I had to go back to Ringgold last week, which always turns me sort of inside-out. It’s hard to be where Ken and I lived now that he’s not there anymore. But I had to go because I was finally able to sell the last of the rental properties and the closing was in Ringgold.
It should have been a real celebration to finally not have to worry about rental properties anymore, and I am truly relieved. Ken made a good living for us with his rental property business and I am grateful for that, but I have to be honest and say that the business absolutely drove me crazy. I was raised with a simple philosophy when it came to bills…ALWAYS pay them, and always pay them ON TIME! So the haphazard attitude that most of our tenants had about their rent and water bills just flew all over me. I always thought that most people would pay rent FIRST, because, after all, if you don’t pay your rent, you could end up without a place for your family to live. Well, the people who lived in Ken’s properties paid everything else first (which included Rock-Star Cable TV, a couple of cartons of cigarettes, and filling up their refrigerators with cases of BEER) and IF they had enough left over, they would pay their rent. It was, in my opinion, ABSURD!
Their excuses for not paying rent ran from semi-creative to obviously untruthful, to absolutely unbelievable. In the months just after Ken and I married, the women started showing up to talk to me and give me these sob-stories about how they didn’t have any money to pay the rent because they had no money to feed their babies or buy them diapers. Now I knew for a fact that most of them were receiving Food Stamps and WIC, so there was no reason for them not to have food for their kids to eat. They were less than appreciative when I reminded them of that fact. And when they gave me the diaper excuse, I would pull a bag of Jesse’s diapers out of the closet and try to give to them so they wouldn’t have that excuse. One lady refused to take the diapers because they were blue and her baby was a girl. She had just finished telling me that the only thing she had to put on her baby was feminine napkins, yet she refused to take my blue diapers to put on her girl child’s bottom! She finally ended up cursing at me and leaving in a huff. Once word got around that Mrs. Lunsford wasn’t apt to believe the tales they told, they stopped coming to talk to me. Ken was able to let most of it roll off of his back and not worry about it, but it just made me plain-old MAD!. It was like they were stealing from us and then laughing about it.
After Ken died, it only got worse. It seems that many of the tenants decided that they didn’t have to pay me, because their rental agreement had been with Ken. One guy even tried to convince me that Ken had promised to GIVE him the lot his trailer was on when he died! As if Ken Lunsford would EVER give away only ONE lot out of a whole trailer park. I guess people must have figured that grief would turn me stupid as well.
Anyway, long story short, after Ken died, I knew there was no way that I would be able to keep the properties because they frustrated me so. I struggled with it for a while because Ken really wanted me to keep the properties for the boys. But I finally had to beg his forgiveness and made the decision to sell them. (That, in itself, is another story that I will need to tell one day too. But for now, it still makes my stomach hurt to think about it much, so I will wait ‘til another time to tell it.)
Most of the properties sold fairly quickly. They had not been well cared for by the tenants over the years (especially after Ken died…that’s another part of the other story I will wait to tell), so I had to price them low so I could sell them “As Is”. One by one, they sold until all I had left was the little house that Ken and I had lived in when we were first married. The tenants that were in it when Ken died had been living there ever since Ken and I had moved out, back in 1990, and had been great tenants. They paid their rent every time, on time, and took good care of the place. About a year or two after Ken died, though, they decided they wanted to buy their own house. I tried to sell the little house to them, but she decided that if it was going to be her house, there was too much work that needed to be done on it. Wanted to find something (and did) that didn’t need as much “fixing-up”. I don’t blame her. She asked if I would consider renting the house to her son and his family. I agreed. Unfortunately, her son wasn’t as good a tenant as she had been all those years. He paid pretty regularly for the better part of a year, but then decided to stop paying any bills at all and abandon his family. They ended up living there for about 3 months without paying and finally abandoned the house after I threatened eviction.
So, there I was, with an empty house (in another state) that needed LOTS of refurbishing, no money to do it, and nobody up there who would help me fix it up and get it rented. So, as much as I hated it (I had really wanted to try and keep that one little house for the boys), I didn’t see any choice but to put it on the market too. Unfortunately, about the time I decided to sell it was also when the housing market took a nose-dive and became glutted with foreclosure properties that were much nicer and much newer than my little house. The house sat on the market with very little interest for almost a full year. Several people looked at it and made offers, but the offers were ridiculously low or the people couldn’t get bank financing and wanted me to hold the mortgage for them. Finally, after the last pitiful offer ($20,000 for a two-bedroom house on a level acre-sized lot!), I offered it to Ken’s niece for MUCH less than tax value and she decided to buy it.
