Only Memories Now

This is a picture of our neighbor's home. It is a modest brick and stone, very well maintained home. Fount and Betty had stone brought in from their native state of Alabama for their fireplace, walkways and their custom mailbox.

We lost Fount a few years back and Miss Betty moved to Orlando to be near their son. The property has sat empty for the most part. A college friend of their son rented the home for a brief time while working an engineering project in Jacksonville. Other than that, Miss Betty would only visit sparingly.

One of my fondest memories of Fount & Ms Betty would always take place after Fount and a gentleman he hired to routinely help him mow and pick up the yard had finished for the day. Fount would go inside and get two Coor's beers and he and Ms Betty would sit under one of their massive live oak trees facing the river. On more than one occasion Aly and I would fix ourselves something to enjoy and venture over to join them. I miss those times. We both miss Fount and Ms Betty.

This is now.

Salty Dog and I were rattled rather abruptly by what felt like a minor earthquake the other morning. Upon the second "shake" we made our way outdoors only to witness this. Fount and Ms Betty's home was to be no more. We knew the property had been sold and like what is happening to most all the homes sold in the past couple of years around us, it was being torn down to make way for a newer, more modern home. It's not that I don't understand...

It's just that their home always served to remind us of two people we enjoyed so much. Who enjoyed life so much. Who loved each other so much.

Those are only memories now. Only memories...

peace
fm