The Committee Is Adjourned

Marge died last week. Sometimes cruelly referred to as "hunchie", she was the last of the group of neighbors who regularly convened on the porch across the street, holding court on the state of the neighborhood. A meaner bunch would be hard to assemble. When we first moved in they took it upon themselves to actively oppose mom's day care license, the sound of children playing obviously being something to be avoided at all costs. The original group was comprised of Marge, her husband, her sister who lived next door, and the sister's husband, Nick. Occasionally Kay (our next door neighbor) would join them, injecting some much-needed positive energy to the group. Kay always liked us, and perhaps that was our ticket. Over the years we wore them out little by little, until they accepted us. Never overly friendly, but we did manage to come to reasonably comfortable terms. Then they began to fade away. First it was Harvey, Marge's husband, who left. Too mean even for The Committee, he moved to Aztec, never to be seen again. Apparently still alive, too mean to die. Then it was Helen, Marge's sister, who died. Her husband Nick started having trouble seeing (macular degeneration), and he stopped driving. When Kay died last year, The Committee had dwindled to Marge and Nick, and Nick began to drift. Nick was moved to private care when his alzheimers got to the point where he wasn't safe living by himself. And then it was just Marge. By this time she was about 18 inches tall and hooked up to oxygen full time, but she still got out there on the porch every day. The family set her up with one last over the top light display at Christmas, which for all of the joking over the years I will definitely miss. And now she's gone. And so the hood is in transition. A single guy named Mike lives in Kay's house now. Ever since he moved in there has been a 2 block long Winnebago parked in the driveway for sale. As un-green a vehicle as there is in the world, my guess is that it will be there for years to come. Their back lawn has not been mowed since he moved in (see, I could be on The Committee too), and two elementary school kids live there every other week. Not much communication, but no problems either. By this time next year there will be entirely new occupants of the houses across the street- maybe they'll feel us watching them. We will undoubtedly be less judgmental, but not entirely so. Not sure where I'm going with all this, but change is in the air. Fall is upon us, days shorter, colder at night. Mom and I are hoping for a couple more weeks of warm days to bring our last couple dozen tomatoes to ripeness. We've been eating our garden extensively, squash, zuccini, tomato and onion sautee being in the center of our plates every night. We're going to Utica for a week on October 10. The last time I was there was our New York trip as a family 11 years ago. Too long. I've always enjoyed Utica- fond memories of my girlfriend's family and home. I intend to relax, not think about anything legal, and hopefully see U. Rick and Aunt Sue for a day or two while out there. Hopefully the unbeatable Colorado Rockies will be roaring through the playoffs at the time and some bragging can be accomplished. I've been missing our brave and fearless children and their mates, my layers of pride too deep to describe. Life here is good- not flashy but good. I had a 3 week jury trial in August, the most different thing at work for quite a while. Unfortunately it was in Pagosa, so I was away more than usual, but other than that it was fun, interesting and professionally challenging. Now I'm back to tearing apart families and spending other people's money, the usual ebb and flow of human unhappiness. Boring it is not, however, for which I am grateful. Okay guys, I'm babbling- it's time to go. I love you all so much- stay in touch. dad