Back in April, I spent some time driving by and taking photos of places where I’ve lived and worked since moving to Houston in 1989. When Tom and I first came here, we lived in the suburbs northwest of the city in a two-bedroom apartment. The complex was actually pretty nice at the time. I don’t remember using any of the amenities like the swimming pool or the party room, but it was a good place to walk Pete, and there was a post office, large grocery store, and mall all very close to us.
We had two good-sized bedrooms and a little patio for our grill. But my favorite thing about the apartment was the fireplace. Though we don’t get extended periods of cold weather here, there are a couple of months when it’s nice to have a fire–and I built one every time I could.
The WORST thing about the apartment was the family who lived upstairs: husband, wife, and infant. We rarely heard the child, but the couple fought like crazy–not just screaming, but physical fighting. That would drive me out of the apartment in nothing flat, and we, as well as other neighbors, consistently called the constable and complained to the apartment manager until they were finally evicted. It was easy to assume that he was the aggressor, but I’m not so sure. Judging by some of the things we heard, it could have been her. The sounds of that kind of fighting are awful.
I think during the time we lived in that apartment, the only visitors we ever had were Mother, when she came for Christmas, and Lynne, Craig, and Jess. We didn’t really know anyone else except friends of theirs, who we usually hung out with at their house, and people we worked with and saw mostly at work. The reason we ultimately moved was because when we filed our income taxes after our first full year as a married couple, the money we owed was catastrophic to our tight budget. Craig and Lynne graciously let us–and Pete!–live in their guest room for a few months until we could pay off our tax debt and save enough for all the deposits necessary for a new place.
It’s a recurring theme, I think, the times others have helped us, and we’ve helped others, over the decades. I don’t know about other parts of the country, but for Southerners, that’s what having family, and friends who become family, means. You can always set another plate at the table, provide a bed when one is needed, give somebody a ride somewhere, or sit in a waiting room for them or with them.
And also–at least with my family and Lynne’s–there existed the love match I haven’t mentioned. It began in this big field which is still next to that apartment complex.
It’s where our boy Pete used to run with his girlfriend Heidi. Well, sort of. Remember, Pete weighed in at about ten pounds.
And this is a photo of Heidi, who was Craig’s dog, Lynne’s companion, and Jess’s protector.
Heidi would run in big sweeping circles around the perimeter of the field, and Pete would run from the center in whatever straight line took him closest to her. She was infinitely patient with him–he could even hang off her lip and she’d just walk along and let him. They ate together, napped together, rode in the car side by side: Wherever you saw one, you saw the other.
Love’s a crazy thing–and no one ever had to call a constable or landlord about those two.
When I picked up my previous puppy, Ms. Nickie, 20-years ago the vet said she was a doberman/dachshund mix … which seemed like an implausible possibility. His dog handler said, “Pay no attention to the man in the white coat, you’ve got a miniature
doberman/terrier mix.
Love that tree in front of the apartment.
That’s the way Hamlet was. Not only did they say he was a dachshund, they trotted out his dachshund mother. She might have been his mother, but he was not a dachshund; Daddy must have been a terrier. Or else dachshund is the “go-to” liar’s breed.
I remember the first year we were married, we were hammered by the tax man, as well. I think it was better after that because we changed our deductibles.
Ah, the marriage tax!
Not only did we change our deductibles, we’ve had extra withheld every paycheck every year since, just so we never get a tax bill again.
My favorite Heidi/Pete geometry was her huge infinity symbol and his little overlapping circle at the center.
Pete, the great improvisor, never knew he and Heidi weren’t the same size, did he?
Such cute dogs.
That’s one reason I would like a house – room for people to stay.
Our house is tiny, but between it and Tim’s place, we are able to host guests. I love it.