As you can surmise from these photos, the exterior looks dramatically different now and the only thing that really surprised me is that he is not replacing the driveway, or at least not yet, which I thought was the most critical improvement needed for the exterior. The interiors now are absolutely gorgeous. He has done a masterful blending of modern decorating with all state-of-the-art amenities while preserving a very big chunk of the original house, cabinets and all.
For now, I thought it might serve as a valuable addition to the family archives to photographically document a small preview of what the house looks like in May 2013.
Photos 1&2:
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| Tim, I thought you’d appreciate these two – Parker’s garden survives. As you will soon see, very little else does. |
Photos 3-5:
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| And for John, just as Joe has always promised that he would, Shaun's grave has been preserved. |
As you can see, his rhododendron has been cut way back, which is probably for the best. It’s either that or he transplanted it and planted a new one on the grave. I say this because I’m quite certain that there was never a rhododendron next to the lavatory but there’s one there now and it look very much like the one that was on Shaun’s grave. On the other hand, the grave certainly doesn’t look like it’s been disturbed at all. My suspicion is that Joe simply cut back Shaun’s bush and planted a new bush next to the bathroom.
Photo 6:
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| The big shade tree in the backyard now just a lump of sand. |
Photo 7:
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| Some beautiful new landscaping underneath "Mom's office." |
Photos 8-9:
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| Ditto for the front of the garage, plus a new face for the front porch. Not exactly sure what that drain pipe is still doing next to the garage. |
The peonies survive! For whatever reason, though he replaced most every other plant on the lot, he has chosen to keep those ancient peony bushes. They haven’t had blooms in many years. I suspect he might be replacing them after he discovers that.
Photo 11:
A curious landscape decision, one lone tulip planted next to the back porch door, which I know was not there before. But I do like the way he has made use of all the white stones that were on our roof for 50 years and has now made some very attractive ground cover from them.
Photo 10:
The new entrance to 3535.
A final item of interest. Joe mentioned tonight that both he and Michelle have once or twice observed an elderly man (and Michelle also reported seeing an elderly woman) walking around the house. On each occasion, it was when there were a number of workers in the place and they both assumed that these were relatives or friends of one of the workers. They only recall seeing them for a moment and had the impression they were very pleased with what was happening to the house. Each time they asked the workers who the old man (or old lady) was and none of them knew anything about it.
You might guess where this is heading. The other day Joe stumbled upon my copy of John’s little mini-wedding album that he sent each of us for Christmas in 1989. I could swear I packed it, but evidently it got left behind. Joe said he found it on the workbench in the furnace room. He had never seen a photo of Mom and Dad before so when he saw the group wedding photo, he immediately recognized Mom and Dad as the old couple he has observed walking around the house. He was very happy that they seemed so pleased and feeling their presence there has given him and Michelle a profound sense of peace.
I mentioned that Elizabeth has told me on several occasions that Filipinos possess a special sensitivity to supernatural phenomena so he need not be embarrassed about telling me this. In fact, he said, knowing I had an open mind about these things was the only reason he was sharing it. I shared with him that I too had seen Mom and Dad in the house a couple of times, but only as the result of lucid dreams that came to me in the depths of my grief in the weeks following their deaths. For those who may not be aware of the term "lucid dreaming," it is a valid psychological term for a very special kind of dream that is so startingly real that, even after you wake, you still can’t be sure that it didn’t really happen. In any other kind of dreaming, you know as soon as you wake that you had a dream. In lucid dreaming, you don’t. So yes, skeptics can say we were just dreaming. But from the point of view of those of us experiencing it, we honestly believe that we were in fact wide awake and what we experienced was real, or at least some sort of alternate reality. Whatever the case, the only times in my life that I have ever been able to experience lucid dreaming was when I was going through intense grief. That’s too high a price to pay. If that kind of pain is what is needed to visit with Mom and Dad, I’d just as soon wait and have our reunion the old fashioned way.
Anyway, I’m happy to hear that Mom and Dad seem to be keeping an eye on the old house and hopefully they’ll be haunting it for many years to come. They are most welcome to Joe and Michelle.
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