Thursday afternoon my wife, Jennifer Sparks Jones, posted this on Facebook; “End of an era for Franklin Jones … 1919 is ready for its new owner.” Of the hundreds of posts I’ve typed on this blog over the years, there has never been a more accurate statement.
For our Facebook friends who were perplexed by Jennifer’s post, here’s the deal. The house in the pic is where my late wife, Kinsey Black Jones, lived when we were married. What’s the big whoop, you may ask? Well, while we were only married 11 months, she passed away over 10 years ago. While my brother and I lived there a couple of years after she died, the house has been vacant all this time. I’ll let you do any mortgage/power/water/lawn maintenance/taxes math your mind can imagine. :/
Why did I keep the house? Truth told, I just liked having it. It’s the house I lived in with other fellas for a few years before Kinsey kicked them out; Michael Jones (brother), Scott Brown, Graem Clark, Adam Crosson, Trav Robertson, and a few others come to mind. 1919 Atascadero is where members of The Junior League of Columbia would pick Kinsey up so she could fulfill her shift schedule (she wasn’t allowed to drive after chemo treatments). It’s the house Mrs. Black (Kinsey’s mom) and I shared the last four months Kinsey was at Baptist Hospital. It’s where I lived when Jennifer and I began dating. It’s the house in which I ran the palmetto tree/collegiate mailbox flag business. It was in the driveway of Atascadero where Jennifer convinced me that I should become a REALTOR. Like my beautiful niece, Liz Black, “commented” on Jennifer’s post, “Sorry, it’s hard for me to be excited about this. My few memories of my aunt being healthy are in this house. :(” #Oof. #Bittersweet.
Fast forward to today. After all these years, why would I finally care about selling the house? A few reasons. 1) It’s the right thing to do. Duh… 2) Finley. 3) Twin girls on the way! In short, it’s ‘future time’ for our family, not ‘memory time’ for me.
Heart felt tugs to Jennifer for letting me be me, and lots of “Thank Yous” to friends like Amy Ackerman Cartin, Townes Denemark, Ginny Hairston, and Amanda Payne for having to hear about it and deal with it over the years.
Tonight Jennifer, Finley, and I cleaned out the last little bit of belongings that have been in the house since I moved out. This weekend I’ll go through Kinsey’s Hammond School bag she left at the house so many years ago. It will be interesting to see whose kids I know, and to wonder/find out where they are now.
Congratulations to the new owners of 1919 Atascadero Drive! I hope you’ll love the house as much as I do.
To Liz Black..Thank you, and please know I love you so much. This is a good thing, I promise. :**)
FJ
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