We live in a beautiful woodframe house. We have hardwood floors, spacious glamorous bedrooms, a delightful bathroom, a kitchen with all the amenities, a front porch that evokes images of the American Gothic tradition. We feel privileged and special for living in such a glorious residence. Even though the roof leaks, the paint is peeling, the windows rattle, and the heat only turns on at 5 a.m. and in August. But what makes it okay is that we know Wesleyan cares. How do we know this? Because Wesleyan University sends people to repair our roof and repaint our porch at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings without letting us know ahead of time, so that we might try to find more amenable lodgings for the evening. Like The Wesley Inn. Please. All we ask for is a notice on our door (or through email—we have internet sometimes) that there will be a large group of rowdy men outside our bedroom windows in the wee hours of the morning, serenading us with a symphony of booming bass voices and hammers.
This will benefit everyone. For example, when we were woken up one brisk morning and asked to move the car in the backyard, before it would (giggle) get crushed by falling roof pieces, we had to scramble around trying to find its owner (our neighbor). We could have done this at a normal hour and with greater efficiency had we known when the workers were coming and what their needs would be. Also, we would like to have prepared snacks and juice boxes for the workers, making impromptu runs to Stop n’ Shop (Weshop isn’t open at this hour) is inconvenient and rough on our fuel efficiency. We do sincerely thank you for the routine maintenance that keeps this house looking dapper and spruced, but pretty please, next time, give us a heads up first.
Your lovely but cranky (and sleepy) residents at 251 Pine,
Dana Taussig, Hanako Moondance and Chloe Safier
Leave a Reply