I know I should have been thrilled to finally get the thing off my hands…it was only costing me money, sitting there empty. And I was glad to finally be rid of the worry it caused. But it was bittersweet because that little house held lots of memories for me. Ken was living there when we met, so we spent lots of time there before we got married. In fact, it was on those front porch steps that Ken actually proposed to me. We had been somewhere, I can’t remember where, and had just gotten back to the house. We were sitting on the front porch steps, just hanging out. Ken leans over, so his shoulder is touching my shoulder and says, “I reckon we can get married if you want to.” I know it’s not moonlight and roses, but it was so KEN! It is a precious memory, one that always brings both laughter and tears.
Ken and I also lived in the little house for a while after we got married, so it was our first home as a married couple. And it is where Jesse got his start—he was conceived in that little house. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were pregnant with him when we moved out. So, even though I was glad that the house finally sold, the memories made it harder to let go of than the other properties. And just being up in Ringgold for the closing made it more hurtful. But, I went by the cemetery before I came home and talked to Ken about it. When I left, I was peaceful about the whole thing. I wish things could have been different, but I know Ken understands.
Furry Young'uns...Part 2
During the time that Ken was sick, Kim Headrick (a good friend and fellow Boynton Media Center volunteer) started looking for a puppy. She already had a veritable menagerie at home…dogs, cats, guinea pigs, chinchilla, chickens, sheep, in addition to her husband and two daughters, but she decided she wanted a Pomeranian puppy with a teddy bear face. She looked for quite a while and finally was able to find one she fell in love with way down in Ft. Payne, AL. She brought her home and named her “Sadie” (actually, I think her full name is “Sweet Southern Sadie Belle”). Sadie was a tiny little puppy, and Kim didn’t want to leave her at home by herself. So, she would put Sadie in her purse and sneak her into the Media Center. We would play with her all day. We all got pretty good at shelving books with one hand and holding little Sadie with the other. Of course, it was a big treat for the kids to get to see Sadie whenever they came to get books. They knew Sadie wasn’t really supposed to be in the school, so they would come to the desk, look both ways to make sure no one was around, and whisper, “Is the puppy here today?” She was our unofficial Media Center mascot until someone ratted us out to the principal. Wonder who that was?
Anyway, during this time, Benjamin absolutely fell in love with Sadie. He begged over and over if we could have a “Sadie puppy”. I said, “Baby, Mrs. Kim paid $400 for Sadie and I haven’t met a dog yet that I think is worth $400, and besides, we already have Dots. So no, we can’t have a Sadie puppy”. That was the end of it…or so I thought.
Shortly after Ken died, Kim told me that she was going to breed Sadie when she came into season. I knew she wanted more puppies, so I was not surprised. What DID surprise me, though, was that she said the pick of the litter was going to be a gift to Benjamin to cheer him up! Well, I was wonder-smitten (that’s my new word to take the place of flabbergasted – I think it is a much better word, don’t you?). Kim wouldn’t take no for an answer, and a little while later she announced that Sadie was expecting. We waited anxiously and decided that we would name our new addition “Lollipop”.
Lollipop Lunsford was born, I think, in March (could be April, though), and he was a single birth – no puppy brothers and sisters. We were in the process of getting ready to move to Alabama, so Kim graciously said she would keep him until we got all settled, later that summer. She brought him to meet us at the final Boynton assembly for that year. He was just the tiniest little handful of fluff. He looked just like Sadie, same coloring and all, so Benjamin was thrilled.
We moved the first part of June. After a couple or three weeks of unpacking and settling in, we were asked to come back for a picnic in our honor given by mine and Ken’s Sunday School class. I called Kim and told her I was coming and we met at my old house so she could bring Lollipop to us. He had grown, but he was still just itty bitty. We took him with us to the picnic, and he was the hit of the party.
I worried all the way home what Dots’ reaction would be to a new critter invading his space. He is VERY territorial and usually would quickly and aggressively run other dogs out of our yard if they came too close. But, it was almost as if Dots knew from the moment he saw Lollipop that he was there to stay. He looked him over, sniffed his hiney, and started PLAYING with him! I think Dots thought we had brought him a new play toy.
It took us about a minute after we got him home to realize that his personality would not allow us to continue calling him “Lollipop”. He is the silliest little dog I’ve ever seen and he BARKS ALL THE TIME. Doesn’t matter if he knows you or not, if you go from one room to another, he is going to stand there and bark at you. Not only does he bark, but he does this little “crazy dog dance” where he turns ‘round and ‘round in circles and hops around on his hind legs. CRAZY little dog! So, we decided that since he is such a little doodle-head, we would call him “Doodlebug”. The name is a perfect fit.
