I have to confess that I don't know my next door neighbour very well. I have yet to learn his name (first and last) and have no clear idea which of the many people of ages who come and go actually live there.
On the other hand, I am certain I know more about his professional life from the endless parade of trucks and cars that arrive broken (and muffler-less) and disappear after a few days spent hidden in the plastic portable garage that takes up so much of the driveway, that everyone has to park on the lawn.
Repairing vehicles is a year-round pursuit but summer time brings out what I take to be the neighbour's real passion so now the place is packed with seriously dented, heavily reinforced sedans whose gas tanks sit proudly in the back seat and whose windshield and door glass is long gone.
I try to see all this in a positive, creative light.
While I was building the dry stone tree sculpture on our property last weekend (see July 28 entry) my neighbour spent Saturday and Sunday a rather different way. He towed his car somewhere and entered it in some sort of demolition derby. I guess we both spent our free time smashing things with our hands, me rocks, him cars. The similarities end there. My new tree installation, set back nearer the house, can only be seen by people who come up our driveway. His car, 'Demo Demon' (written in yellow dribbly letters) sits on a trailer behind his truck in front of our property right on the street for all to see.
Actually this is where he always parks his trailer and truck and it continues to be a bit of an eye sore. Today it looks more like two eyes sores! The poor bashed up car and grimy trailer have been parked there all day. I'm guessing they will be there for a while. In my desperation to see this in a creative reflective light I decided it deserved a photo (and a blog post).
The nice dry stone wall in the background is mine. It was built a few years ago partly to make the front of our property look pleasing from the road. I was wondering about asking my neighbor not to park there. But I probably won't.
