In my last post I linked to a story about my first apartment. I wrote it when the blog was new and had few readers. I think it deserves another chance.

I got my first apartment just before I turned 22. I had just graduated from engineering school in Terre Haute and had landed a job in town. I was excited about having a place to myself, but on my salary I feared I could afford to live only in a rough neighborhood. On the way to see an apartment on the wrong side of the tracks that summer, I passed through the Collett Park neighborhood with its American Foursquare and Craftsman Bunaglow houses. Built for a growing middle class around the turn of the century, it was a neighborhood of sidewalks and wide front porches. I admired its tightly packed homes as I drove slowly down one of its concrete streets. I noticed a For Rent sign in the front window of a tall house wrapped in red Insulbrick. Even though I doubted I could afford this neighborhood, I stopped and rang the bell. A large, gruff man in a thin, wrinkled, v-neck T-shirt and pale chinos answered the door and looked me over. I asked about the apartment and he disappeared to find the key. He showed me around the side to the entrance and as soon as I entered I was more concerned that I couldnโ€™t afford the place. It was clean. Hardwood floors glowed subtly around the roomโ€™s edge as they framed the fresh carpets. The walls were recently painted and wallpapered. The large, gruff man, who finally introduced himself as Steve, had clearly cared for the place.

Steve, suspicious of this wide-eyed kid, began to size me up by asking where I went to school. When I said Rose-Hulman his voice rose a note toward tentatively cheerful. He said he went there, too, back before the war when it was still called Rose Poly, but he couldnโ€™t hack it and went on to work 30 years at the post office. He talked as he led me through, alternating between Rose stories and calling out one or two features of each room as we passed through. I was glad he was talking, because I was becoming excited and didnโ€™t want to betray it. The apartment was good sized and nicely laid out. The bedroom had a built-in cabinet and chest of drawers. The bathroom was easily 12 feet square, with white porcelain tile covering the walls to four feet high and original antique fixtures. An early-1950s Tappan electric stove, gleaming in white, stood across from a long, shallow farmhouse sink in the kitchen. A breakfast nook off the kitchen came with with a built-in table and benches. French doors led the way from the living room to the den. The woodwork was 12 inches tall with corner posts, and the doorknobs were either glass or ornate brass ovals. By this time Steve was telling me that he bought the house when he married in 1935, that it was almost 100 years old, and that the original owner had built the apartment for his mother-in-law by blocking off three rooms of the house and adding the kitchen and den.

The history charmed me even though the place had a few faults. The hallway wallpaper had a hideous check pattern with large bright yellow flowers, the bathroom walls north of the porcelain tile were painted what a friend called whorehouse pink, I would have to supply my own refrigerator, the house had one furnace and Steve controlled the temperature, and Steve made clear that tenants could have all the friends over they wanted as long as they were white.

I wanted the place. I decided I could live with the shortcomings and I would cross the color line should it become necessary. I drew a breath, sure he was going to set a price beyond my budget, and said, โ€œI like it. How much?โ€

Steve drew back and narrowed his eyes at me for a minute. He said heโ€™d had a lot of trouble with recent tenants; he had just evicted a โ€œcoupla girls from Indiana Stateโ€ for having a string of different men staying overnight. He wondered aloud if I could afford it and if I would cause him any trouble. He examined me โ€” and in that instant I was sure that he was setting the rent just outside what he thought I could afford. After a long pause that made me fidget, he almost barked, โ€œ$250.โ€ I reeled, dizzy with disbelief over my excellent luck. That was less than what the rough neighborhoods were asking for lesser apartments. Still trying to mask my excitement, I quietly said Iโ€™d take it. He said, leaning well into my personal space, โ€œAre you sure? I said the rent is $250.โ€ I pulled my checkbook out of my back pocket and said, โ€œWould you like me to pay the first month right now?โ€ He backed off, took the check, shook my hand, and that was that. I had a home.

I canโ€™t imagine renting on a handshake today, but this turned out to be a great situation. Steve and his wife Henrietta were honorable people who stayed out of my business and kept the apartment in good repair. After Steve died, Henrietta took care of things herself. โ€œIf youโ€™re happy, Iโ€™m happy,โ€ she said to me several times, and never raised my rent.

