Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Fighting the grimness
Noticed on this morning's walk: First Christmas lights. Sept 17 is mighty early for Xmas lights. The people who did it are meticulous maintainers with a formal yard and a gem-like 1961 house. They're the exact opposite of casual forget-to-turn-it-off types. So an early start can be taken as meaningful.
Their house is right next to two of the houses that were squashed by this summer's gustnado. Those two houses are still draped in blue**, with some signs of rebuilding but not fully underway yet.
I suspect the illuminators are trying to counter the sense of grim destruction that lingers around here, trying to fight entropy.
God's work.
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** Afterthought: Blue is house blood. When you see that unique shade of dark blue, you know this is an injured house that needs help.
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And update: The very next day construction finally started on those two squashed houses. Maybe the gods were watching after all.
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Another update 10/17: This is delicious. One triangle-shaped lot along Alameda has been vacant since the area was platted in 1910. The lot was jammed with tall trees. For several years the owner has been trying to sell it. First he subdivided it into three lots, which looked proper-sized on paper but not in reality. No sale. Then, two weeks before the gustnado he cut down about half of the trees. No sale. The storm laid down the remaining trees, so the lot was finally open and visible. Now, finally, after 104 years of emptiness, it's being excavated for a rather large house!
Nature is trying to tell us something, through the language of real estate. TREES AND HOUSES DO NOT BELONG TOGETHER.
Labels: Heimatkunde, infill
¶ 12:32 PM
