After a short visit that seemed to tax our friend, I was very shaken by Dave's condition & appearance & thought a drive & fresh air would lift us. We didn't actually have an agenda or know exactly where we were. The Husband & I were enjoying driving around & looking at the Portland neighborhoods & the homes & gardens as we drifted around North & Northeast Portland, Oregon.
We stopped once when I requested that the husband grab a flyer from the Plexiglas box attached to a "For Sale" sign in front of a pleasing Queen Anne home with an abundant rose garden, not our style at all, but I was curious about the price of homes in Portland.
We were shocked, stunned & stymied that what would be some homo's dream home, was listed at $160,000. We had been exploring the idea of buying a house in Seattle, where we had been renters, 15 years in the same 900 square foot house in the Wallingford neighborhood. There were no, this in not hyperbole, NO homes in Seattle for less that $300,000, which might get you a meth-lab/chicken coop.
We drove for a but longer when the Husband exclaimed: "Stop! Pull Over! I am going to be sick!". He was clutching his chest & was having difficulty getting his breath. When the Husband was at last collected enough to speak, his eyes were wide as he blurted: "Oh, My God! We are going to move to Portland!" I knew it was true in an instant.
David lived & then managed to get through 2 more bouts of different cancers. He & Trish divorced eventually. We purchased a little working class bungalow in a marginal neighborhood & were living here 12 weeks later.
From our real estate agent when we first moved in the house. This is what Post Apocalyptic Bohemia looked like a decade ago.
The same view a decade later
The mommies on the block have told me that the kids call the front garden: "The Jungle Of Russet Street"
The approach to the front porch
Some details from near the front porch
The view from inside looking out
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