Memory, Don't Fail Me Now

I started into the Liquor Store on Saturday evening, to get some scratchers. The parking lot was full when I pulled in, but I found a place up next to the building, and waited. Several of the people I saw go in came back out. I figured the others were playing the fake slot machines, so there wouldn't be much of a line at the counter.

As I neared the door, I saw a gal leaning against the front of the building, smoking. I didn't know if she was waiting on a customer to come out, or if she worked there. I hadn't seen her before. But I know the cashiers at the Gas Station Chicken Store often pop out for a quick smoke when there's a lull in business.

"What's your name?"

I was taken aback. Why would some random gal ask for my name? She was around 30, wearing jeans and an orange sweatshirt over a white t-shirt. She was well-groomed. Her auburn hair pulled back, and a tiny bit of makeup causing her blue blue eyes to pop. She asked again as I was deciding whether to answer. It's the old teacher in me. My attitude of why do you need to know?

"Thevictorian. Val Thevictorian."

"Are you kidding me? I can't believe it! You were my teacher! You were SO GOOD! You really made a difference in my life. Do you remember me?"

"Uh. Well... you look familiar. But I'm not getting a name. I had so many students, you know. Was it in the old building? Or the new building? Was it middle school? Or the high school?"

"Now I can't remember which school district it was."

"It had to be Basementia. Or Newmentia. That's the only school I worked at around this area."

"I don't know. My name is [REDACTED]."

"Sorry... I'm still not getting anything. I feel so bad!"

"You and Mrs. Roast were the two best teachers ever!"

"Oh. Then it was at Basementia."

"What did you teach?"

"Over there, I taught the At-Risk classes at the middle school for half a day. And health at the high school the other half."

"I just remember how much it meant to me to have you for a teacher. You guys didn't know it then, but I was going through a hard time. Then our house burned down, and the school took up a collection to help us out."

[I DID remember that. I donated $100 for that family. But I still didn't remember her name.]

"Yes, I remember. That was so sad."

"It got even worse. Do you remember reading about the family that was abusing their kids? That was us. We all got split up and put in different foster homes... Come on in, Sweetie."

She held the door open for me, and we went in to do my scratcher business. Meanwhile, she continued talking while fetching my tickets.

"It was terrible. We got moved all around. I haven't seen my brothers in over 20 years. I'm 32 years old now. I don't even know where they are. But I'm here. I'm married. I survived. They did stuff to us kids that mother nature wouldn't do to a squirrel. But I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'm doing pretty good. I need a knew knee, but otherwise I can't complain."

"How about Mrs. Roast? Is she still alive?"

"I would imagine so. I haven't talked to her since I retired. She was really great."

"Yes. The two of you got me through. I just wanted you to know that."

"I'm glad I helped. I wish I could have done more. You seem to be doing pretty good now." [I wanted to tell her how amazingly pretty she was. How she had a kind of glow. But that would have been weird.]

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Honey. Looks can be deceiving. I hope you win on your tickets. And that you come back so we can talk again."

"I'm in here every week or so. I hope I see you again, too."

While we had been chatting, each of us pausing a couple times to keep tears from overflowing, a woman had come in to stand in line. She said, "You are the fourth conversation I've heard just TODAY about how foster care had saved somebody."

"Oh, Sweetie, they didn't save me. Far from it. But I'm doing okay."

Anyhoo... on the drive home, I felt so bad for not remembering this student. Even once she told me her name! She had to have been around the time we moved into the new high school building, and swapped the old middle school for the old high school. That's when I got a classroom in the basement, next to Mrs. Roast (her secret nickname because she declared she would "roast my own rumpus before I'll let these kids use calculators for middle school math!"). I had recently been asked to start the At-Risk program, after years of teaching science.

By the time I got home, I had a vague memory. I'm pretty sure she was in a group of 6th graders I had for extra help in Math and English. She was an average kid, not a troublemaker. One who could fall through the cracks without a little extra encouragement.

