Out with the Old

I’m going to start in a weird place but there is a reason. We hired a company to come take away the doggie doo doo that piled up in our small back yard. Yes, it seems indulgent but this was back when we had three dogs and I was working and dancing a lot and you’d get a couple of rainy days and it was too easy for things to just get out of hand.

I’m not sure how much cash is in pooh removal but I’ve met the guy who does it and he doesn’t seem to mind. He does get to be outside all day and he’s pretty much his own boss. Gets to talk to people and dogs every now and then. Rocco has been out a couple of times when he’s come by and he has treats. Which means Rocco would love to go out every time he comes by but we aren’t going to do that.

I only mention this because I’m pretty sure I see his truck parked outside his house. I mean there could be other trucks with the same information but I suspect not. Now I must do an abrupt transition to bring you some additional background information. It will all come together (hopefully) down the road.

Just to north of us is a suburb that has basically blown up over the years we’ve lived here. There did used to be a tiny little town but as people started looking for greener pastures, they turned corn and bean fields into houses and the rush was on. Of course, the city annexed everything they could to get that property tax money. I think there has always been a little inferiority complex because there were more established suburbs that had more money.

But over the years, they’ve sunk a boat load of money into trying to develop a “new” downtown and large retail to support it. They’ve built a lot of those places where you have apartments on the upper floors and the bottom sidewalk level is restaurants and retail. Guess it is what all the trendy young people they want to attract desire and the thinking must be along the lines of if you build it, they will come. So they can point to all the new bright and shiny stuff and say “what a great little city we are”.

The place where this guy lives looks like one of the last remaining parts of the original tiny town. The homes are small and older and there is a small church that is now turned into retail. (Seems like all churches in the suburbs have to be these mega things). And a school which is not as bright and shiny as the new ones they’ve had to build as all the people have moved in.

Well I read in the paper that they are planning on tearing down most of these houses to put up apartments. I guess most of these houses were rental properties anyway and probably don’t bring in the tax dollars. Plus they are sandwiched between other nice apartments and the new shiny downtown with retail. Obviously, the land is too valuable to leave to the old stuff. Time to tear it all down in the name of moving forward. Kill the past.

Now I wonder where this guy is going to go. I have no idea what the rents at the new apartments will be but something tells me they will be a tad more than what he currently pays. I’d feel awkward asking. The reality is that with just one dog and me having all the time in the world that we really don’t need to use his service anymore. But I’d feel bad about stopping especially with this news.

I did get to go workout today. I’m not one to sleep in and I’m finding if I get there around 8:30, it isn’t that crowded. By then, you’ve gotten rid of all the people who workout before work and you haven’t hit the crush of people who like to show up mid morning.

One thing I am also discovering is that driving during non work hours is a bit different. They do a lot of construction in those hours which makes a lot of sense but I keep getting caught by a bored worker holding up a stop sign. Plus, it just seems like the vast majority of people on the road are taking their sweet time to get where they need to go. I mean speed limits are kind of just a recommendation – nobody really expects you to stay at the posted limit. Even though I never drove in a traditional “rush hour”, I guess my driving mentality is still like I’m at work. Get to where you need to go as quickly and efficiently as possible. Got no time for the people out for a leisurely drive.

Well that’s basically all I’ve got for now. Double lessons tonight so will definitely be an active day. I’ll make sure to keep my Fitbit with me.