I grew up in upper Michigan. My parents owned a house with a view of a large lake. The lake itself covered 20 square miles. The house had a view, it was not on the lake. Across the street on a large lot, through the trees, there was a small house. Behind that house was the lake. The lake was a hub of activity in the summer time with people from downstate coming up to water ski, laze on their pontoon boats and race around on the jet skis. There were a couple of public beach areas for local residents that didn't have water front property, and that is where I spent most of my summers until the age of 16.
The year before I turned 16, the gentleman that owned that house across the street passed away. His wife decided to sell the property and move into town closer to her daughter and grandchildren. She had offered the property to her daughter and son-in-law (at least that was the rumor), but they couldn't afford the upkeep or the taxes, so had to pass. The mother wound up selling to a gentleman from downstate. The house that was on the property was at least 50 years old, and needed repairs. The gentleman decided to tear the house down and rebuild. This had been happening more often lately. Rumor was that he planned on building a large house. As usual, there was grumbling from the local residents about the changing landscape. Some people said it was his land, and he could build any type of home that he liked. The property was zoned for single family homes only, so it wasn't like he was going to build a hotel, or apartment house.
My father had passed away a few years before this, so it was just my mother and me in the house now. One afternoon, after I had got home from school, there was a knock on our front door. I answered it, and found a man, probably in his 30s (?). He inquired if my parents were home.
JACK: Hold on. I'll get my mother.
My mother, Helen, had just gotten home from work herself. She was a nurse and usually worked the early shift in the ER at the local hospital. She had just started preparing dinner. She went to the door to find out what the gentleman wanted.
BILL: Hello. I'm just going around to introduce myself. My name is Bill Williams, and I own the land across the road where the construction is going on.
HELEN: Well, hello Mr. Williams. My name is Helen Palmer, and that was my son, Jack that answered the door. Can I offer you a cup of coffee?
BILL: Thank you. That would be nice.
My mother invited him in, and had him take a seat.
HELEN: Jack, keep Mr. Williams company while I make a couple of cups of coffee. Do you take cream or sugar (looking at Bill).
BILL: I take it black, thank you and please call me Bill.
Bill sat down in a chair, and I sat on the couch.
BILL: I assume that you are in high school Jack?
JACK: Yes sir. I'm a sophomore.
BILL: Sir is not necessary. I'd appreciate it if you would call me Bill.
JACK: Yes sir, I mean Bill.
BILL: I have loved this lake for years. My parents used to rent a place on the other side of the lake when I was younger. I can't believe that I found a place of my own here.
My mother walked in with a couple of cups of coffee on a tray and a couple of plates of cookies. She handed a cup to Bill, and put a plate of cookies on the table next to him, then placed her cup and the other plate on the table in front of us.
HELEN: I'm sorry Jack, would you like a pop?
JACK: Yes, but I'll get it.
I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a Coke from the fridge and returned to the living room.
HELEN: I heard what you told Jack about staying up here in the summers. Do you know whose house you stayed in?
BILL: I've driven around the lake a couple of times. I think the house is no longer there. It seems to have been torn down, and a huge house has been put in its place. It doesn't seem to fit the lake. I can't remember the name of the people that we rented it from.
HELEN: There has been quite a bit of that going on around the lake. I must tell you that the neighbors have been worried about the structure that you're putting up.
BILL: Well, that is the main reason that I am trying to meet the neighbors. I spoke with the Peters a couple of doors down and they mentioned the same fear to me. While the house I'm planning on building is going to be large, much larger than a single guy needs, it will only be one story. I was lucky in that the property covers 3 acres, so I have plenty of room to put a ranch house on it. I hope that the final product will be more in keeping with the serenity of the area.
HELEN: That sounds nice. I look forward to seeing the progress of the construction. Once I heard the house was going up for sale, I assumed that the old house would be torn down. I'm so happy that you're trying to have your house blend in with the locals. Did you hire an architect and do you have drawings?
BILL: I do, but those are back home right now. There will be 4 bedrooms, an office, and I intend on putting an indoor pool along the back of the house, so that when I come up in the winters, I'll be able to swim. I use swimming as my aerobic exercise.
HELEN: Jack loves to swim too. He and his friends usually bike up to the park about a mile up the road in the summers.
BILL: Actually, I was wanting to meet Jack. When I was speaking with the Peters, I asked them about any local kids that they thought might be interested in mowing my lawn, and taking care of the pool when I'm not around.
That got my attention.
BILL: Of course, if Jack agrees, he is welcome to use the pool if he likes as well. There will eventually be a dock, and if he and his friends want to swim off the dock, instead of going down to the park, that would be fine with me as well. Within limits of course. I wouldn't want any parties, or underage drinking there.
HELEN: That is a big lot. All we have is a push mower. I'm not sure Jack could handle that much land with that mower. I guess that I could buy a self-propelled mower for him. What do you think, honey?
Like I said, I was 15 at the time, and still only 5'5" tall. I barely weighed 120 pounds.
JACK: Can I ask how much I would get paid?
BILL: Good question. First off, I plan on having a riding mower there, so you wouldn't need to buy another unless you want to do so for your lot. I was thinking about $50 a week to mow the lawn and $25 to take care of the pool. I'll make the sure the deck of the mower can be raised, so that if you wanted to bring it across the road and mow this lawn, you could do so.
JACK: I don't know how to take care of a pool, but I'm willing to learn.
$75 a week during the summer, and $25 during the winter months. I wondered if Ma would make me put it in the bank for school?
HELEN: Are you planning on spending much time up here, Bill?
BILL: As much time as my work allows. I work in IT in Oakland County. I have a home down there, but I really like the quiet up here. Hopefully, every weekend and several weeks during the summer. Eventually, I would like to move up here full time if I can figure out how to do that.
HELEN: Well, Jack and I will discuss it. Would you mind giving me a phone number where we can contact you?
BILL: Absolutely.
He reached in his pocket and took out a business card. The card had the name of Williams and Associates on it.
HELEN: Your company?
BILL: Yes. I graduated with a computer engineering degree, and managed to write a software program as one of my first projects. I got lucky, and hit it big with that. I started my own company and hired a few programmers and IT experts. Now we have contracts with several companies in the Detroit area, and are expanding out.
HELEN: Jack was thinking of going into engineering.
BILL: Oh. Do you know which field, Jack?
JACK: I know that I want to build or design things. I'm actually thinking of architecture or engineering.
BILL: Are you going to Michigan?
JACK: I hope so, if I can get in. I understand that their requirements are pretty high.
BILL: It's a great school. That is where I went. Well, I've taken up enough of your time. I look forward to seeing you again, and meeting your husband.
HELEN: I'm a widow Bill.
BILL: I'm sorry. The Peters never mentioned that to me, and I just assumed.
HELEN: Don't worry about it. Its been a couple of years now and there is no way you could of known.
BILL: Please, talk this over with Jack and let me know.
HELEN: I am curious about why you just wouldn't hire a landscaping company to take care of your property and a pool service?
BILL: I will have a landscaping company taking care of the shrubs and trees, but I just prefer to have someone nearby that I can count on for other things, like the pool. I figured mowing the lawn was a good way to handle that. I was hoping to have neighbors that could notify me of anything that might be happening with the property if I was not around, and finding work for neighbor kids is my way of giving back.
HELEN: I like that. Jack and I will discuss it, and let you know.
Mother showed him to the door, and thanked him for stopping by. He inquired about the properties on either side of his, and mother told him that like him, they were people from downstate that spent a lot of time here in the summer, but not much time other than that.
BILL: Do they live down in the Detroit area?
HELEN: I believe the Walkers do.
BILL: If you have contact information for them, maybe you could pass mine along to them. I could meet them down there.
HELEN: I'm afraid that I barely know them, but they should be up here this weekend. They are here most weekends from April until October.
BILL: Well. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.
After Bill left, mother went back to making dinner and I did my homework. My mother was dating a man, Jim, and he was coming over for dinner. Jim was a deputy with the local sheriff's department. Mother filled him in on our discussion.
JIM: Something doesn't seem right about this. Would you mind if I checked up on him? I can make some calls.
HELEN: He seems like a nice guy, but I think I would feel better if you checked. Thank you.