Life on Argon

Life on Argon Street... Part One

Current mood: nostalgic



Yep, here it begins folks...the much ballyhooed "Life on Argon Street".

A look at 18 tumultuous years in a warped Mesa suburb. It's true what they say...that which doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger. Or in our family's case...stranger. (y'know, in a creepy sort of way)

Cat and I were a young family, raising our one-year-old daughter Lori. Thoughts of becoming home owners had become paramount following the death of Grandma Daniels. We were anxious to establish ourselves as home owners and to find a place to call our own after 5 years of renting. There were the tax advantages to consider of course, but mainly we were looking ahead to a time for Lori. Our old neighborhood; a beautiful older area in Tempe AZ, was a delight. Located right across the street from Grady Gammage Auditorium, we lived in a big wonderful red brick house with hand plastered walls and ceilings, huge bedrooms with walk-in-closets, a vintage kitchen with original 1940's upscale appliances and a bathroom to die for. But it was an older neighborhood with no children in it. Who would Lori play with? There was the traffic on Mill Avenue and Apache Blvd to contend with. Was it a safe haven for our child and the others we were planning on? We decided we wanted to move to a nice safe "bedroom community" like Mesa, hopefully near a nice elementary school.

WTF were we thinking?

In retrospect...I can only conclude that we were still very young ourselves.

So realtors were contacted, the search began. Cat and I opted to go the repo route. There were tons of houses available at bargain prices; we still had good health and an army of relatives that were carpenters, plumbers and painters. The search bore fruit. Our agent took us to several houses, and when we walked into Argon for the first time, I fell in love. As you entered the family room, you were greeted with a floor to ceiling, wall to wall red brick fireplace with a lovely mantle and a hearth that ran the length of the western wall. "This is the house...We want this house!" I felt it in my bones. This is where we were meant to live.

I really should have started keeping a journal of my hunches at this time. This was the first of many to follow that would eventually bite me in the ass...



To be continued…