4.05.2007

turtle neighbors



A couple weeks ago I was in southern Florida where the royal palms sometimes bend over highways to make natural tunnels. I was visiting my great aunt and uncle who live in a pole barn turned house surrounded by orange trees. This is the kind of place where you need not buy artificial scented orange cleaner. Simply crack the windows, allowing the sweet blooming aroma of valencia to float in.

After visiting their neighbor, an old turtle, I got a tour of Uncle Jim and Aunt Suzie's place and watched tv from thier spiral staircase. What I love the most about the home is the paneling on the walls and the paint spattered ladder they used for the loft guard rail. When I asked my relatives about the bohemian arcitecture, they said the walls where made of salvaged cabinet doors from ramshackle houses they tore down in West Virginia, which were replaced by new structures for those who had no place to stay. And it was for these projects that they used the paint splattered ladder if I remember right.

I thought this beautiful because everyone should have place to call thier own. And if possibe, it should be a house built with recycled materials, and a home made of memories.

No comments: