My neighbor up the street is an old man in his late 80s.
He’s got a kind of ramshackle house in decent condition. His yard and carport are something else entirely.
You see, the old man is a hoarder. He’s got old city benches in his yard. He’s got streetlights and boat bumpers on pedestals. He’s got an outdoor furniture collection of every possible kind of chair in every color combination.
Actually some of his stuff is kind of cool and interesting if you look past the junk piles.
His front yard is a wild garden of plants he’s cultivated for decades. His landscaping is clearly a DIY endeavor.
His carport is packed with tools, parts, ladders, paint, and building materials.
I’ve seen him stop to pick up treasures on bulk trash day- which I usually admire. But this guy doesn’t need any more crap in his yard.
I can only imagine what the inside of his house looks like.
Recently, I put a couple sets of shelves on the curb for bulk pickup. A few hours later, I saw the old man pick them up and take them home.
I thought he might take them to use to organize his stuff.
Nope – they’ve been sitting in his driveway for weeks, randomly arranged like his own plastic Stonehenge.
It cracked me up.
I was telling Zack this story and I said, “Can you believe, the old man up the street took the shelves. All 5 of them!”
As I was about to say something about old man being a hoarder, Zack said, “The old man up the street – the Artist?”
He went on to say how much he liked the guy’s yard, his unique style and his artifacts.
Hmm.
I admire the old guy.
He sits outside everyday to read the paper, hang out with his friends, or even to watch the birds, lizards and plants.
He never runs his AC.
He has a wild Florida yard that he maintains himself with a machete.
His car is an old, well used, Steve Ainslie special.
I’ve seen him sing and play harmonica. One time, he was accompanied by a young dude with an acoustic guitar who I’d guess was his grandson or great grandson.
He’s one of the few people I see who seems to really enjoy Florida’s natural weather, flora and fauna.
Now that I think about it – he is cool.
But until that moment, I never thought of him as an artist. Eclectic maybe. A hoarder definitely. Frugal for sure.
Zack’s simple comment made me consider him in a whole new light.