Dave's Place

It was sort of sad to see the town when Dave drove through. He remembered it being much larger and busier when he was younger. Some of the fine older houses were empty and many of the smaller ones were empty and almost falling down. There were several for sale signs on the empty houses and he wondered how long they'd been on the market. Some of the yards didn't look as if they had been mowed all year and probably not in the years before.

One of the nicest, largest houses in years gone by was completely hidden from the road by trees and brush that had grown up in the yard. All you could see was an occasional glint of metal from the roof when you looked through the tops of the trees. That house had been owned by one of the doctors that worked in the hospital (now closed) in town. At one time they had 40 beds and many times it was completely full of patients. Now, it was just another empty building on the main drag of town. So sad.

Dave was surprised when he found the local, small and privately owned, phone company still in business. They had old equipment years ago when his grandfather had a small cabin on the river nearby. He wondered about it now. Before purchasing groceries Dave decided to treat himself to a meal at the cafe. To his surprise, when he went inside he found the phone company had upgraded. They now provide internet and cable TV service via their lines.

After a very good burger Dave went back outside to his truck and got his computer. He quickly established himself at a quiet table and began working on his website, doing maintenance he'd been unable to do on the river using his phone as a hotspot. He received several curious looks over the afternoon while working but no one bothered him, except for the waitress asking if he needed anything. He completely caught up with his work.

When he closed his laptop the owner of the small cafe walked up and said, "We don't see much of that here. I've been thinking about stopping my subscription to the internet since no one except a few kids use it. I've not seen you here before. If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing so long? I heard you typing more than if you were just surfing the net. Are you new in town?"

"Naw, I don't mind telling you. I'm camping on the river while I recover from a nasty divorce. My grandfather and I used to fish and camp near here when I was young and I loved it. I thought I'd see if it would help me relax. As for what I was doing, I operate a website and was doing some housekeeping on it that I couldn't do as well using my phone as a hotspot. I hope you didn't mind."

"No, that's fine. It's why we installed the internet service. It was partly for me and the help but I hoped it would draw in some customers too. The phone company gave me the basic package on the video free to advertise if I would agree to pay for the 'net so I jumped on it.

"So, how long are you going to be around?"

"Don't know for sure. I guess until I get tired and want to move on. I have everything I own in my truck or trailer. I left my old home after the divorce and planned on just driving until I found someplace I wanted to stop. This was my first stop and I haven't gotten tired of it yet."

"Wow, foot loose and fancy free. Must be nice."

"It is in a way but I've always wanted to find a place and work I loved and put down roots, find a good woman and raise a family. Struck out with that so far so I'm wandering again."

"Well, good luck. I need to get back to the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything else."

Dave watched the woman turn and walk back toward the kitchen. Just before she entered the kitchen he yelled, "Hey, if you don't mind would you bring me a salad and another burger and fries? And what time does the grocery store close?"

"Sure honey. Coming right up. You might want to go to the store before you eat. They close at six and it's five thirty now. You won't be done with your supper before they close if you don't. If you want, I can just wait a few minutes before I cook your supper and you can buy your groceries."

Dave smiled and said, "Thanks. I'll do that. Be right back," as he stood and headed for the door.

Dave walked down the street about a block and entered the small grocery store. He quickly made his way down the aisles picking up items on his list such as canned soup, bread, chips and a few cans of vegetables. Then he made his way to the coolers where he picked up lettuce, cheese, lunch meat and even a couple of small steaks.

Like most small town stores, the prices were significantly higher than in the large cities but, not having business in a larger town, if he factored in the cost of fuel they were reasonable. He quickly paid for his purchases and made his way back to his truck where he placed the cold items in his cooler. He had an inverter on the truck so it would cool without ice. His small camping generator on the trailer kept the batteries charged so he could use it on the river as well as have some light at night and charge his computer and phone.