Anyhoo... if I see Student again, I'm going to ask about a couple people I think were in her class. That should verify my new memory of her.

We do the best we can, you know, to help each child succeed. The stars and troublemakers are the ones who pop up in a teacher's memory first. It's the other ones we affect most. Please realize, a student has a handful of teachers to remember. We have up to 180 kids a day, year after year after year.

These Onions Could Bring a Lesser Val to Tears

Let the buyer beware! Val is not a gal to be bamboozled by the schadenfreude of grocery store managers. It's usually not a problem at 10Box, though I have found questionable USE BY dates on the shelves. They generally pull the expired stock, and put them in a cart up front for half price. The prospective buyers know exactly what they're getting.

Save A Lot has a problem with their produce sometimes being less-than-fresh. Namely the bananas, which alternate between brown and woody green. And the onions, which even having a fan blowing across the shelf, are sometimes getting mushy. I DO swear by their meat, which is generally the best around here. 

You have to be careful in Save A Lot. Despite their name, you might end up paying more than elsewhere. They didn't used to be like that, until 10Box opened up a couple blocks away. The six-packs of Diet Mountain Dew were $5.99 in Save A Lot yesterday! Compared to $4.68 in 10Box (plus 10% up front, making them $5.15). At Country Mart, they were $5.49, ON SALE. 

Which brings us to Country Mart, on Errand Day. I've been getting supplies for Easter dinner. I saw in the sale ad that Country Mart had 2 lb bags of yellow onions for $2.99. I'll be using onions in my roasted veggies, and in potato salad, so I planned to get a couple bags. 

The Pony trotted off to see if there were any bargains on steak like last time. I went to the bins of onions. I saw the sign advertising the 2 lb bags of yellow onions for $2.99. But in the bins were 3 lb bags of SWEET onions. Which are Vidalia onions, just not grown in the right geographic area to be labeled as Vidalia. Huh. Not fooling ol' Val. I went around to the other side of the table, and again saw a sign for the sale on 2 lb yellow onions. But in this bin were 3 lb bags of yellow onions. Which cost $5.98, same as the sweet onions.

When The Pony returned without a steak bargain, I pointed out the discrepancy. We both looked, and moved bags around.

"There you are, " said Pony, holding up some 3 lb bags out of the way, and nodding. 

Lying at the bottom of the bin were three bags of 2 lb yellow onions. I took two of them. You really have to be aware at Country Mart. They are masters of the bait-and-switch. I've seen it in many departments, not just the produce. Like when there's a two-for-one sale on bottled salad dressing. The brands not on sale are by the labels, but you have to make sure you read the brand on sale, and get those. 

The prices at Country Mart are the highest around. They get away with it because they are right in the middle of town. They have a lot of elderly shoppers. And a deli. People stop by because it's more convenient than going to Walmart. It has a bigger variety of brands than that town's Save A Lot. I always have a list of what I'm getting there, because I know I can find stuff cheaper at the other stores.

This phenomena of sale price labels by not-sale merchandise happens so often there, I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence or accident. I think they buried those sale onions!

Inside Lap House

The tour of Lap House won't take long. It's not that big. Just a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. I haven't seen the partial basement yet. That will have to wait until my official photographer can fit it into his schedule, heh, heh.

Living Room. The old guy who sold Hick this house had apparently been doing a little work on it. Looks like he ripped out carpeting, and painted some walls. I didn't ask if the wood floor is salvageable, but I imagine Hick has budgeted in his mind for laminate flooring.

Front Bedroom. It looks fairly decent, but might need new windows. That's me talking, from one photo, not Hick, who has walked through several times.

Kitchen. It seems cheery, with lots of light. Again, that might mean a lot of windows to replace. Pretty much everything in here has to go. EXCEPT... the countertop. Hick says it's the old granite kind of counter, and he'd like to try to save it. It's short, though. Just the part with the sinks.

