Last week, my friend Barb was visiting from Alaska. A bunch of our classmates got together for coffee. Barb had the sniffles and said she thought she was allergic to the cat and the dust from having her house closed up for so many months. But, it turns out, our poor friend had Influenza A. So far, we are all fine. She is a nurse and was quite careful in how she interacted with people.
At the coffee, she reminded me that she still has a big camper in her back yard and if I would just please come get it, I could have it. Well, who turns down a free camper, right? Mr. FixIt and I went on a little road trip yesterday that turned into an all day extravaganza. (The flowering trees were AMAZING!) First, we had to take the title to the State Police barracks to get a single use tow permit. The closest place was the next city over.
When we got back, we went around to see the camper and start figuring out how to get it out of her back yard. I would love to have been a fly on the wall and watch her husband back that thing in there. The back yard is accessible from the alley. On the other side of the alley is a parking lot for the Head Start on the next street over. It was so obvious we weren’t going anywhere till the employees at the school left for the day.
We decided to go back over to the next town. As we were driving, I realized we were just a couple of streets away from my dad’s house so I asked Mr. FixIt to turn down his street. We drove down the street slowly and at first I was puzzled. I thought maybe I had the street wrong, so I looked at the sign. No…this was Mulberry. I turned around and it hit me….they had torn down his house!
I have no idea why, but that hit me in the gut and I almost threw up. It was so unexpected. The only time anything like that has happened to me before was when I had been away from WV for quite some time and walked up on the top of the hill. I had not known my uncle had much of the land timbered up there and the starkness of change gripped me in the same way as my father’s missing house.
It took me quite some time through the afternoon to process that. I brushed it off as my diet, or not having enough protein for breakfast. Later, when we got home, I went off by myself in my little camper and cogitated quietly. Change. Sometimes we sweep it under the rug. I can’t do that anymore. I have to chew on it for a while till I can swallow.
But, back to the task at hand. We browsed an antique store then headed to Walmart. I’ve been wanting to buy Mr. FixIt a portable tire inflator for his truck for quite some time. Pulling a camper with older tires on it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have a little 12v air compressor handy. We also picked up some sandwich fixings and had a picnic in the truck as we watched it rain.
We called the Head Start to find out when the employees would be gone and headed back to Barb’s house by 4:00. The camper was squeezed in between a chain link fence and a building with a foot on each side. Hooking up was easy and it only took three tries to get it out without damaging anything. We drove straight to a service station and pumped up the tires. We walked around and gave it a good safety check. I felt the hubs and they were not hot. The tires didn’t look dry rotted. The rear lights worked as did the flashers and the turn signals. We adjusted the brakes and the weight distribution hitch and headed home.
We drove slowly and got home long before dark. Once we decided where to park the camper, we unhitched and gave the camper a good look inside. It is not in good shape. It has had a leak for quite some time and the ceiling sags in a couple of spots. It’s a 2002 and when it was new, it was a really high end camper. Unfortunately, she isn’t a candidate for really fixing up. We were hoping we could make her road worthy for someone to really use. We have decided to give her a good cleaning, inside and out, and then I’m sure she will make someone an excellent hunting cabin. All they’ll have to do is seal the leaks in the roof.
So, we did our good deed. We helped my friend lighten her load and give her one less thing to worry about during her short visit home. It took nothing more than a little time and half a tank of gas.
Now…my dad’s house being gone? I’m still processing that.
❤️
“Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.” Titus 3:14 NIV
I felt the same when I saw my grandmother’s farm and home were leveled. The man that bought it when everything was auctioned off wanted pasture land, and did it. It’s in Oklahoma, and was once open prairie—-and is, again. Still made me so sick to walk to where the house had been, and I just wept. I get what you felt.
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I grew up on a farm in Nebraska. Whenever I’m back that way we like to visit the old home place. There was a huge house, two barns, a garage and machine shed. Fun to explore and bring back old memories. But last year when I was there, every single building was gone. Everything was so overgrown you couldn’t even tell where things had been. It was like a punch in the gut. The only thing remaining was the cement watering tank that our cows drank from. So I know what you mean about your dad’s house.
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they say you shouldn’t try to ‘go home’ to look at your old roots. Mom kept a cute little ship lap New England salt box neat as a pin and loaded with flowers for 15 years afer Daddy passed. Something happened and the arched and arbored porch got ripped off the house and it got painted that ugly chocolate brown that’s popular now. It looks horrible. I only saw it on Zillow, but I had that ‘punch in the gut.’ Quite the shock. All we can do is forge ahead!
I supposed I’m lulled into the delusion things will stay the same because I am caring for my grandparents’ farm and it is just as it’s always been. It’s my comfort place. I’m actually sitting here now in the chair where Grandma always sat, looking out the same window at the same view. Not much has changed up this old holler and I like it that way. I know someday this will be gone too, but for now I will cherish each moment. ❤️