On The Street Where I Live - 6

The Wealthy Bag Lady

At the bottom of our street is an abandoned house. I never realized the house was abandoned until recently because the front yard is mowed once in a while. Word on the street is, the house belongs to a wealthy bag lady. She has something like $3 million in assets. But she suffers from mental illness and has chosen to live on the street. Some long-time residens of our street say they see this woman downtown sometimes, pushing her buggy of blankets and clothes, asking for handouts at street corners.

This summer, a neighbour was walking by the house when she looked up into the second floor window. Four eyes blinked back at her. She gave a little gasp and hurried home to phone the city. The city came to investigate. The workmen scooted the raccoons out and boarded the house up. They said they have not been able to collect property tax on the house for many years, but they were not in a position to confiscate the house. So the house sits there now, windows and doors boarded up. I found out the house's next door neighbour has been mowing the front yard. That way, the next door neighbour wouldn't have to look at neglect and shamble when they walk by each day.