Thursday, October 05, 2006

Another Day, Another Eviction

Suburban doors often sport things like Indian corn and wreaths, depending on the season. We follow a different drummer in Parkfairfax, where notices of eviction and condemnation are common adornments. The festive sheets are slapped up prominently -- like a kid's jack-o'-lantern decal, but more sinister.

I've lived in several major cities, and occasionally I'd notice someone's belongings in a heap at the curb. But I never saw a condemnation until I moved to the 'burbs. Last year two units were condemned after a fire. Then they packed away a hoarder. This time it was a paranoid schizophrenic and her elderly father.

She would skulk around the neighborhood wearing a ski parka in the middle of summer, scrawling obscenities on the bus shelters. And I heard she once dropped her pants in the management office to convey that she had a plumbing issue in need of attention. The final straw was when she and her father became convinced that they were being spied on through a wall. Their response was to strike said wall with heavy objects, vigorously and at length. Understandably, the next-door neighbor did not appreciate this. But then, he wasn't being spied on.

The notice on their door says the unit is "unfit for human habitation" but unfortunately doesn't provide details. I must know more.

2 comments:

Mykljak said...

Oh, I'll find out the details. Just you wait.

Anonymous said...

I'd be willing to take a couple of hours off work to take some pictures. Some visuals would be a good side-bar to your commentary and investigative reporting Michael ;-)