When I moved in, I owned a bed, a dresser, a desk, and a broken black-and-white console TV. I bought a recliner and some tables at a used furniture store and accepted charity from Mom. Once I had the place suitably appointed, I started building my budding adult life in my little place, and invited my friends in. My girlfriend spent many of her evenings there watching TV with me. My parents visited from time to time. My brother would drive to town and we’d go out for drinks, or an old college friend would come up from Louisville and weโ€™d bring dinner in and rent videos. An old girlfriend came to see me from Bloomington, and a dear old friend flew in once from Toronto. I had a dear friend and some of her friends over for a toast of sorts when she graduated from St. Mary-of-the-Woods. I even made a nice dinner for my boss, his girlfriend, and my girlfriend (by this time, a different one). We all squeezed into the little breakfast nook to eat. My little apartment was at the center of many of my activities and so of my world.

A few sad and lonely years passed while I lived there. I broke up with the first girlfriend at about the same time another friendship ended very painfully, and meanwhile most of my friends were finishing school and moving away. I had a hard time getting over these changes, and I found it hard to make new friends. I was beginning to see some of the ways I wasnโ€™t healthy in my relationships, including how my behavior contributed to the breakup with my girlfriend and the messy end to my friendship. I felt lost and didnโ€™t know what to do. I used to beat myself up over not working harder to grow past these challenges, especially when I married that second girlfriend and the same issues contributed heavily to the divorce that followed years later. Fortunately, I have since forgiven myself for being human.

While I liked to take long drives to escape my feelings, I had to go home sometime and face myself. In hindsight, I see that my apartment was a blessing for reasons beyond the hardwood floors, the rent, the landlord, and even my friends filling it. It was a blessing because it was comfortable and safe place to start to learn to be me. I did a lot of things there that I enjoyed and that helped me figure out who I was and what I liked. I watched a lot of late-night cable in the dark with a beer in my hand. I taught myself how to cook and made myself any number of enjoyable meals. I sat on the floor in the den listening to album after album, sometimes singing along at the top of my lungs, thankful that Henrietta was hard of hearing. I participated in the local computer bulletin board community. Still, I spent many depressed days there and I couldnโ€™t seem to break out of it. I frequently wished for companionship, thinking that it would make the rest of my problems go away. When I found companionship, to my confusion the rest of my problems were still there. I found myself unable to make things better on my own. In the end, I realized there that I needed God.

And so the seeds of change were planted in me. Eventually I found God, who has healed me mightily. I started to learn there how to be content with my circumstances even when theyโ€™re not ideal. Those days enabled me to learn later that uncomfortable and unwanted feelings will pass on their own if I just let myself feel them. Those days tried to show me, though I still struggle with this lesson, that part of humanityโ€™s core beauty is its limitations and its imperfections.

Today when my days are troubled, I am likely to have dreams where the setting is that apartment. It represents comfort and a place where difficult things can happen safely. I miss the place. Iโ€™ve never felt as secure at home as I did there. When Iโ€™m in Terre Haute, I try to drive through the old neighborhood and see what shape itโ€™s in. The last time was a few years ago. While the block I lived on was still in pretty good shape, the blocks to the south had become rough. The house is now sided in grey vinyl with white trim. Henrietta’s health declined to the point where she had to sell the house. It’s a shame, because she had lived on that street all her life. But her life has moved on, and so must mine. But still, when I drive by, I want to park and go in. I would probably be surprised not to see my brown recliner there, the remote on the arm, waiting for me to sit and watch the evening news.

I started again when I bought my house after my divorce. Read that story.


Comments

14 responses to “A place to start”

  1. Robyn Weber Avatar

    I absolutely love this post, and plan to share it with my 21 year old son who is so wanting to move out on his own. Jim, you are simply a good egg, and that’s all there is to it. Thank you for sharing your gifts with all of us.

    1. Jim Avatar

      Robyn, I’m touched by what you said.

