim. Not. But it is a way of being, instead of responsible, hard working, reliable...

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  2. To be clear, some people, in fact, are victims. Others, certainly, are not, sure.

    These sound like victims of their own bad choices, that's for sure.

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  3. I hate to hear of people turning out like that. They just don't realize what a blessing life is and how to make each day count. So sad. I much prefer tales with happy endings. I wish you the best as far as new neighbors goes.

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  4. Hey, wait a minute, Donna! I thought that "unusual" neighbors (and annoying cats) were only found in Texas! Your recent blog posts are proving me wrong.

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  5. If those walls could talk. I bet there are stories you don't even know. So sad to see things fail like that. Hopefully new owners will breathe new life into the place. And give you some peace of mind. Meanwhile, that is a pretty BIG responsibility you have been given... to be on the lookout for thieves. Stay safe. Don't take any chances. When people are desperate, they do CRAZY things. Take care.

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  6. I agree with Mo Rage; most certainly some people are victims, but these people were, as my parents say, "Just living high off the hog."

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  7. Good luck with future new neighbors. Hope you can't get one single blog entry out of them. lol

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