If you’re an avid reader you know that this whole blog thing began two years ago with my oldest friend, Ed. I wrote about Ed turning 100 years old. He turns again next Tuesday. He’ll be 102. No matter how long I live, it won’t be long enough to have another friend like Ed.
The week before Ruth and I headed south for the winter, I hosted my last poker game of the season. Ed usually travels to the game with his son, Craig, but Craig was out of town so I offered to pick Ed up. Ed still drives, but I didn’t want him out late at night without someone waiting for him at home.
When I arrived we had a few minutes to sit and talk before heading out, so I took advantage of it. I knew it would be the last time that I had him alone before I return to Michigan in the spring, and I valued the one on one opportunity. We play cards every two weeks when I’m in Michigan, and we play a couple of rounds of golf each summer. Whether playing cards, or golf, we spend a lot of our banter giving each other a hard time. I jab him, and he jabs back. If he loses a few hands in poker, I’ll offer to buy his watch. He’s got a nice Hamilton. My initial offer is usually $10.00, and it goes down each time he reaches into his wallet for another $20.00. Around the holidays, Memorial Day and the 4th of July, I may offer $15.00.
I’ve always been intrigued by the roof line of Ed’s house. The shingles roll over the edge, and it reminds me of what I expect the Gingerbread Man’s house might look like. It’s very unusual. My arrival and the roof line sparked a question.
“Ed, how long have you lived here?”
“We moved in in 1946.”
He went on to explain that the house was a former school house that he moved from Hickory Corners. He and his wife, Eleanor, had a baby daughter, and he needed a house for his expanding family. Ed had the school moved and he made the modifications so it would become their home. That was 73 years ago. Ed was twenty-nine.
He also told me that he was working in a local machine shop. He had a good job and needed a $1,000 loan to wrap up the deal on the house. He went to the local bank seeking the funds. After filling out a pile of paperwork, they turned him down. Later, his boss asked him how things were moving forward with the house and he shared the story of the loan denial.
The boss offered to help. He took Ed to the same bank that had denied him earlier, and withdrew $1,000 so that Ed could finalize the purchase and renovations to the house. Then his boss said, “You can pay me back at $25.00 a month.” And so he did.
That’s how things worked back then. Good people helped good people. No deeds, no paperwork, just a handshake and a man’s word.
Ed modified the house a couple of more times. He added second story bedrooms, expanded the kitchen, and bumped out the back for a large family room and half bath. Realtors have asked him to list the home several times and made offers of “quick and profitable sales”. He’s not going to sell. He’s just getting settled.
When Ruth and I get back next spring, I’m going to make it a point to sit down a couple of times for some one-on-one time. I’ll be looking for material for Ed 103.