Libra’s Dilemma
a duplex decision
On July 1, 2022, I got a phone call from my downstairs neighbor. We live in an old urban duplex that was long ago converted to six apartments, one above the other, three on each side. My neighbor said, “Pat’s here. Can you come down?”
Uh oh.
Pat is our landlady. Pat’s not exactly a slumlord, but let’s just say she isn’t big on upkeep. So when she decided to paint the outside of the building, my downstairs neighbor was sure it meant she was getting ready to sell. Uh oh.
They were sitting on the front porch, where my downstairs neighbor often hangs out and befriends every passing dog. I looked at my neighbor. She looked at Pat.
“We are going to sell the building and wondered if you’d like to buy it?” Pat said. “We are asking $400,000. We’d be willing to hold the loan, but you’d have to put down $150,000 so we could pay off our mortgage.”
Thus began my ordeal.
I was born at the beginning of October, which means I’m astrologically a Libra. Most of the planets happened to also be in Libra at the hour I was born, which renders me super duper extra Libra. Librans are famous for indecision, so there may be a valid cosmic excuse for my problem, but mostly I tend to feel responsible for this flaw in my character. And yet without fail, no matter…
