The Sweet Up and Down

I thought the night was eventful.

After listening to various songs (Outside by Staind from the Family Values Tour, Drive by Incubus and various Bloodhound Gang) I got an urge to go to 87, an old abandoned house just outside of Baldwin. Randy, too, wanted to go so after I got off work and called Audrey, Randy and I headed out to Baldwin. We knew we'd have to park a ways away and ended up parking about a quarter mile away and walked down the dark gravel road to the driveway to the house. We hopped over the fence and trudged up the driveway which is also quite a walk. The house still stood at the top of the hill, decaying, like it has since the 1850s.

We followed the driveway along the southern part of the house and checked the graves to make sure they were still unbothered. Although the small rock wall that surrounded the headstone was a bit more ransacked, the stone was still there--in six pieces--but still there. Randy hadn't been up to the house in over five years and I haven't been since the summer of 2006 but time is started to show on that property. Only a couple barns remain, and two have collasped. All the windows to the house have been broken which could be a sign of vandals or just time itself. A brief storm came through, getting me and Randy rained on but it soon passed and we decided to up to the house and see if we could get in.

With all the rain that has passed through the area, the grass around the house was up to my hips and may have been crawling with God only knows. We got to the porch and noticed the northeast side of the house has settled more and is noticably detached from the rest of the house. While the house was wide open, Randy and I were unsure about the safety of the house so we just glanced inside then went back to the car. We were talking about why we seem drawn to the house and while neither of us really believe in it, we began wondering if somehow, in a past life, we were someone in the family that used to live there. While we know we're trespassing, we don't cause any damage and when we actually get there, we feel really comfortable there. It's almost like a home away from home.

For more information on 87, you can read the entry on it in Watch This Space to get a better idea of the history, house layout and what I would do with the property.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Anybody ever seen that British television series Red Dwarf?. Well, I had a dream that was the main character, David Lister. My cousin, Dustin, was Holly; Randy was Rimmer (apparently my subconscious really wants Randy dead) and the Cat protrayed himself. Audrey was in it too but not as any clear character. I guess she could've been Kochanski or maybe Kryten if you wanted to get technical.

I fell asleep watching Red Dwarf which is probably the reason I dreamed about it but it made me think that I really like the plots and storylines of the series. I wish America would produce a viable adaptation of the British series. Sure, we make copies of The Office, Coupling and All In the Family (adapted from the British series Till Death Do Us Part) and we've attempted to get a Red Dwarf pilot (starring Craig Bierko and Jane Leeves). But I digress. I'm just venting.


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Last week when I was driving around with Audrey, I noticed that one of the abandoned houses I seem to always take notes on was torn/burned down. The house was located on West Union Road in Shawnee County near I-70 and while I never actually approached the house because it looked like a great place for meth labs and crack addicts, I was hoping the house would be standing a little longer.

I figured it'd be torn down sooner or later because of it's proximity to I-70 but what strikes me as odd was the chimney and fireplace was still standing leading me to believe it wasn't knocked down but either burned down or destroyed by one of the many, many, many storms that have passed through the area. If anyone really knows what happened, let me know so I can punish those who did it.

Also I made this (with thanks from scrwtape) and it looks eerily like me, my fiancee and son that it kind of scares me. Although the dogs are not to scale.

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

And did I mention I was engaged? Well, I am. But more on that later.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian