"Missed Opportunities"

Okay, so maybe what happened this week isn't exactly a soap opera, but it was important enough to make the newspaper. There was this house in east Arlington that had been issued over 50 citations for code enforcement...or rather, lack of. This house was so dilapitated the neighbors actually broke open champagne and toasted its demolition. If I had a scanner I'd post a picture of just how bad it was. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it is negative...in this case I would agree with the neighbors and give them my "30 and counting..." mug I got for my 30th birthday and have them top it off with some bubbly.

Now comes the thought-provoking part. Its owner, James Trivitt, died Sunday at 61 of heart disease. Maybe it was best he didn't see the last of his life bulldozed away into oblivion. For those of us that are homeowners, we all know that this is investment number one and have to take care of them as much as we can. There's taxes, insurance, plus ye olde mortgage that just never seems to go away. The good thing is if we're late on it by a week or so they don't freak out and kick you out the way they do at apartments or rental properties. And on that note, I would like to congratulate our friend Jerramy. He got divorced recently. No, I'm not congratulating him on that. Although, if you knew his ex, it may sound that way. He was tied to his house to the tune of $680 a month which they have been trying to sell for the last YEAR. Well, they finally did it this week! Now he and our other friend Branda can get a house/apt for their impending bundle of joy. We were at Cheesecake Factory (so good!) discussing names when I came up with the perfect gem: Clive. There's a horror writer named Clive Barker and since it's going to be a boy, they simply cannot let this opportunity pass us-I mean them by. They're kicking it around...(fingers crossed)


This I picked up at Walmart while I was getting my oil changed earlier this year. They had model from the 40's to the 80's. Should have gotten them all when I had the chance...

Now that James has died and his house bulldozed, will he simply be forgotten? Probably. Heck, we all will at some point. Unless you were one of the lucky few to either break some kind of record or explore some kind of new territory, more then likely this will be your destiny. Now don't feel bad, this is the path most of us are following this very moment. Some people may feel like there's no point to life since all we do is die anyway. I say not doing anything is no kind of life. Find something to get excited about. Find something to leave behind to your friends or family. If I manage to keep all my toys unopened and not sell them in 2025 (my tentative plan) I will leave them to Emmy and Zach...or whoever wants them. May be one, may be the other. We might just keep them in the family...and each member of my family adds to it as the years pass by...can you imagine in say 100 years what this would look like? I'm impressed just thinking about it ha ha.

The point I've been trying to make is...you can't sit back and wait for live to live you. We are lucky to live on a planet with a huge array of experiences and we were not put here to feel sorry for ourselves. Sure, everyone has regrets. And it's okay to have them. Just don't spend all your time trying to change them. It just isn't worth it.

P.S. The answer to last week's trivia question is; Led Zeppelin!!