Another of my life adventures:
After overcoming a sad ending to a 13 year relationship, I stayed locally in Ridgefield Connecticut because my office was established in it’s downtown area, so when I saw houses were up for sale and I saw the potential to fix them up, and rent them out as a way of a new income.( A new term they use today is…”A fixer-upper”) The first house I bought, I lived alone on the second floor and rented out the first to a charming young woman who was an executive for a national furniture company. The third floor I rented to a young woman who had left her alcoholic husband, and had 2 young children. The problem with her was she had no income and no support from her husband. She had a rich sister who had a home in Ridgefield and it was she who had first rented the apartment for her sister. After a while, the rent stopped being paid, and knowing her circumstances, I allowed her to stay. I had a dog called Quattro who loved the kids and they would play with him in it’s large yard, minding him for me. Eventually her husband showed up sober, and he moved in with her for a few weeks till he went back on a binge and with my help she threw him out. However, she knew she could no longer live there as he would be constantly back bothering her, so her sister packed her up and she left. That wasn’t a good renter, but it was a life experience, especially after my own disappointment with a life partner.
The second house I had bought earlier, and was a true fixer-upper, but it was fun to do in my spare time, when I was not traveling to Hong Kong on business. When finishing up, I decided to paint the outside windows and doors, as they truly needed something. The town had a law that said you could only paint the outside of a home brown and white, but it just wasn’t me, so I went to the town planners and said I wanted to paint it a different color. “NO, NO, NO!” Was there reply so I proceeded to paint the windows and doors, Pepto Bismol pink! Well, the furor was strong and nasty, but I would not give into the town fathers… this was my home and I’ll paint it any color I wanted and did so, then wrote an editorial in the local paper below!
Can’t copy the news Editorial I wrote, But it said how much most people who passed by my pink and brown home loved how it looked and said so by stopping and talking to me!
Although I was truly hurt by my experience living in this town, I eventually overcame my sadness and got back on track, met a truly wonderful woman called Claire, married her, and am living happily ever after, having covered 300,000 miles in our homemade motorhome that we have recorded, and will write about someday. We are now living with the Ocean as our backyard, and a hebeautiful black Lab as our new spoiled child, believing that she owns the ocean! Today is, February 16, 1019, I have an addition that can be added. After living in this house for 4 years, all very happily, we have decided to move back re we wiup north, mainly to. Be with family and friends. We’ve had enough of the Ocean, the heat, and Florida in general. Claire wishes to be around her family before her grandchildren are gone to live their lives. As all children do once they pass 18. I don’t mind, as I will see more of my sons and get more involved in doing things again. I’m sure we will be writing about this new adventure we’ll begin,as an adventure it will be. I’ll be trying to put together my book, and will get help to do so, as it is in parts. So, till we write more, I’ll end this by saying “ Tobe continued”!!!
