Requiem for 7979 Royal Lane

Despite our fond memories and all the good times, the great eyesore of Royal Lane was finally torn down on November 5, 2009. We showed up early in the morning, but they couldn't get started because of permits so we had to head to work and school. So, Sue Johnson (my mother-in-law who lives across the street) pulled out a lawn chair, and with Dr. Pepper in hand, watched and recorded all of the excitment for us.

They started with the garage first and hauled that away then worked rather quickly to tear down the rest, pushing it into the basement to more easily scoop it out and load it on to trucks. Watching this video later Dad commented that this house was built to last--"it could have stood for a hundred years". We all know that dad builds for the ages, but this house came down in a matter of minutes like it was built of popsicle sticks.

Going . . . going . . . gone.

I know it's not our house anymore and hasn't been for years. But, still, this could have been as wonderful a house for other families for decades to come as it was for the Homer's. As greed continues to consume our society we all suffer the consequences of unethical speculators or drooling mortgage gamers through a weakened economy and hard times for many. But there is more collateral social damage from this greediness: a hole in a neighborhood, the loss of what might have been. I know that the new owner of the property has plans of his own--maybe a pool, a back entrance to his 12,000 square foot house, or maybe another entrance to his batcave, and that's fine. But even as this demolition finally cleans up this crooked mess, it will not demolish the memories we all made at 7979 Royal Lane.