Middle Bedroom. This might be the "problem" room. Due to its location, and awkward shape. Hick thinks it might be the only place to fit a washer and dryer. Not ideal, but I'd rather have a second bedroom, even if it meant having the laundry in there. Just like I'd rather have a washer and dryer in my house, as opposed to not having them. The other option would be the kitchen. I've had a washer and dryer in a bathroom before, but this bathroom is not big enough.

Bathroom. At first glance, it looks horrific. Upon closer inspection, the tile seems good. The floor looks interesting. The toilet is in decent shape. The tub is not pink, as I thought. Hick says it is kind of brown. He said it looks usable, which could save $1000 for a new one. He would paint it to match the toilet. I haven't seen the sink yet.

For handy reference, here's the outside view again.

Lap House isn't big enough to create new rooms. So there won't be a second bathroom. Hick DID note that there's room in the bathroom to put inside access to the basement. He said it looks like that's where it used to be, before somebody moved the entrance to the outside of the house.

There won't be much to see in the beginning. Hick plans to start with the electrical wiring. He will have to take off some siding, because some genius ran wires on the side of the house and covered them with siding! Then he will work on the plumbing. Not sure what's going on with that, other than there being several different kinds of pipe, from galvanized to PVC. 

I'm going to suggest that Hick work on the outside of Lap House while the weather is good. And save the interior for when the weather gets too hot or cold. Not that Hick is one to take my advice...

I'm a BeLIVER

My faith in Hick as a provider has been restored! Not only did he bring me a Reuben from the Senior Center lunch this month, but he also brought me LIVER! Yes. I asked for it. We both like liver. Hick also brought one home for himself for supper.

The menu listing for the day was:

Ham & Beans

Spinach & Breaded Tom

Cornbread

OR

Liver & Onions

Mashed Potatoes, Veg, Cornbread

Blueberry Pie OR Fruit

I thought Hick might have the Beans & Ham for lunch, and bring home the Liver. But no. He ate liver at lunch, and also brought a meal home for his supper. The two containers had Hick's name written on them. Which could be suspicious if you have enemies, but the cooks there LOVE Hick! I saw the first one, and asked if his name was on both. Yes, it was. But I'm sure you can still tell that one was meant for Hick specifically...

That was the container on top of the stack. Whether you like liver or not, you've gotta admit that's a good-looking serving of liver! We had mashed potatoes, and the Breaded Tom, along with a cornbread square.

Now let's take a look at MY dinner:

Where's all the liver love for Val??? I might have had a part of a sliver of onion. At least I got the corner cornbread. Which I sliced off and gave Hick the other 2/3 of it. I was at first repulsed by the tomatoes. I thought they had jalapenos in them, but Hick said it was zucchini. I actually ate those tomatoes. Not too bad. The mashed potatoes were again tasteless. In the future, I'll give them to Hick. The liver was delicious!

Hick said he was too full to eat his dinner that night. Well, no wonder! I can imagine how they must have piled his tray high with liver at lunch, him being their pet. Hick went on and on about how tender that liver was. He said the gal told him she soaked it in milk overnight.

Anyhoo... Hick wasn't too full for dessert. Shocking, I know.

A filling dessert it was, too! They sure didn't play favorites with the lemon meringue pie! It's almost as if they know that I always give my dessert to Hick. Hick says they don't bake the pies, they buy them from the deli of the local grocery store. This pie sure looks fabulous. I wish I had tried just a bite, but it's too late now.

Next time liver is on the menu, Hick should be bringing it home for our supper.

Introducing: Lap House

Yes. The photographer is of questionable talent. At taking photos. But he's a whiz at fixing up old houses. Hick was sitting in SilverRedO, parked across the street in front of an apartment building, when he took the front picture of Lap House for me. You may recall that Lap House is so named because the deal fell into Hick's lap when he was least expecting it.