Our third dog is Sam, a HUGE black lab. He was not one I intended to adopt, either. It’s funny how things turn out. The first thing Benjamin asked me when he saw that our new house had a fenced yard was for a BIG dog. He had been pretending since he was tiny that he had a big dog named “Chewy” that followed him everywhere he went. So when he saw the fence, he started pestering me about an outside dog. Of course, my answer was, “Are you kidding? We already have TWO dogs. The last thing we need is another one, especially one that would eat us out of house and home.” Benjamin would sulk for a while, but then he’d get over it. But every once in a while, he would bring up the subject of a big dog again. I would say “No!” again, and he would go off sulking again.
I guess it was the year Benjamin was in sixth grade that he was really struggling with his grades. It seemed that nothing I said or did would convince him to do better. After months of beating my head against that same wall, in a fit of desperation, I said, “If you will bring your grades up, I will get you a big dog!” That will teach me not to blurt things out when I’m desperate, because, of course, Benjamin’s grades started steadily improving. He started making plans for his big dog. He wanted a Golden retriever, like our neighbor had. I went online and started looking and could not believe how expensive dogs like that were! Some places wanted as much as $3000 for a puppy!!! I prayed, “God, I promised him one of these dogs! How in the world will I ever be able to afford one?!” God just smiled.
As Benjamin’s grades got better and better, I got more and more panicked. I couldn’t go back on my word, but I did tell him that we would probably have to go to a shelter and rescue a dog. Maybe they would have one mixed with Golden retriever. He agreed, but I could tell he was disappointed. Then, one Sunday night, Benjamin was telling some of the kids at church that I had told him if he would bring up his grades, I would get him a big dog. Three of the kids (siblings), said, “We have a black lab that will need a home in June.” Their mom is a missionary and they were going to return to the mission field in Africa that summer. They couldn’t take their dog with them. (Can’t you just see God smiling and nodding his head? He is just SO awesome the way he works things out!) So here we were, needing a big dog, and there they were, needing a home for a big dog. How perfect is that?!
A couple of weeks later, we went to meet “Sam” (his full name is “Lays’ Big Sam). And he is BIG! But he is the sweetest natured dog I’ve ever seen. Benjamin took one look and fell in love. I think the feeling was pretty mutual on Sam’s part. So, we brought him home. Dots was not real thrilled, but he knows Sam can take him, so he curbed his aggressiveness. Doodlebug, on the other hand, thinks he is bigger than Sam and tries to boss him around all the time. Sam just looks at him and smiles (yes, he really does smile) and tries to put his great huge paw on top of Doodlebug’s tiny little head. It is quite comical to watch them together. When Sam is excited and happy (which is most of the time) he jumps straight up in the air and does this silly little wiggle dance, like he is a tiny little puppy. Makes me laugh every time he does it.
So…we have not one, not two, but THREE dogs. Small, medium and large. Crazy, needy and goofy. Sometimes I wonder if we should change their names to “Larry”, “Moe”, and “Curly”. Whatever we call them, they all three, each in his own way, continue to be of great comfort to me and the boys. But PLEASE…don’t ask me to adopt your dog…three is enough, and evidently I have a hard time saying “No!”.
Anyway, during this time, Benjamin absolutely fell in love with Sadie. He begged over and over if we could have a “Sadie puppy”. I said, “Baby, Mrs. Kim paid $400 for Sadie and I haven’t met a dog yet that I think is worth $400, and besides, we already have Dots. So no, we can’t have a Sadie puppy”. That was the end of it…or so I thought.
Shortly after Ken died, Kim told me that she was going to breed Sadie when she came into season. I knew she wanted more puppies, so I was not surprised. What DID surprise me, though, was that she said the pick of the litter was going to be a gift to Benjamin to cheer him up! Well, I was wonder-smitten (that’s my new word to take the place of flabbergasted – I think it is a much better word, don’t you?). Kim wouldn’t take no for an answer, and a little while later she announced that Sadie was expecting. We waited anxiously and decided that we would name our new addition “Lollipop”.
Lollipop Lunsford was born, I think, in March (could be April, though), and he was a single birth – no puppy brothers and sisters. We were in the process of getting ready to move to Alabama, so Kim graciously said she would keep him until we got all settled, later that summer. She brought him to meet us at the final Boynton assembly for that year. He was just the tiniest little handful of fluff. He looked just like Sadie, same coloring and all, so Benjamin was thrilled.
