Welcome to the Neighborhood

Last night I was invited to my new home by the present owners. I knew the man was a former soap actor but that was it. When I got there, they both looked familiar but I was never a big soap follower so I didn’t really think anything of it. More on that later. I get there and this instant feeling of calm overtakes me. Here is my house! MY house! And in 26 days, I will be living here. I love this place. Every time it’s been a while since I have seen it, I begin to think I may have grand delusions in my head of how great this place is. Then, I get there. Nope. Not at all. It’s the best place I looked at in all my searching. So I’m thinking I’m feeling good because I’m in my house again. That was only part of it. This couple was the other part. They both were warm and welcomed me in while apologizing for the mess (they were packing). The purpose of this invitation was to meet and discuss what I would like them to leave behind. They own a home in New York. Correction, they own a mansion in New York and are going to live in it for a while. The man got a film that he’s starting soon. Shooting is in NY. Usually he works out of LA. Anyway, they are trying to take as little as possible since their home in NY is already furnished. They have a lot of really nice things and I love the way the place is decorated. The man is also a painter and has his work all over the walls. I told him he was welcome to leave his paintings. He laughed. Oh well, I tried. Other than that, they practically gave me anything I wanted. I had to really hold back because there were a few things I knew were pretty valuable but I just didn’t feel right about keeping; especially since I had furniture of my own. For example, they have a one-of-a-kind coffee table made out of an original fixture from the Walt Disney Studio lot. (They both worked on ABC soaps.) I ended up keeping a couple of bookshelves, a grill, patio furniture, lamps, a mirror, and this cute little cabinet for keys that caught my eye the first time I walked in there. After this is settled, they decide to show me all the little quirks about the place: What to do if the sliding French door ever gets sticky, Why the hall cabinet only opens halfway and so on… Then, they tell me about all the great places there are to shop, eat, and visit within walking distance. It’s obvious they really love and are going to miss their home. They told me they decided to go with me on the recommendation of their agent, who is a friend and because of the letter I wrote when I made my offer. They really wanted someone who they felt would love the place like they did. In fact, they said that if their lives brought them back out to LA they would try to buy another unit in the co-op. There is a unit above me and I once saw an older man on his balcony. I asked them about him and the couple begins to tell me how great he and his wife are. Before I know it, they’re taking me upstairs to meet the neighbors. They were right. This older Armenian couple open the door and the women begins to cry when she see us. The neighbors have really thick accents but say that they don’t want the sellers to leave. I am introduced to them and they apologize for their behavior and welcome me to the neighborhood. We’re all invited to sit down and out of nowhere all this food appears; homemade Armenian desserts and Armenian coffee. God, this stuff melted in my mouth. Their daughter happened to be visiting with her children and she begins to translate for them. They tell me that if I ever need anything at all, to knock on their door. We stay and get to know each other for close to an hour and I hear all about life in the co-op. How the neighbors are, where the fruit trees are and when the best time to pick from them is. The neighbors have this plush Concord grapevine growing on their balcony and they tell me that if it gets to be too much below, they will cut it back. What they don’t know is that the women already has shown me the hooks she placed in the overhang above the patio below where she strings the vines and intertwines clear lights when she has her dinner parties! Before I know it what was meant to be a 30-40 minute meeting with the sellers turns out to be a 2 ½ hour introduction to the complex. After leaving the neighbor’s we return to “our” unit and the man gives me a copy of a book that’s been published on his charcoal drawings. I ask him to sign it. As I start to leave, the couple gives me their phone numbers and tells me to call them if anything at all ever comes up once I’m moved in. I give them mine too. We all hug and I leave there on an absolute high. It doesn’t occur to me until later in the evening that things actually do happen for a reason; I was meant to find this place and they didn’t know they were selling until later on this year. So, back to the familiar faces. Today I IMDB’d both of them. They were both part of the original cast of that old soap called Loving. There are only two soaps I ever really followed, Santa Barbara (I had a crush on Mary) and Loving. As soon as I find out who the man played it clicked. It was him, he’s just a little older now. The woman and he meet on that soap! Between the two of them, they pretty much made the soap circuit: Loving, Another World, All My Children, One Life to Live. Who would have known back when I was in high school that I would buy Officer Mike Donovan’s house one day!