…. Time: Yours and Mine

 That Car:

 September Packard

December Packard

 For today:

 ‘Try to Remember’ on Myra‘s blog.  Victor’s ‘Father Maple’ singing: ‘If I only had time’,..... time to chase dreams, etc.

We all had so many things we wanted to do. As a builder I  wanted a subdivision. Streets named after our sons and grandkids. Affordable homes with kids running the streets.

My Sherry was retiring soon, she saw the stress I was accumulating. We had the land, we had the official surveys done ($$$$), Streets and layouts ($$$). Son Mark chose the name, “Magnolia Spring.” At each meeting our City Council wanted one more thing. ‘Sidewalks both sides of the street, a park, NO cul-de-sacs etc. MY ignorance, I refused to get an attorney, I wanted to do it all. BIG Mistake….

One day Sherry said, “Why don’t you forget it. Retire when I do and we will travel.”

I married not only a beautiful lady, but also a wise one.

We built 4 homes along a city street bordering the subdivision land, took the profits and hit the road….. A little later, while in South Texas, I received a phone call from the City of Belmont. The City Manager wanted to talk to me about the ‘illegal subdivision’ I had built. I guess I raised my voice, “YOU SIGNED OFF ON EVERY BUILDING PERMIT I USED. I AM IN TEXAS BUT YOU CAN BET I WILL BE PRESENT AT NEXT WEEK’S COUNCIL MEETING.” I hung up. I did not say, but we had planned to return next week anyway. LOL

He met me at the door of the meeting APPOLOGETIC, “I was wrong and everything is in order, you don’t need to attend the council meeting.” I left.

I shoulda stayed, an attorney representing another General Contractor attained permission for a subdivision which included dead end streets, cul-de-sacs, and no playground that night.  LOL

I am still sure we made the right decision BUT even then it ‘didn’t give enough time’ to do it all. (Ireland and the 'Appalachian Trail' still hang heavy in my head….)

"September"

Amazing the ‘succinct’ messages some songs send out. Try to Remember  From ‘The Play: Fantasticks’ (1960):

Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow
Try to remember the kind of September
When love was an ember about to billow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow, follow

I didn’t plan to use the last verse, to keep my # of words down, but I must, because I am deep in December of life… so try this on:

Deep in December, it's nice to remember
Although you know the snow will follow
Deep in December, it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made us mellow
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow, follow, follow

"December"

NiteShipslog

PS: Blame this long post on Father Maple(in the UK) and Myra ;-)