It was a project that evolved over the years and the miles between
Lockport, NY and Tuscaloosa, AL.
I got the idea to finally consolidate my many
journal entries of the 2012 driveway project and rewrite this all into a more of
a readable story over just recording what transpired. There is also the back
story of the sidewalk bricks that ties into the driveway which can be considered a prologue
to this saga.
My mom died in December of 1994. I was the executor of her estate
and it was in the spring of 1995 I was able to close the book on everything. As
the year progressed, it was not realized I was also laying the groundwork
to be closing the book on the Lockport, NY house I had called home since 1978.
That summer of 1995 I finally had a deck built off the dining room. When I redid
that dining room in the early 1980’s I installed a door to the south wall which
did wonders to open that room up to daylight.
For too many years that doorway
was just a portal to nowhere. A deck installation was one of those “round-to-it”
projects that never got done. Gary was in the process of installing a deck to his house on
Niagara Falls Blvd in Buffalo. He was my inspiration in more ways than one.
1995
evolved to be a brutally hot summer. Gary was under so much stress pouring
cement for the footers, leveling up joists, not to mention all the anxiety that goes with
such a job. I did not want to mimic Gary’s aggravations.
When I contacted Chase
Pitkin to price out lumber for this project, the manager of the lumber
department informed me the store could contract out the basic deck and stair installation
for a labor fee of some $400.00 added to the lumber costs. Where do I sign???
That $400.00 turned out to be one of the best investments I ever made. Gary
began his project way before me. I was putting on the finishing touches long
before he drove the last nail to his project.
Once the deck was up it was time
to group all my bricks together into a patio. The treasured bricks I had
salvaged in 1983 were finally installed in one place. The deck/patio signaled
that I had maxed out the improvements I could sensibly undertake to that old
house of mine.
The neighborhood had been slowly getting shabbier as the old
established residents died off and their properties turned into rental units. I
smiled inwardly when my neighbors complained to me how the 8ft privacy fence I
installed blocked off the view to my backyard they so enjoyed.
These tenants
next to me would always back their “piece of shit van” into the driveway right
next to the doorway to the dining room. That way they could exit by driving
straight out. In the winter they would idle the engine of this smoky rattletrap
forever to warm it up before driving off. The exhaust fumes would filter into my
house. You could not reason with these people.
It was in February 1995 I took a
much-needed break from the executor duties and flew to Ft Myers, FL to attend
the Orlando Phonograph Show. Billy picked me up at the airport and we tore into
our lunches seated outside at the restaurant patio. As I luxuriated in the
sunshine wearing a Lands End polo shirt, soaking up that glorious sun, a seed
was planted into my mind. That seed was I did not have to endure endless Western
New York winters anymore if I chose not to.
One of the major anchors holding me
to Lockport was watching over my mother. I promised dad on his deathbed I would
always be there for her. I had fulfilled my obligation. In the fall of 1995, the
exhaust fumes from the “piece of shit van” again saturated my house signaling
the start of winter. It was like those noxious gasses germinated that seed
planted in the Florida sunshine to move south.
Harrison Radiator was again
moving work to the Tuscaloosa, AL plant. Wayne and Julie were in line for the
next transfer which happened in the late fall of 1995.
It is funny the influence
people can have on your life. Julie was good friends with my sister. It was
Julie who found me my Lockport apartment in 1976. Mom was so upset when I moved out
but it was time. My GM job seemed fairly secure so I no longer could use the
excuse to live at home to save money.
Julie was working in real-estate and she
toured me through the house I eventually bought in 1978.
To jump ahead… Julie
moved to Tuscaloosa, in 1995. I followed finally getting my transfer in late May1998.
Then Julie went to Corvette Assembly in the winter of 2004 and I followed her
arriving at Corvette in August 2004!
January 1996, I flew to Atlanta. I stayed
with Joe’s Uncle Tony for a couple days before driving west to Tuscaloosa, AL In
Tuscaloosa I stayed with Lockport friends who had transferred to the Tuscaloosa
plant in the early 90’s.
After studying maps for weeks, I had a pretty good idea
of the layout of Tuscaloosa and Northport. I took a drive around the city before
contacting my friends. On this excursion I felt such a pull to the historic
district where I now live on that first drive through.
I began to make friends
and connections with Tuscaloosa residents and building a network of friends. One connection was a real estate agent who toured me
through a couple “historic” houses. One such 1890’s house had me blinded to all
its faults.
It just so happened Billy was enroute to Las Vegas to pack up a
collection. His friend Paul was the “sidekick” to help out on this trip.
Billy
and Paul met up with us in Tuscaloosa for a quick visit on the way. Billy is no
stranger to real estate. When I showed him this property I was “Ga-Ga” over he
gave me the needed dope slap. He took me to the back and pushed my thumb through
a back window sill to point out the rampant dry rot. That was all it took to pull me back to reality.
The die had
been cast for me to move south……
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