Picking Up The Slack

Today has been a perfect Fall day, blue skies with lots of clouds which may have threatened rain and thunder storms and the temperatures skyrocketed into the high 80’s, a perfect day to visit with my next door neighbor, Al. I have been neglecting Al for the past couple of weeks—so reason specifically except I have been busy. But I found out yesterday that one of his friends, a fairly close friend died. The friends name was Parley. I new him but not well. Actually yesterday, I tied to visit with Al but he disappeared in the afternoon. I looked all over the neighborhood for him and was a bit concerned. But turns out Al had gone out for a walk and turned in a direction I had not anticipated. But he was OK.

Parley used to live in the neighborhood and he and Al had been friends for some time, I was the new comer 16 17 years ago and had never got to know Parley. Parley often came over and joined Al and I when Al and I would be out by Al’s back steps visiting. I sort of felt Parley was muscling in on our conversation. Parley lived up round the corner part of the old guard. Following Parley’s retirement from Quest he purchased a couple of apartments in the neighborhood and kept close vigil on his “units” as Parley liked to call them. Five or six years ago he had enough of the “neighborhood” and the landlord moved South to Alpine, a community in another, more conservative county about forty-five minutes away. Parley continued to keep a pretty high level of visibility in the neighborhood. Parley had the money to have a person mow the lawn, provide upkeep and generally keep an eye on his property but Parley elected to do this himself dropping by once or twice a week to mow the law and do upkeep. Like I said, Parley was an OK guy, little more conservative for my taste but he always had interesting stories about the traumas and terrors of his property and tenants. It was always entertaining to hear views of renting from the landlords perspective. Parley did not die a natural death, cancer or old age. He died from an accident semi-traumatic but I guess traumatic enough to do the job.

Parley was just twenty years older then me, 77, not young but not as old as he could have been. Parley had a huge family who all took part in the funeral. I asked Al, if the funeral was as long as conference(two hours). Al said “no” just a lot of family talks and family singing. I have attached a hot link to his obituary and that is a nine hundred dollar obit! I am sorry Parley is gone—not that I will miss him but I know that both my neighbors well especially Albert. Al is a nice, quiet and shy. He does not have a lot of truly personal friends Parley was one of those. I think Albert is going to miss Parley a great deal…I guess its up to me to pick up the slack,