  2. Rama Sarma Avatar
    Rama Sarma

    Talking of the place where I literally started, I grew up in a big house in a small town. We were eight siblings. Dad and Mom had limited means for such a large family, but we never knew until we grew up.We always had a feeling that we were rich.
    We , that is, the children, grew and in good time went our ways. We meet once in a while,and when we do, an important slice of our time together revolves around our time together in that home of our childhood.
    Dad and mom are gone. The house is torn down,- a school has come up there , I believe..I have no heart to go to the town, lest it should interfere with my still intact memories of a happy childhood in that big house that used to be our home..
    I enjoyed your post and look forward for more such.
    – Show quoted text –

    1. Jim Avatar

      Rama, thanks for sharing your childhood memories. I shared mine last year at these two posts:

      http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/on-rabbit-hill/
      http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/rabbit-hill-today/

  3. CJ Avatar
    CJ

    Jim,
    This is a very touching story. I grew up in that neighborhood in Terre Haute, near Collett Park, and it was a fantastic place for kids. We spent hours and hours at the park, under the supervision of God only knows, our parents trusting that people would say something if someone tried to harm us, or to us if we didn’t anything untoward. I still search for neighborhoods like that one, with well kept old houses with charm. They are harder and harder to find these days.

    One of the houses I grew up in, on 7th Street, burned down many years ago, though the second one on 8th Street still stands. The neighborhood between Union and Collett seems to have been transitional for as long as I can recall, at least since the early 1980s. I’m glad you were there to enjoy it, despite the challenges of living alone. Take care, and thanks for posting.

    1. Jim Avatar

      CJ, thank you for stopping by!

      I had a girlfriend in my Terre Haute years who grew up on 9th St just south of Linden, and she spoke similarly of spending days unsupervised in the park. She loved coming over to my apartment and walking up to the park with me because it reminded her of some happy childhood memories.

      I, too, wish for a neighborhood like Collett Park.

  4. kiwiskan Avatar

    Love the story, but my Dad used to say ‘You can never go back’ and he was right. Too much changes, including yourself.

    1. Jim Avatar

      It’s true, of course. Doesn’t prevent my fond memories!

  5. Jenny Avatar
    Jenny

    Thanks for the memories! I grew up on 8th street just south of the park and I couldn’t be more thankful for my childhood. Whenever I visit Terre Haute I drive through the park with a smile on my face and a heart full of nostalgic memories. 12 Points was a wonderful place back then ( I was born in 67 and stayed in TH until I left for the Air Force in 87) and I remember my best friend and I riding our bikes all over that place. Tilford’s was where we got our candy, the movie theater was an awesome escape, and Ringbrings was the best pizza and coke memory ever. Pizza cut into squares, imagine that…
    I think my love for old houses comes from my memories of the Collett Park area and the grade school I attended on Linden Street, Collett Elementary (which was torn down) and then I attended Ouobache, located on Maple Avenue, for 6th grade. I miss those shiny squeaky hardwood floors from Collett.
    I cherish my memories and I love your blog. Thanks for sharing.

    Jenny

    1. Jim Avatar

      Jenny, I’m so happy you stopped by. I’m a 1967 baby too. So while you had your childhood in the Collett Park neighborhood, I began my adulthood there. I moved in two years after you moved out.

      I visited 12 Points last year for the first time in many years, and took a whole bunch of photographs. I wrote a blog post about that experience; here it is.

      http://blog.jimgrey.net/2013/02/15/a-sense-of-place-going-home-to-twelve-points/

  6. Annie Avatar

    I really enjoyed this story. It reminded me of visiting a house I used to live in as a teen right before my parents separated. It’s been a few years since I drove by it but whenever I do, I think about those few years there and the good memories made. I often wonder what it looks like now inside and so your photos, actual photos, from your time there quite delighted me. I wish I had some of mine! Such a great post. Thank you!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Annie! I’ve wondered how my apartment has changed, as well. I haven’t driven by in a few years. I should make a point of it next time I’m in Terre Haute. I’m so, so glad I have photos of the place now, though.

  7. Rita Mullis Long Avatar
    Rita Mullis Long

    I grew up IN 12 Points…from 1940 to 1959 when I married but my Mother and Brother stayed until about 1964 ? But still lived in neighborhood just off 13th St. We lived across from the Gsrfield Theater so pretty much right in middle !! Loved the place..all the businesses were my neighbors and w as in and out of most every day visiting the owners…Graduated from Garfield 1956.Rita Mullis Long

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I would have loved to see 12 Points in those days! Thanks for writing.

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