Here I am writing The Phil Factor in my third home in the last 11 1/2 years. It’s because I’m always “on the lam”, staying one step ahead of the law. I wonder if anyone has ever been on the lam on an actual lamb. I think trying to get away quickly while riding a lamb would be ill advised, although if you were on the lam on a lamb you could always eat it if you ran out of food. You can’t do that with a motorcycle. For those of you curious, it is on the “lam”, not on the “lamb”. Yes, I looked it up just to be sure. I have to keep moving, otherwise my mysterious past would catch up with me.
I don’t actually move that much. I moved about a year after starting The Phil Factor in 2005 and stayed there about 10 1/2 years, until I moved yesterday. As the title implies, I moved into a tiny house.
No, that’s not my new tiny house, and truth be told, I did downsize significantly, but not into a tiny house like that. And sadly, my new house isn’t on wheels. What is it with the tiny house people? Sure they save money on property taxes and utilities, but to what end? How many tiny house millionaires have you heard of? If you’re a tiny person I suppose that a tiny house wouldn’t be so bad. Like I said, that’s not me, but right now my life is filled with boxes waiting to be unpacked and me wondering where everything is going to go.
For me, more interesting than my house, is my neighborhood. It’s the kind of neighborhood that you’d find in a Stephen King novel. It’s a small street, just six tenths of a mile long, ending in cul-de-sac. Most people that have never been on the street don’t even know it’s there. The entrance to the street sits between two businesses on a main road. If you stand on the main road and look up the street you can’t really see anything. It turns sharply after about a hundred yards/metres. If you’re looking for it you can just barely see the first driveway but the rest of the street disappears in between tall trees on both sides. After you go around that sharp turn you enter a street that was probably an idyllic little neighborhood when it was built in the 1960’s.
Aside from being a street that seems to be hidden in plain sight, why do I find it a little spooky? Like I said, it stretches off of a main road into nothing. It’s surrounded by woods on all sides. Also, with the exception of a few invaders, most of the homes on the street are occupied by either their original owners, or the children of the original owners. I’m worried that I may have moved into some sort of weird cult neighborhood. (Even if it’s not a weird cult, it’s possible that implying my neighbors are cultists may not be the best way to make new friends)
Thirdly, it has no streetlights. Being away from other main roads or streets and stretching straight into a woodsy area makes it inky black outdoors at night and in the early morning. It’s the kind of darkness that cloys at you and swallows up everything about twenty yards/metres ahead and behind you.
This is my new street
Hey Phil….this article made me laugh. When we first moved in 8 years ago, it took me some time to get use to the darkness, quietness and wooded area too. But between the awesome neighbors that made us feel welcome, and the peacefulness, I wouldn’t trade our decision to move here for the world.
Best of luck in your new home. I hear weird neighbors and eerie woods make for some great stories. Embrace the dark!!
Chances are that my neighbors are thinking I’m the weird one.
yeah, I know the feeling LOL
Good luck in the new home Phil 🙂
Thanks Norm!
Haha! You always make me laugh. Don’t worry we’ll be out hunting for you soon 👀
I always worry about you two!
Phil, this looks great! Just thing of all the material you’ll have for writing!
That’s what I’m hoping! Thanks Meg!
I think it sounds wonderful. Then again, “Most people that have never been on the street don’t even know it’s there. The entrance to the street sits between two businesses on a main road. If you stand on the main road and look up the street you can’t really see anything” sounds exactly the same as my street, which is also a dead end, and mostly wooded. You know what it is? Peaceful and pretty 🙂
Enjoy. Maybe you’ll get some creepy stories out of the unnerving bits!
Embrace the darkness. It sounds like an adventure could happen at every turn of the road.
At least it is nice and quiet. Also no lights to disturb the sleep.
Sounds very American Horror Story. You should prepare for the future by watching Season 1 and Season 6. May the force be with you 🙂
Maybe I’ll get to that after I finish Penny Dreadful
Oh I’ve heard something about that? Tell me more!
It’s a very cool vampire hunting show taking place around 1900 in London. The story line combines elements and characters from several novels from around that time. It’s cool how the characters story lines intersect.
Does it have clowns?
No clowns, but it’s visually amazing to watch.
I’ll rack it up on the download 🙂
It’s true that your house may be cursed
But I suppose it could be worse
At least you don’t live with the Quakers
Or have The CheeseBergens for neighbors
(Quakers was the closest thing I could find to Amish that rhymed.)
Nicely done, although I think I’d enjoy having The Cheesebergens as neighbors. Our sons would have a famous band in no time.
Oh yeah, that’s for sure. You know we practice in our apartment….
Haha the neighborhood almost seemed charming despite your comparison to Stephen king. I live in an old neighborhood with houses approaching 100 years and I love it. Then the last photo came along. An image sure speaks a thousand words haha . Those groping hands come in the form of decidedly cute and deadly fat raccoons roaming about in the dead of morning at 6am
Congrats! In just a few short weeks, we’ll be moving away from the center of downtown into a wooded, older neighborhood. The “sound of silence” will probably be a major adjustment…and yeah, I’m only mildly concerned that no one will be able to hear me if I scream. 😱
I know what you mean. I could walk out my back and just disappear into the darkness, maybe dragged off by a bear or something.
Sounds like a great place for some spooky Halloween fun next year.