A Neighborhood Update

In the fall, it will be 10 years since the

Joneses moved into the Smith's house!

The scenery has changed in and around

the area now and then

(like when they built the charter school

and then the funeral home

at Post and Samrick)

This is one I wanted to show you

because it JUST HAPPENED!

Do you recognize where this is?

See the pedestrian bridge?

How many times have you driven up to this corner?

I bet you don't remember it looking like this!

Several weeks ago, we noticed "activity" going
on here.
Do you remember the house that was on this property?
Every year the people who owned the place
renovated a bit more of it --
a nice, old two-story . . .
They completely re-sided it last year.
I really loved the look of it.
Last week I was sick and home from work for two days.
The morning I returned to work --
the house was gone!
I was so distraught!
WHERE DID IT GO?
I was trying to figure out how far it could be moved.
It couldn't go very far east on West River
because of the pedestrian bridge --
and there were low utility lines in the other direction --
On our way home from church last Sunday,
I just happened to turn my head
when I noticed a "new" driveway off Samrick.
Farther up Samrick from us
on the west side of the street
is a dark grey house
(the one with the pretty perennial garden out front)
with a field on the south side
(you know, the one with the pumpkin patch!)

Not too far from where Jesse's "dragon" crashed & burned!

Remember?

The pumpkin patch was cleared to make
way for the missing house!

I feel a lot better now that I know where the house went!
I don't know why exactly, but
it felt awful not to know where it had gone.
I would have loved to have seen it traveling up Samrick!

In the past few days, they have really cleared out
the corner of West River and Samrick.
Grandpa Jones thinks something commercial
is going to replace the house . . .
A gas station? A party store?
Maybe a pizza parlor?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

So why did I take the time to tell you about this?
I know all of you live more than 1000 miles away,
BUT
I didn't want you ever to be in Grand Rapids
and miss your turn
onto Samrick!
AND I didn't want you to feel like a stranger to
the neighborhood whenever it is you do "come home."