(Note: This episode is long overdue. The Idiots spent mid-November to mid-December in the Green Valley area, visited friends for a couple of days in Phoenix, then flew to Minnesota for three weeks with friends and family. They will return to Arizona in early January.)
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Lyrics from an Oldie…
Fools rush in
Where wise men never go
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The Idiots have never been moderate. After very traditional childhoods, they embraced the counter-culture of the late 1960s. They thought their conservative parents were imprisoned by traditional values – and the Idiots swore they would be different. The Idiots would be aware and involved and push all the boundaries. They would live without borders!
Years later, they looked around and realized that they were still living in their “starter home” – more than 37 years in the same location. They had two kids, three foster daughters, a series of cats, grew a lot of vegetables when they were young and lots of flowers in middle age. They had standard careers in education and retired with social security and pensions.
Pretty traditional lives for avowed radicals!
Over the years the Idiots found the respect for their parents that they denied them in their youths. The bedrock values – family, hard work, loving and sharing – provided the foundation upon which the Idiots built their lives.
Still… the Idiots have found opportunities to live lives much broader than those available to their parents. They’ve crossed physical and social barriers that were impenetrable to the previous generation. And every now and then they do something that makes them look at each other and say “It’s a good thing our parents are dead – cause this would kill them!”
Though the Idiots love traveling in The Beast, living in it for about 6 months last year demonstrated a few shortcomings. The space is snug. There is no room for activities - sewing, quilting, beading, painting, stained glass creation and so on. A teenage Idiot He favored folk songs about rambling men… and leans toward seeing a new horizon with every sunset. Idiot She enjoys her travel but has always favored spending more time in fewer places.
It became clear they should find a place in a warm climate to settle down for some months. As much as they love Roatan, Honduras, the distance from family and friends and lack of medical facilities took their tropical paradise off the list. They love Silver City, New Mexico, but it is too high and cold to provide the winter escape they craved.
Their thoughts kept coming back to Green Valley, Arizona. Mild climate… mountains… desert… great natural beauty… amazing sunsets It is small enough to feel friendly, but close enough to Tucson to have easy access to shopping, entertainment, and medical care. Over the years, a number of Idiot friends have bought winter homes in Green Valley. The Idiots decided that this would be the winter to spend some extended time in the area.
To Idiot He, that meant parking The Beast in an RV park in the desert south of Green Valley for a couple months. When it became clear Idiot She was envisioning more space, He expanded his thinking to renting an apartment or condo for a couple of months.
In September, Idiot He noticed an odd phenomenon. He would head off to bed each night with Idiot She saying she would join him in a few minutes. The next morning Idiot He would find an email from She suggesting he check out a real estate listing for a home in Green Valley – just getting information and exploring options, of course. Every morning, Idiot He would point out all the flaws in the property to Idiot She. Idiot She responded primarily with nods and eloquent shrugs.
The number of emails increased over the weeks… eventually settling in at about three each morning. Some of the “what do you think of this” properties were repeats. It became clear to Idiot He that he was going to be spending some time during their stay in Green Valley this winter checking out the real estate market.
It isn’t exactly clear when the exploration and investigation turned into serious searching. As has happened so often in their lives, Idiot He remained in an extended period of confusion as Idiot She was always a few steps ahead of him. Every train has an engine and a caboose. When it comes to major life decisions, Idiot He has become something of an expert at describing the receding landscape through the back window as Idiot She has consistently moved them forward into new ages and stages.
(Idiot She is a first child. Idiot He is a third child. And Idiot She is six months older. This is not intended as an explanation, but readers can draw their own conclusions…)
The process continued. Lists of “must have” and “would like to have” developed and evolved. One day a property popped up – both She and He liked it and there it met all the needs. Suddenly, the Idiots were not just looking for neighborhoods and floor plans…
So the Idiots bought a house – on the Internet!
They picked a real estate agent that friends had used… made an offer… dealt with a counter offer… wired a deposit… managed inspections and repairs… got house insurance and a sizable mortgage… all without ever seeing the place.
So in some ways, the Idiots ended up pretty traditional, like their parents. But buying a home on the internet? If there is a heaven, there are four bewildered parents wondering what exactly they did wrong…
Here are a few of the pictures from the real estate listing that convinced the Idiots they’d found a new nest… they will share their own pictures as they make the move into their new digs.
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(Note: The Idiots closed on the house in early December... had four days in the new house, which is mostly empty... then left for the trip back to Minnesota. The good news - they like the house!)
,........ then the inside ... it is just plain lovely 
