George
Invariably when I leave for a solo Colorado jaunt, I'll get this call from Karen: "Hey. I don't want to ruin your trip, but (fill in the blank) just fell off the house."
Last year when I was in Golden, a wind storm knocked down our television cable wire, pulling down a board the cable was attached to off the second story of our house. It wasn't a big deal except the missing board was an invitation for squirrels to nest in our attic. Dealing with the squirrel issue was a total nightmare --- way worse than replacing the board.
Last week while I was in Telluride, she called to inform me that our neighbor George had backed into our nearly new wooden fence. Again, not a huge deal except it left an avenue for our two dogs to escape. Luckily, neither of them noticed the massive hole in the fence and stayed put.
George, ever the gentlemen, left a note. George is 85, can hardly see or hear, and has no business behind the wheel, even if it's just to move his van around the backyard, which he occasionally does. The note says: "John. I was backing up the van and missed the brake but hit the gas. I made a pretty good mess of your fence. Fix it and it's on me. I guess you could call this a Dear John letter." By the way, George is a pretty funny guy.
A few other notable things about George. He grew up in Colorado and was a miner while he went to college. He fought in WW II in a mortar unit and survived two of the worst battles of the war including El Alamain in North Africa and the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. He went to medical school in Texas and became a dentist. Even more astounding, George has lived on my rough and tumble street since 1948, making him arguably the most fearless man I've ever met.
So for those and many other reasons, George has my respect. He can run into my fence all he wants. It's on me.
Last year when I was in Golden, a wind storm knocked down our television cable wire, pulling down a board the cable was attached to off the second story of our house. It wasn't a big deal except the missing board was an invitation for squirrels to nest in our attic. Dealing with the squirrel issue was a total nightmare --- way worse than replacing the board.
Last week while I was in Telluride, she called to inform me that our neighbor George had backed into our nearly new wooden fence. Again, not a huge deal except it left an avenue for our two dogs to escape. Luckily, neither of them noticed the massive hole in the fence and stayed put.
George, ever the gentlemen, left a note. George is 85, can hardly see or hear, and has no business behind the wheel, even if it's just to move his van around the backyard, which he occasionally does. The note says: "John. I was backing up the van and missed the brake but hit the gas. I made a pretty good mess of your fence. Fix it and it's on me. I guess you could call this a Dear John letter." By the way, George is a pretty funny guy.
A few other notable things about George. He grew up in Colorado and was a miner while he went to college. He fought in WW II in a mortar unit and survived two of the worst battles of the war including El Alamain in North Africa and the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. He went to medical school in Texas and became a dentist. Even more astounding, George has lived on my rough and tumble street since 1948, making him arguably the most fearless man I've ever met.
So for those and many other reasons, George has my respect. He can run into my fence all he wants. It's on me.
posted by john clarke at 9:18 AM
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