Lap House has a generous yard. Out of sight on the left is an old brick church. A street runs by on the right side. There's a public sidewalk out front, but strangely, no sidewalk to the house. I image any residents would park in the back, off the alley, and use the back door.

Let's zoom in a bit, so you can see the actual house, and not a panoramic view of the neighborhood.

Lest you think the previous owner was a patriotic sort, let the record show that the school colors in this town are red, white, and blue. So the windows in the front door, and the railings by the back door, as well as the foundation, are likely those colors to support the team.

The roof has a few missing shingles from where the wind took them. Hick has not been in the attic yet. He says it's possible that the roof may need to be replaced, depending on what he finds there. Or it may just needs a patch. The tall vent pole on the front of the house will go away. Hick has already talked to his HVAC Guy, who says that there's a new way of doing the vent for the gas. Hick is planning to put in a new furnace and add central air, because the only cooling the house has now is a window unit. The vinyl siding is fine, it just looks wavy from the shadows, and my zoom-in on the original photo.

The front left window is the living room. The front right window is a bedroom. The kitchen is the part sticking out at the back with the back door. There's a single bathroom, behind that front bedroom. And behind it is a second bedroom. It's basically a 4-room house. I guess five if you count the bathroom. From the looks of them, the windows are old, and might need to be replaced. Hick hasn't mentioned that specifically yet.

Interior views will be coming soon.

One of Hick's Harem Has a Stay at the Crossbars Hilton

Hick brought our puppy Pepper home from his second vet visit on Monday. He's up to 13.6 pounds now. We didn't have time to discuss Pepper's shots and next visit(s) though, because Hick got a phone call. From one of his harem.

"I've told you before. I cain't help you with that. You all need to get along, or stay away from each other. If you think it's serious enough, then call the police."

This was around 3:00. According to Hick, the caller complained that the lady who drinks had spit on her, and she had three witnesses. The caller/spittee was NOT the same resident that the drinker had gotten into it with the last time the police were called. Hick called his boss later, who said, "We're not getting involved in that." Which is what Hick had told his harem.

Later that evening, Caller/Spittee told Hick that Spitter had been knocking on her door, and she wanted him to come do something. Hick said, "Well, she realizes she done somthin' wrong, and she's most likely tryin' to apologize. That's how she is. If you don't want to talk to her, don't talk to her."

Later, Caller/Spittee said she had gone to the police station (which is two blocks away), along with her witnesses, and they all had paperwork to file complaints against Spitter. Hick had replied, "Well, you have to do what you have to do."

At 9:30 the next morning, Hick got a text from Spitter that she was sitting in jail, and when was he going to talk to her about this incident. Hick said he had nothing to say to her about it. That was between her and the other elderlies. Spitter said she didn't want to lose her home. Hick said he wasn't planning to kick her out, but that she needed to calm down and get along with the other residents.

Hick and his boss agree that no matter if they evict 10 residents and get 10 new ones, there could just be 10 new problems. That there are always going to be disagreements between people, and it's not their business to get involved in that pettiness. If it's between residents, and not damage to the apartments, then it's up to law enforcement to handle the residents' complaints.

Of course when Hick went to lunch (LIVER AND ONIONS!), another gal sat right down to tell him all about what happened. Hick said she is always stirring the pot. Said a bunch of them were sitting out in the courtyard smoking, and Caller/Spittee and Spitter got into an argument. According to Spitter's story, she was sitting at a table all by herself, and Caller/Spittee came over to her, and Spitter spit on her. Which she knows is wrong.

Hick says Spitter picks up litter and straightens up stuff in the building. She is the nicest little lady you'd ever want to meet. Until she drinks. Then she's really mouthy and loud. Hick says Caller/Spittee is generally cranky and anti-social, and keeps to herself. These two live on different floors, at separate ends of the building, and there's no reason for them to even be in contact with each other, unless they run into each other picking up their mail. I have no idea what happened in the courtyard. 

