Last week I had a post about the fire on Memorial Day weekend that killed my neighbor. Many people expressed sympathies and left kind words in the comments. Thanks again for that.
But I never followed up on that post, which sort of left things hanging. I apologize for that. I’m happy to report that W – Frank’s widow – is doing just fine. She’s taking it quite well. We’re also finding out just how many friends Frank made in his lifetime and how many people he helped. There seem to be quite a few people who knew the man and who were grateful for some favor or help he’d given them in the past. Some have come forward and W has lots of people offering all sorts of help. Frank worked most of his life in the Steel Mill, and years of overtime as a mid-level somesuch, working at union prices, left him well-off enough to retire quite early and amass an admirable collection of vehicles and tools. I claim no knowledge of their finances, but they seemed well-off and W does not seem to be concerned about that sort of business.
The backyard excavation continues. It looks like they’re digging the foundation for a skyscraper right now. I can’t believe they have had to dig up so much land for such a small building, but the garage runoff was apparently Not Nice Stuff and they wanted to make sure they got it all. I’ve been told that all of the landscaping will be restored, just as it was. My wife contributed a few of our flowers to the effort for when the time comes. Again, I don’t know if this is a result of insurance money, Frank’s savings, or the help of friends, but it’s being taken care of.
So W is doing fine. My wife has offered help several times, but W doesn’t seem to need anything. It was a terrible thing to have happen, but the aftermath is about as merciful as one could hope for. If he’d left her penniless, or if their house was consumed, then grim days would be ahead, but his success with people and money have apparently softened the blow.
Thanks again to everyone who expressed concern. Again, I apologize for not following up. I was suddenly reluctant to talk about it, but I’m the one who brought it up in the first place and I should have posted this sooner.
Maybe I’ll post some more of the yard digging later today. Someday the landscaping will be restored, and when that happens I’ll put up some pictures of that as well.
LATER: I should add, I really appreciate sentiments like this. (Which was written before this post.) It does cheer me to know there are still nice people out there.
Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.
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