Dave walked into the cafe again and smiled when he saw his host carrying a salad toward the table he'd been using all day. She sat the salad, dressing and some crackers in front of his chair and said, "Here ya go. I put your burger on when I saw ya packing your groceries in the truck. Shouldn't be long at all now."

By the time Dave finished his meal there were a few other customers in the small cafe. Some alone and even a few couples and one family. When he paid, the woman thanked him for his business and said, "Hope ya come back again. It was nice having someone here during the afternoon. Gets kinda lonely here some days. If you're here still, come Sunday, ya need to come have lunch with us. My special's always fried chicken and all the fixings, 'course we still have the regular menu items too."

"You know, I just might do that. Thanks," Dave said before he turned to leave.

Dave made his way back to town a few days later and made a bee line for the cafe first thing. When he walked inside, for some reason, he stopped and looked at the bulletin board on the wall beside the cash register. There was a list of properties for sale and one list on county letterhead of property going up for auction on the courthouse steps for back taxes. The sale would be the following Tuesday at ten in the morning.

Twyla, the owner of the cafe, saw him looking at the list and smiled before she greeted him, "Good to see ya back Dave. How've ya been?"

"Good Twyla. Needed some groceries and thought I'd pop in for another of your good burgers."

"Good. Want it now or ya gonna wait awhile?"

"Wait I think". He raised his computer case and continued, "I thought, if you didn't mind, I'd work a while first."

"Sure, can I get you anything right now?"

"Yeah, some unsweetened ice tea would be nice."

When Twyla brought his tea she asked, "Saw ya looking at the bulletin board. Are ya looking for something or just looking?"

"Mostly just looking. I started looking at the auction flyers and then saw all the property for sale. I'm surprised at al the property being sold for back taxes. It looked like there's three or four places here it down."

"Yeah, there is. The same ones year after year, just once in a while a new one comes up. One of them's old Doc Fisker's place. Been on the list now for six years and no one has even bid on it. As far as anyone knows he didn't have any family left when he died and no one wants the house enough to buy it. 'Course that's not surprising. There's several places in town for sale and maybe one or two a year sell."

"Where's his house Twyla?"

"You drive by it when ya come into town. In fact, ya can sortta see the yard from here. See all them trees on the hillside there by the creek? Once in a while, ya can see the roof shine when the sun hits it just right."

"Yeah, I see it. Looks like a pretty big house. I'm surprised no one wants it."

"At one time, not only was it the largest house in town, it was the fanciest. Don't know about it now. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in pretty bad shape. Kids have probably broken in and done whatever inside. A couple of the other empty houses have actually burned down from them getting inside and smoking their dope and catching them on fire."

Dave didn't know why but he was intrigued by the large house hidden in the overgrowth of its yard. He was more relaxed and, surprisingly, happier in this small town than he'd been in months or even years. Every so often while the was working he found himself just sitting and thinking about the old house and tax sale.

Finally, Dave managed to get his mind off the old house and began working. About one in the afternoon he closed his computer and leaned back in his chair. Twyla saw him and yelled from the kitchen, "You ready for your lunch now Dave?"

"Yeah, thanks Twyla. I think another salad and burger but could I get onion rings with the burger today?"

"Sure. Be right out," she said.

While he was waiting on his meal Dave made small talk with a couple of farmer's who hadn't left after their lunch. One of them said, "Been seeing ya around and about for a couple weeks now. You move nearby or something?"

"No, not really. Got rid of a cheating wife, quit my full time job when I found out it was my boss she was with, loaded everything I had in a trailer and took off. My grandfather used to bring me here to fish in the summer so I just camped on the same old gravel bar we used to use and I'm trying to unwind. I come in every so often for groceries and one of Twyla's burgers. I use her internet to do some of the work I can't do using my phone as a hotspot."

"Thought ya said ya quit your job? What kind of work ya able to do from the cafe?"

"I ran an internet gaming page as a side gig and still have it. I do my housekeeping here and keep the site spruced up so I still have a little cash coming in."

