Takin' the Blog for a Walk

it was time

Posted by Brien Lee on Nov. 19, 2009

say uncle, 6) when I'm feeling sad

Even though he passed away 30 years ago, my grandfather has been in my thoughts lately. All Souls Day, the day we especially remember those who have left us, was the second of Nov.. His last son, my Uncle Lee, was just buried two weeks ago. And the Milwaukee shop he built, I learned, was sold this week.

It was sad to see the Walker's Point buildings sold. I had worked in them for over 20 years, including a short period while Grandpa did too. The neighborhood was improving and I was becoming more interested in downtown. But I knew it wouldn't last. I just didn't think it would go as fast. One week last fall I heard we were going to move in three years and the following week I heard it would be in three months!

So the buildings and land are sold for what I'd guess to be a third of their value, being so close to Downtown Milw., but it's to be expected in a recession.

It was time to let it go. It was difficult for our semitrailer customers to get in and out, and our leaky old buildings cost thousands of dollars a month to heat and maintain. We are now right next to the freeway in Franksville and see many customers we never saw before.

Thank goodness my son got in the mood to clean the basement. It was a disaster. I helped him haul an old hide-a-bed up the stairs last night for trash pick up today. It was one piece of furniture I never wanted to give up. The green courderoy sofa belonged to my grandpa and weighed a ton. Whenever I saw it, I was able to see a pretty clear picture of my granpa as he slept on it at his Lake Kegonsa home.

I hated to part with the sofa. Thanks to my parents bringing it hundreds of miles down from up north, it was our first bed after my wife and I married. It had been in my family over 50 years. But it was time. No one wanted it. it took up space. The mattress was thrown out years ago due to a flooded basement. I will miss the sofa, but it was time.

With so much steel in the 1952 Simmons hide-a-bed, I was sad to put it out on the curb so late at night before trash pick up. Probably not enough time before pick up for someone to find it and recycle. At 6:00 this morning Sir Fido was outside barking at someone, probably the news delivery, so I let him in only to discover a recycler eyeing the sofa. I not only helped him load it up, but also gave him the old drier that's been sitting outside for a month now. 

It was time to get rid of the old buildings in Milwaukee. They'll be torn down or repurposed, but they no longer served our needs. It was time to get rid of the sofa that was no longer used as a hide-a-bed. I'm very happy that the sofa will have a new life in some other form and not just buried in a landfill.