The past, for sale

[greatbear]

My best friend had been working along with his siblings (and a bit of help from me) to get his parent's house ready for sale. Today, it went on the market. I got a text message from him tonight saying that the sign is out front and everything. His parents bought the house new in 1960 or so, and it's been very well maintained throughout the years. It never had much of anything in the way of upgrades either, most of the appliances and interior features are original. However, everything looked practically new. His parents treated me like family, I spent countless hours wrenching on cars, playing guitar and in general hanging out with John and his parents even after he had moved out after getting married. They were like a second family to me.

Hearing that the sign went up today made me think back on those 36+ years I have known them, and the house which was always the same, a kind of memory reference point and place of constant comfort. It's soon to be gone, taken over hopefully by a family that will enjoy the house as the first and only other owners had. And hopefully they keep it mostly as is.

I can't help but feel sad. Here is another piece of my youth that is going away. Another constant that is no longer. My childhood homes are completely gone. I've lost lots of friends and loved ones over the years. And, of course, I no longer have Mom. I can't help but feel 'shoved' further and further into the future, an unknown, while my past slowly disintegrates. Such is life, I guess, and not necessarily a bad thing. But, it still hurts, with every piece of the past being essentially chopped away, in varying sizes.

Today, I learned the Farrah Fawcett is gravely ill as well. I had that famous poster as a teen, and loved watching Charlie's Angels. I cried a bit when I read the story. And, I felt one more presence of my past is soon to disappear.

Life is not always fair.

Comments

[theevilnub.livejournal.com]

My dad & I had a discussion earlier today about the house I grew up in near Miami. My parents bought it new as newlyweds in 1969. After they divorced in 1981, both their names remained on the house until my mom decided to sell her half to my dad in 1989 so we could move into a new house. My dad kept the house as rental property until a few years ago when he sold his condo to finance his retirement & moved into the house to live... fortunately before the bubble burst in Miami real estate. As an only child, the logical progression is for him to offer me the house when he passes away but we came to the conclusion that it would be too much to trouble re: probate, maintenance, etc. if I don't live in the area, much less 3000 miles away in Seattle. When I visited him for Christmas 2006 I stayed in that house for the first time in 17 years, & in my old bedroom nonetheless. The paint, flooring, & window treatments changed, but it still brought back a lot of memories. The bathrooms have changed the least: still the same tile, fixtures, & cabinets as when the house was new (save for the toilet in my bathroom). It was a nice trip down memory lane, but for me, I don't miss it much.