Upon arrival at the office this morning and listening to a message on my answering machine, I got my day off on completely the wrong note. The call was from a tenant who lives in a home one of my clients own, and the message was informing me raccoons managed to chew a hole in the roof’s overhang and are living in a knee wall of the attic. I drove over there later this morning and sure enough, there was a hole large enough for a cat to easily crawl in and out. As I’ve said before, raccoons can be the absolute most destructive as well as exceptionally persistent in getting back in after holes are closed.
To make matters even worse, I received a call from another about an attempted break-in at their home around 4:00 a.m. this morning while they were in bed. It becomes a bit scary in how the dark side of society is becoming more pitch black. I always exceptionally angry in hearing about the nocturnal crimes that happen around our city as well as the world. It seems around the time of 4:00 a.m. is the hour in which the incidents of thievery spikes. Perhaps all of our law enforcement officials should be the more wary of people who’re out and about either walking or riding bikes around during that hour. I’d heard once before that in and around that time is when more burglaries take place than any other and the perpetrators are usually in a group of three. Let’s start using the rule of 4/3. If it’s around 4:00 a.m. and you find three individuals out and about, it might be best to take a closer look at what they’re doing and where they’re going. I’m very empathetic with anyone who’s been a victim of a robbery because there is always that lingering feeling of being violated as well as growing ever-watchful and fearful of it happening again. It creates a permanent scar in their psyche that last’s for sometimes their entire lives.
After getting through all the negative happenings this morning, I went with camera in hand to see the Egloff house being moved across Carolina Bridge. I found that I had to drive there three different times to get a good shot of it slowly inching its way across. It’s amazing how sophisticated house moving has become these past thirty years with the specialized hydraulic jacks that can adjust for every shift in the road that takes place. The diesel engine that was pushing it forward must have been custom designed for the task of delivering horsepower when needed. The garage section which is lighter will be moved across the bridge tomorrow. Most people don’t know the reason why the home was so difficult to get moved. It’s because there are no forgiving wooden floor joists. The house is rests on Sheffield tile and re-enforced concrete. The tremendous extra weight as well as the extreme care needed to ensure the home be lifted, moved, and rested back down without creating any extra weight dispersement or weakness which of course would then cause cracking. It is a work of art in progress. I can already see in my mind’s eye the home completely re-built and becoming the Queen of the 200 Block of East State Street. There is no question in my mind The Egloff House will become yet another major attraction for tourists. I’m falling even more in “like” with the European art deco design of the home.
After today’s happenings, I find myself drawing parallels with the great move of the Egloff House and the immense struggles some have with changes they know must be made in their lives for them to create a better meta-physical environment for themselves going forward. The keeping focused, the endless planning, staying diligent, and above all knowing that all will be better on the other side while crossing the bridge to a new life on the other side. It’s always best to never look back for fear of slipping on one’s journey.