"Huh. I don't know what half of that means. I guess you're just one of them tec weenies I hear about. Say, you aren't that feller living in that old box trailer on tha river are ya?"

"Probably. I haven't pissed anyone off have I?"

"Naw. Joe's used to folks parkin and fishin' on that gravel bar. Hell, everyone's been doing it fer years. Long as ya don't tear nothin' up or let his cows out he don't mind."

Shortly after that the two farmer's paid up and left. When Dave saw Twyla cashing them out he decided it was time for him to go also. He paid his bill and went to the store for his groceries. After his supplies were in the truck, he climbed in and began to leave town. For some reason, when he started to drive past the old doctor's house he stopped.

Dave wanted to see the old house. It was a battle to push his way through the brush so he could do so but he made it. It appeared to be what they called, locally at least, a one and a half story dwelling. This meant it had a full ground floor and a finished attic, he couldn't tell how many rooms were in the attic but he was sure there were some.

As you would expect, there were some boards rotting on the walls, wooden porches and windows. Naturally, the old house needed painting badly. The windows were all old wooden single pane but surprisingly, none of the glass appeared to be broken. There was a still mostly shiny galvanized metal roof on the building.

Dave felt guilty but he found a window he could open and climbed into the old house. He spent nearly an hour wandering around examining the place. As far as he could tell, the old 'bones' (house's frame) were still very good, the room arrangement was better than most old houses. There were two out buildings--a two car detached garage and a small barn on what appeared to be a four or five acre lot.

After he finished his inspection, he fought his way back out of the yard, climbed into his truck and returned to his trailer on the riverbank. Off and on the next three days Dave found himself thinking about the old house and how much he liked the small town. Monday morning he once again made his way into town and stopped at the old house. He followed his previous path into the interior of the property and again inspected the buildings and grounds. Something about the house pulled at him and he found himself sitting on the old porch steps looking into the brush covered front yard.

It was almost noon when Dave made his way back to his truck and drove the short distance to the cafe for lunch. While she was taking his order Twyla smiled and said, "What do you think about Doc's old house?"

"Uh, what?"

"Come on Dave. I can see the place plain as day from here and I saw you stop last week and again this morning before you came in here. Heck, half the town knows you've been snooping around it. Now, what do you think?"

"I don't know. There's something about the place that calls to me but it looks like it'd take a lot of work to make it livable again. Just cleaning up the yard will be a major job and the entire house needs modernization. There's a lot of rotten boards to replace and I won't know about the framing until I can tear off some siding or wallboards inside. From the looks of things it'll need to be completely rewired and replumbed. I just don't know."

"Yeah, that's probably why no one else has bid on it. That and no one wants to live out here in the sticks any more. So, ya want another burger or something else today?"

"The burger and rings again please Twyla."

While he sat waiting on his lunch Dave kept looking toward the old house. He didn't even log onto his website while he was waiting. All the time he ate he looked toward the house, then had to force himself to log onto his computer and do the little bit of work he had remaining to do. Soon, he finished his work and, instead of hitting the grocery store for supplies, he returned to his camp. He spent most of the day working on his computer, checking his finances doing books and programming scenery changes for the website. He had over 50,000 players on his site and they averaged spending $5.00 weekly buying chips. Of course, some were good enough or lucky enough they never bought, others bought almost daily. If the trend continued he would gross around $13,000,000 USD in a year. Depending on the year and equipment costs his profits were usually 15-20% of the gross.

Dave had a restless night and was up just after dawn. While drinking his coffee he watched the sun break over the trees and thought about his life and the day itself. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he filled his large insulated cup with coffee, jumped into his truck and headed to town. This time, he bypassed the turnoff to the small town and kept going down the highway to Knotts City, the county seat. He found a place to park and wandered toward the courthouse just after 9:30 a.m.

