Monday, May 8, 2006

"I'll take what's behind the blue tarp, Alex..."

Surprise! But not the kind you enjoy.

Last Saturday morning, some neighbors were taking a walk down one of the main roads in our area, and were passing by this house.

blue tarp


The yard used to be immaculate and gorgeous. We would comment on it whenever we'd take the dog out for a walk. But lately, the whole thing has gone to pot. Weeds growing out of control, and the whole place looks like it has just fallen into a general state of neglect.

Then there was the blue tarp over the garage door. It looked as if the door was broken, and that the blue tarp was the only way the owner could cover his garage. But the tarp stayed there... seemingly forever. If the neglected state of the yard didn't say "white trash", then certainly, the tarp did.

So, the neighbors who were out on a walk were getting pretty disgusted with this place, and were about ready to report the owner to the homeowner's association when the husband gets an idea.

"I'm gonna go peek under the tarp", says the husband.

"No you are not!, says the wife.

The husband walks up the driveway and peers behind the tarp, expecting perhaps to find several bales of marijuana, or maybe a meth lab. What he did find, however, will haunt him for quite a while.

The owner of the house was sitting in a chair in the garage. Dead. He had shot himself in the head.

The husband freaks out, calls the cops, and then calls another friend to wait there with him. So, a few minutes later when I drive by with all of my kids, half of the street is cordoned off, and four police cars are sitting in front of the house with their lights flashing.

The initial forensics report indicated that he has been dead for roughly a month. Dead. Sitting behind that tarp every time we walked by with the dog.

Apparently, the man had no family or friends in the area... no one to miss him when he died.

How completely tragic...

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