Saturday, April 15, 2017

Greeting the new neighbors



There are only 30 units in our condo complex, and some units have residents/owners who have been there a long time and others (at least one unit) have had 4 owners since we moved here in 2002. We know the complex was designed by Urban Calabretta, the firm my husband worked for, although he had no input on this project.  The builder had the unit next door to us, and according to his former wife (now deceased), it was the nicest of all the units.  It is now owned by their son who probably lived here himself as a teen-ager. When we moved here, there were still a few original owners. 

Today on our morning walk we stopped at the unit with the 4th owner in 16 years to greet the newest owners.  I didn't ask their ages, but I'm guessing maybe 10 years younger than us.  The husband mentioned that he'd been in that unit when it was new--1976--for a July 4 event with one of his OSU professors. It is my understanding that all units were completed by 1977.  At any one time, about five of the units are owned by members of our church--it's about 5 minutes away.  We could have a committee meeting or Bible study. This is a gorgeous time of the year with many flowering trees. I also think about five are owned by people who knew each other in their former neighborhoods when they had children in the school system.

Some former owners have moved out of town, some have gone to retirement homes, some to nursing homes, and at least two have moved up the road to high-rise condos across from the shopping center. A few have died while living here.  About 5 or 6 units are owned by single women, either divorced or widowed. It's just a guess, but I think 7-8 unit owners have dogs, and they congregate on our street to chat and pet each others dogs.  One gal is a dog sitter, but some also care  for the dogs of their children (we do, but she can't go outside), so it can get lively. The newest owners have two white fluffy poodle types.

It's so pretty today, I've already walked outside twice--the wind is blowing the beautiful blooms and it looks like snow.

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