Are We There Yet?
July 23-29, 2018
By Jay Edwards
jedwards@dailydata.com
KM and I moved this month. For the first time in quite a while we aren’t homeowners. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a homeowner. We are both in favor of it. Me, mainly because I didn’t have to put up with a nasty landlord, and KM, well, she has lots of reasons, not the least of which that she is a Realtor.
But now we are renting for a spell, at the apartments called Forest Place, near the Prospect Building. This was actually my first choice, because I knew someone who was transitioning awhile back, like we are now, who lived here and really liked it. And what’s not to like? They have an elevator that takes me up from our covered parking spots to the floor where our “penthouse” is; that’s what we call it anyway. There is a salt water pool too, where I’ve enjoyed some relaxing relief from these dog days, and met a couple of nice folks, one being a former sportswriter for the Arkansas Gazette back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. She worked with Wadie Moore, who you may remember, covering high school sports. Those were the days when Central Arkansas had the best football teams. Back when my alma mater, Catholic, would finish the season every Thanksgiving Day with a ten o’clock morning game against North Little Rock. Mom loved it as much if not better than me and my dad and my two brothers, because it got us all out of her way for a few hours during the peak preparation time of the annual feast. After our game ended, Central and Hall would go at it in their annual rivalry. Great memories.
After reminiscing at length with my new sports fan friend it was time to head back to the penthouse for lunch. As nice as it all is around here, I halfway expected a room service option, thinking some shrimp cocktail and a good Chardonnay would be a nice late afternoon treat. But KM brought me quickly out of my Fantasy Island fantasy, and handed me some leftover pork and a Dos Equis beer, making me feel like the Most Interesting Man at Forest Place.
“Go clean your bathroom,” came the voice of sudden reality, aka KM.
The building we are in has the newer, remodeled units, and we were fortunate to snag one of those. They were beautifully redone a decade or so ago I believe, after a woman with issues set the building on fire. I know she had issues because, besides the fact she had set the building on fire, someone I knew, knew someone who lived over here back then and had the story on her, the one about her having issues.
I was telling my best friend, the Judge, about her and he said, “Yeah, she’s due to be released from jail soon.” Then he laughed, which didn’t help me figure out if he was kidding or not.
The other nice thing about our new digs is its pet-friendliness. So far I’ve counted three Corgis, two Whippets and a variety of mixed mutts, but with nice faces. And their conscientious owners are very quick with the poop pick-ups. One of the Corgis lives across the hall from us. His name is Vin and he barks every time I walk by, rattling my keys. It’s almost like having a dog of my own, without the poop lifting.
Anyway, discounting potential arson reoccurrences and no room service, it’s good to be in our new place and getting somewhat settled. We planned this to be a temporary thing, but it seems pretty darn good so far, and quiet. I’ll keep you posted.
See all of Jay’s past columns on our website at www.dailyrecord.us.