Lost Causes...conclusion

above photo...we begin work on one of many planters or flowerbeds. Have the stepping stones down and some of the larger shrubs planted. Each pink flag marks where we have yet to place a small plant. So many holes to dig...oh my aching back !

LOST CAUSES...conclusion

In conclusion, Brad was left without a business partner, though in reality BP had not been that beneficial to him. Most of his construction workers and subcontractors had left him, as they were all owed money; and he still had about 2 or 3 homes that were close to completion, but not close enough to be given that coveted CO ... certificate of occupancy.
Ultimately this led to his working every spare moment in a valiant but vane attempt to accomplish everything that needed to be done, doing whatever was necessary to get a home completed, approved and the CO issued. What's the big deal about a CO ? Well without it one can not close on a house but it is also to protect the homeowner. The house is inspected and the inspector makes sure that everything is in order, like there is a roof overhead, running water and that the bathrooms are all functioning... an out house in the back yard isn't good enough. Only with the CO can the homeowner go through closing and receive ownership of the house(though truthfully it’s the mortgage they receive). It is only with this certificate of occupancy that Brad could feel the house was legally finished. Sadly, landscaping is not required to receive that all important certificate !

A short amount of time, less than a year, and Brad’s business had bombed. Within 6 months he appeared to have aged 20 years. Tired, thin, worn to a nub, haggard and barely clinging on by his fingernails, it was hard not to feel some sympathy for the fellow.
The 1st Christmas in our new home I decided to send Brad a card. Knowing the ordeal he had been through, I didn’t have it in my heart to reprimand him, to be facetious or unkind. The card simply wished him a happy holiday, with our sincerest wishes that the new year would be a good and prosperous one for him.

above photo...Hours of labor and the last plant is firmly in place. Mulch has been spread and a once ugly patch of dirt and weeds now looks tidy and pretty.

Photo below...Same planter, different view. The large Ligustrum japonicum bush can eventually grow to be 20 feet tall, it was another one of our fortuitous acquirements. The plant nursery had two of these large shrubs and they were in dire need of being repotted. They offered them to us for half their regularly marked price, which was $120. Basically we got 2 for the price of 1. I'm grateful for any and all little favors that come my way.

Occasionally my hubby, John, would swing by Brad’s house, stop and check to see if anyone’s home. More often than not, no one responds to his rap at the door, but there are those rare moments when Brad would venture to see who had come by. On those rare occasions the two would talk, but not about money. John never asks for our money, that matter is a lost cause, it’s gone and best forgotten. However he does inquire about how Brad is doing. For a time the news was bleak; Brad was fighting to keep his home, it was on the verge of foreclosure, he and his wife were separated, he owed everybody money and couldn’t pay anyone. Then, the last time John stopped by and chatted, Brad was looking more cheerful, he told John how he had finally completed the last house and officially his construction business was out-of-business. He was now back doing what he had always enjoyed, working as a carpenter for a construction company. No hassles with permits and inspections, no longer hampered with a crew of slackers. He gets his paycheck and somebody else contends with all the headaches.

Perhaps, in the future, his wife will return and his life will be back on track again. I doubt that he will ever decided to return to the hellfire of owning his own construction business...or at least I pray that he doesn’t !