We moved the first part of June. After a couple or three weeks of unpacking and settling in, we were asked to come back for a picnic in our honor given by mine and Ken’s Sunday School class. I called Kim and told her I was coming and we met at my old house so she could bring Lollipop to us. He had grown, but he was still just itty bitty. We took him with us to the picnic, and he was the hit of the party.
I worried all the way home what Dots’ reaction would be to a new critter invading his space. He is VERY territorial and usually would quickly and aggressively run other dogs out of our yard if they came too close. But, it was almost as if Dots knew from the moment he saw Lollipop that he was there to stay. He looked him over, sniffed his hiney, and started PLAYING with him! I think Dots thought we had brought him a new play toy.
It took us about a minute after we got him home to realize that his personality would not allow us to continue calling him “Lollipop”. He is the silliest little dog I’ve ever seen and he BARKS ALL THE TIME. Doesn’t matter if he knows you or not, if you go from one room to another, he is going to stand there and bark at you. Not only does he bark, but he does this little “crazy dog dance” where he turns ‘round and ‘round in circles and hops around on his hind legs. CRAZY little dog! So, we decided that since he is such a little doodle-head, we would call him “Doodlebug”. The name is a perfect fit.
Our third dog is Sam, a HUGE black lab. He was not one I intended to adopt, either. It’s funny how things turn out. The first thing Benjamin asked me when he saw that our new house had a fenced yard was for a BIG dog. He had been pretending since he was tiny that he had a big dog named “Chewy” that followed him everywhere he went. So when he saw the fence, he started pestering me about an outside dog. Of course, my answer was, “Are you kidding? We already have TWO dogs. The last thing we need is another one, especially one that would eat us out of house and home.” Benjamin would sulk for a while, but then he’d get over it. But every once in a while, he would bring up the subject of a big dog again. I would say “No!” again, and he would go off sulking again.
I guess it was the year Benjamin was in sixth grade that he was really struggling with his grades. It seemed that nothing I said or did would convince him to do better. After months of beating my head against that same wall, in a fit of desperation, I said, “If you will bring your grades up, I will get you a big dog!” That will teach me not to blurt things out when I’m desperate, because, of course, Benjamin’s grades started steadily improving. He started making plans for his big dog. He wanted a Golden retriever, like our neighbor had. I went online and started looking and could not believe how expensive dogs like that were! Some places wanted as much as $3000 for a puppy!!! I prayed, “God, I promised him one of these dogs! How in the world will I ever be able to afford one?!” God just smiled.
As Benjamin’s grades got better and better, I got more and more panicked. I couldn’t go back on my word, but I did tell him that we would probably have to go to a shelter and rescue a dog. Maybe they would have one mixed with Golden retriever. He agreed, but I could tell he was disappointed. Then, one Sunday night, Benjamin was telling some of the kids at church that I had told him if he would bring up his grades, I would get him a big dog. Three of the kids (siblings), said, “We have a black lab that will need a home in June.” Their mom is a missionary and they were going to return to the mission field in Africa that summer. They couldn’t take their dog with them. (Can’t you just see God smiling and nodding his head? He is just SO awesome the way he works things out!) So here we were, needing a big dog, and there they were, needing a home for a big dog. How perfect is that?!
A couple of weeks later, we went to meet “Sam” (his full name is “Lays’ Big Sam). And he is BIG! But he is the sweetest natured dog I’ve ever seen. Benjamin took one look and fell in love. I think the feeling was pretty mutual on Sam’s part. So, we brought him home. Dots was not real thrilled, but he knows Sam can take him, so he curbed his aggressiveness. Doodlebug, on the other hand, thinks he is bigger than Sam and tries to boss him around all the time. Sam just looks at him and smiles (yes, he really does smile) and tries to put his great huge paw on top of Doodlebug’s tiny little head. It is quite comical to watch them together. When Sam is excited and happy (which is most of the time) he jumps straight up in the air and does this silly little wiggle dance, like he is a tiny little puppy. Makes me laugh every time he does it.
So…we have not one, not two, but THREE dogs. Small, medium and large. Crazy, needy and goofy. Sometimes I wonder if we should change their names to “Larry”, “Moe”, and “Curly”. Whatever we call them, they all three, each in his own way, continue to be of great comfort to me and the boys. But PLEASE…don’t ask me to adopt your dog…three is enough, and evidently I have a hard time saying “No!”.
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