After verifying the location for the upcoming tax and foreclosure sale he stood waiting. Right on time the sheriff and two 'suits' walked up with a tall lean man dressed in worn Levi's and a blue western cut chambray shirt. Cowboy boots and a white stetson hat completed his attire.

The group of men that just arrived looked out over the half dozen or so people gathered nearby before the sheriff began speaking, "Good morning everyone. We're getting ready to auction off some foreclosed properties and a few that are delinquent on taxes. If that's what you're gathered here for, please come closer and we'll get started." Three or four people moved away and the rest moved closer to the men.

The auctioneer stepped forward with his microphone and reached back for a paper one of the suits held out. He read the paper then described the property, its address, payment requirements and the starting bid.

The foreclosed properties sold first and most of the bidders left, leaving only Dave and two others. The rules for the tax sales were given out before the first tract was described and the second part of the auction started. Two farms sold first then Dave watched as the other two bidders turned to leave.

The men looked at Dave and one of them said, "Are you here for the sale sir?"

"Yes."

"All the land has sold. All we have are a few old abandoned houses. Were you interested in one of them?"

"Yes, I may be crazy but there's an old house in Thomasville I'm interested in."

One of the men shuffled the remaining papers while he asked, "Which one is it, sir? We have three parcels in Thomasville."

"Dave gave them the address and the man sorted out the paperwork on Doc's house. He looked it over and said, "Taxes on that place come to a total of $1,575.00, an arrearage of 9 years and this years taxes will be due before December 31. The minimum bid is the tax balance sir."

Dave didn't even think about it. He said, "I bid $1,575.00. The men looked around and the auctioneer did his spiel before he dropped his hammer and said, "Sold for $1575."

Dave spent the rest of the day in town first settling up for the property and completing the paperwork such as deeds, recording the deed and even making that address his permanent residence so he could change his mailing address and legal residence. He registered to vote and even dropped by the power company to arrange for electric service.

It was almost four in the afternoon before he left the store and headed back to Knotts City. He pulled into a parking space near the cafe and walked into the cool room. As soon as he sat at his table, Twyla walked up and greeted him. "What'll it be tonight Dave," she asked.

I think I need one of your chicken fried steaks, potatoes and gravy and green beans tonight please."

"You got it. Where ya been all day? I didn't expect to see you for a couple more days since ya was in yesterday."

"Spent the day in town and didn't feel like cooking when I got back to camp."

Dave completed his meal as soon as Twyla brought it, paid his bill and headed back to the campsite. He parked, stripped and dove into the cool refreshing water for a relaxing afternoon swim. After the swim, he packed most of his gear that had been left laying around (almost everything was secured because he'd been gone all day) and sat watching the sun go down.

The next morning after a quick breakfast and his morning coffee Dave finished packing his gear, hooked his trailer to the truck and headed for town and his new house. By the time he'd worked an hour he'd had several people stop and talk to him, some watching for a few minutes while he cleared the brush and undergrowth from what remained of the driveway.

It took all day to get the driveway and a space large enough to park his truck and trailer cleared. He finally got the trailer placed where he wanted it and unhooked. He grabbed his ditty bag and headed for the creek on the edge of his property. There was a chest deep hole that was easy to get to so he waded out and took a nice bath before he went back to his trailer, took off his wet shorts and dressed in clean clothes.

When he finished dressing Dave walked the nearly two blocks to the cafe. He was late enough there were a half dozen tables with customers either eating or waiting on their meals. Dave took his usual table near the front window and smiled when Twyla walked up to him with a glass of water. She placed the water on the table in front of him, smiled and said, "Well, you're certainly the talk of the town now. I can't believe you bought that old house. Isn't it in pretty bad shape?"

"I've seen better but I believe it has strong bones. I'll drop a bundle fixing it up but when its done I'll have a nice place. I can sure use some help though. Do you know anyone that might be willing to help me strip it down and clean up the yard?"

"I might. Have you looked on the bulletin board? Sometimes there's something there. I see you moved your trailer into the yard over there. You going to be around working now?"