My ex-teacher mind thinks that maybe Spitter had a snootful and mouthed off to some others, who were likely mob-bullying her in the subtle way of women, and Caller/Spittee took offense to Spitter's mouthing, and went to her table to share a piece of her mind. Spitter has limited mobility and uses a walker, and perhaps used spit as her defense/aggression mechanism. That's pure speculation, of course.

Anyhoo... the city police came Tuesday morning, and hauled Spitter down to the county jail, since they don't have their own lock-up anymore. Nobody knows how Spitter gained her freedom. Hick says that the city police would have been the ones to drive her back home, since charges were filed in their jurisdiction. Spitter told Hick she has a court date. 

I'm sure Hick will hear all about the eventual case...

Bargain House Demands

The last update on Bargain House was when we signed a contract on March 8. The Buyer scheduled an inspection the following week. So we've been in a holding pattern waiting to see how the inspection might affect the deal. 

Well. Hick thinks the Buyer's inspector was out of his mind. Let the record show that Bargain House had already been approved for occupancy by the CITY building inspector, with no issues.

Hick got an email from Realtor Guy early last week, with the Buyer's inspector's report attached. In no particular order that I recall, the issues listed included:

roof not safe to walk on

roof needs to be replaced

loose screws in roofing metal

gas vent on roof needs to be replaced

two vents of unknown origin on roof

windows need to be replaced

screens on windows need to be replaced

missing electrical plate in kitchen

bedroom door opens into kitchen door

bolts missing on supports for patio roof

sidewalk not level with yard

I told Hick, "Why don't you just tear it down and build the guy a whole new house?"

Hick called Realtor Guy, and said no way was he replacing the roof and windows. And that nobody wants a sidewalk level with the yard, because when it rains, you get mud and water pooling on the sidewalk. And any idiot should know that the vents on the roof are from the two bathrooms.

Realtor Guy stopped him and said, "Didn't you read the counter-offer?" Which Hick had not, because he only saw the one document. So Realtor Guy sent it again, after telling Hick that all the Buyer asked for was a new roof and new windows, but he was pretty sure the Buyer didn't EXPECT to get a new roof.

After looking at the actual counter-offer, and going over to inspect Bargain House roof for himself, Hick came up with a counter counter-offer. Realtor Guy wrote it up, but Hick explained it to me.

"I will tighten all the screws in the roof metal. I will paint the piece of metal where a tree rubbed on it, to match the rest of the roof. I'll sand the rust off the gas vent and paint it, but if it looks unsafe, I'll replace it. I DID forget to put the nuts on the screws holding the metal plate to the concrete for the patio roof supports, so I'll screw them on. Same with the electrical outlet plate I forgot in the kitchen cabinet above the microwave. There are four of the eight double-paned windows that need their vapor barrier fixed. I'll get that done. I will replace the two screens that are torn."

Hick got all that done in two days. Except the windows. His glass guy said he'll have to order parts, and it could take two weeks to get them. He also said that for an extra fee of $95, he will come to the house and fix the windows, so Hick doesn't have to remove them and drive them over to Bill-Paying Town for repairs.

Realtor Guy said it seemed reasonable, since Hick is doing extra things that were in the inspector's report, but which the Buyer didn't actually ask for. He "only" wanted a new roof and windows. Indeed, the Buyer agreed to those fixes. I don't think Realtor Guy has since mentioned that the windows might not be done in time for the closing. 

Hick told Realtor Guy that if the window repairs aren't done on time, he will pay for the windows and the on-site fee, and present a receipt to the Buyer at closing on April 6. So the window repair is guaranteed, and the Buyer won't have to do anything except let Hick's glass guy repair them at the house when the parts come in.

Hick says the window parts are supposed to be in Friday, and his glass guy will fix the windows next week. I guess we'll be headed for the closing with a signed receipt for the window work, in the event that these repairs are delayed.