That Gray Area

It took two days for management to clean up all the mess caused by the heavy winds and sand storm.

We had tree limbs breaking off, and all kinds of debris finding its way onto the property from everywhere and anywhere, including tumbleweeds.

As to where all that dirt and sand came from, I hadn’t noticed previously, but it looks like all the foliage in the vacant lot across the street had been removed, in preparation for constructing whatever it is that’s being built on that property.

 

That left all that dirt/sand/top soil coming directly at us from force of wind.

Quite a lot of that dirt and debris landed in the pool which, in turn, turned the clear blue water into a muddy swamp.

 

The poor pool cleaner was doing his best to remove the gunk to where one can now tell it’s water, not mud, but there is still quite a lot of mess at the bottom.

 

Enough mess, hopefully, to turn the homeless visitors away from climbing the fence to swim late at night, early morning.

Checking on the mailbox situation, it does indeed look like someone made good headway into breaking into the outgoing mail slot.

 

I don’t think Carol’s son has returned to camping out on the hillside, coming down to plague us. He’s been long gone from the area. So it’s probably someone new targeting us. Hopefully they’ll stop at the outgoing slot, leave the actual mailboxes alone so we can continue to, at least, receive mail.

It’s not an imposition for me to drop off my outgoing at the UPS Store, because the store is three doors down from the market. But other less mobile seniors may have to take their chances with using the slot and having their outgoing mail pinched, as I don’t think management is going to do much about repairing the slot, or weld the damaged area to make it safe to use again.

And speaking of management, remember that new senior complex I’d watched go up behind the new shopping center near Sprouts? I’d signed up as interested, so I could get an invite to the open house.

Covid put an end to the idea of an open house, but I did periodically receive updates and lost interest once the building was completed because the building looked like a Plantation House, and didn’t appear to have open air access which, with Covid being airborne, living in a box with an elevator, doors opening up into a hallway isn't for me. I’d also deduced, from updates, the building was for the very very poor, that I was probably over income.

I’m in what I call a Gray Area.

Over income for most “affordable” living situations, but not so flush that I’m willing to pay the exorbitant sums being charged elsewhere. The only reason I have this unit is because I was just shy of the Gray Area when I moved in and, having now crossed over into it, I'm grandfather in so long as I don't get very much further into the Gray.

At any rate, having lost interest in that new building, I wasn’t disappointed when the update I received two months ago was that occupants were moving in — 500 were on the list, 250 were chosen and I wasn’t among the 250.

Then, yesterday, I get a call from management that they have a one-bedroom unit for me, $846 a month, that I had to have a guaranteed income of at least $1262 coming in, can I come to their office at 2:00.

I would have loved to go, just to see what the units look like inside, but didn’t want to waste the woman’s time. So, instead of saying I was no longer interested, I told her I was over income and that was that.

But think of what a struggle is must be for seniors below the Gray Area, those who — though rent at $846 is low by comparison, it doesn’t leave much room for the necessities in life when one just barely meets the required income of $1262.

Gray area or not, I’m feeling very blessed.