Movin' on up. To the ghetto?

Today's tale is a true story. Maybe. I may have taken liberties by changing names and details to protect the young and inexperienced. Or I may not have. I leave that to you to judge. It is a little long, but it is a cautionary tale that is guaranteed to make you laugh. Or, at least, it has made everyone laugh who has heard it thus far. But there is also an important message in it that I want to share with everyone who reads this blog.

Enjoy!

Once upon a time, there was a boy whom we will call Adam. Tall, dark and intellectual, he was brimming with the over-confidence of all new graduates, ready to take on the world. He had a girlfriend, a sweet and kind redhead whom we will call Carmen, who was hardworking and earnest.

Together, they were moving to a distant galaxy called Wisconsin, to the quaint little burgh of Madison. It is a smallish city, as cities go, full of life and zest - the state capitol, as well as the home of the flagship state university, where Adam would soon be attending graduate school.

Adam and Carmen, full fledged adults, decided to make this move with little advice or direction from other adults, because they felt they were skilled enough, having moved across town previously, to handle the cross country move without assistance. [This is called foreshadowing, just in case you missed it.]

Our story begins when the daring duo traveled to Madison by rocket ship in the spring, to view their potential new locale and learn everything they could before making the move. Talk about foreshadowing. They left eight hours late, and had car trouble three hours from home in the wee hours of the morning.

They toured apartments where they hoped to find their perfect new abode. Adam met with educators and administrators, to find out more about the school and the opportunity he would have in this faraway land. They toured the local nightlife, they absorbed and imbibed in everything Madison had to offer, and they saw the lakes and parks and other attractions. Finally, their curiosity satiated, they returned to the land of Oz.

At last, they made the momentous decision that would change both of their lives. They were going to move to Madison to begin life anew in this foreign land.

They were excited, they were nervous, they were happy. Real Life awaited them; away from the confines of the small town where they had spent the last few years, and away from the families that smothered them with advice and direction. They were Mary Tyler Moore standing in the middle of Nicollet Plaza, throwing their hats in the air, declaring their independence. It was intoxicating, invigorating, thrilling.

They finally made a choice of apartments, and committed to one by ceremoniously signing the lease and faxing it in. [They were very welcome. Anything to get their stuff out of my dining room so I could walk through it again.]

One curious detail that they glossed over, however, was the lack of a security deposit required. While that seemed very strange to the Parent currently In Possession of them and too much of their stuff [from here on out known as PIP,] who eventually heard this bit of news a day or two before the move, the brave couple assured said PIP that things were handled differently in this strange galaxy, and no deposit was required. PIP was delighted to hear this, obviously, and though still concerned, kept qualms to self so as not to crush the spirit of the adventurers.

They made their plans, Carmen made list upon list, and moving day gradually crept up on them. Suddenly, before they knew it, it was time to pack the truck and head off into the sunrise [they were heading northeast, thus sunrise, not to mention they keep the weirdest hours, another reason they would not be as missed as you might imagine] to begin making it on their own.

Except there was a problem. There was no truck. Sadly, one of the items missing on the detailed list was the early procurement of a moving truck. Thus, mere moments before the truck should have been loaded, we find our heroes sitting in the kitchen in the dark of night, attempting to reserve a moving truck for August 1, which is, unbeknownst to them, the single busiest moving day of the year. [Apparently it did not occur to them that just as they wanted to move in on August 1, so would a lot of other students. All across the country. At every single university and college. Who knew?]

Eventually, after a false start or two, including a two day delay, they found a moving truck that would work within their budget, and they began rejoicing. They created a master moving plan, timetable detailed to the minute for the day of the move. Their belongings scattered across the state, they decided they required a full day to load up the van, allotting three hours here, four hours there, a couple more hours somewhere else, and finishing up with a flourish by dinner time.

They discussed the options, and felt they would be able to rest after dinner, then drive through the night to reach their new home in late morning. PIP was scheduled to arrive at the end of the day to help unload and unpack and get the apartment set up.

The big day arrived, and they were up and out nearly on time, which is, in itself, nothing short of a miracle. They procured their truck, and they commenced loading. The first that PIP knew of any difficulties was a phone call fielded at 9 p.m. letting her know they were a little off schedule.

How little, you ask? Well, they were still in the first location, and weren't quite done. They still had another location to go, not to mention everything that was here. Which, curiously enough, was not fully packed, ironic though that was, considering how many times the suggestion had been made to get it ready to go. But I digress.

A new plan was clearly in order, and thus, PIP was suddenly in the vanguard, leading the way to the new galaxy, with the belongings to follow later in the day.

PIP took off early in the morning, to arrive in time to be available for the internet installer to be let in. To shorten this story slightly, things did not work out as planned. Shocking, I know, but true.

The modem, which was required for install, was in the moving truck, still eight hours away. Thus, the install was cancelled and rescheduled for a couple days later. Since the boy and girl of the hour were not anywhere in sight, PIP got herself a hotel room for the night, and checked in before going to the apartment.

The hotel was in a very nice area, less than a mile from the apartment. After checking in, PIP headed over to see for herself what they had come up with. As she drove, her spine began tingling, and she felt the nerves in her stomach tightening with each passing moment. The neighborhood was going to the dogs [pit bulls] and she felt many misgivings as she glanced around the too slowly moving vehicle.

PIP pulled up in front of the complex, having nervously observed a group of young men standing across the street. Unless she was much mistaken, it appeared to her that they were a gang, and she was pretty sure she was not mistaken. PIP nervously contemplated her options as she frantically dialed the number given to her to reach the manager, and finally decided to get out of the car and look bold.

Which she did. She looked really bold. All 5'8", 125 pounds of her. She leaned against that little white Mustang convertible as though she owned the world, meantime shaking in her flip flops like she was having a seizure. But she looked bold. Yes Indeedy.

While waiting, PIP sent a text to Adam, suggesting the possibility that this neighborhood left something to be desired. Like, for example, safety. His response? We checked the online reviews, and they were very good. [More foreshadowing here. Just saying.]

The manager finally returned the call several extremely long minutes later, and informed PIP that she was in the wrong place. Well Then! Okay. PIP drove further down the street, only to realize that, in fact, she was only a couple of buildings off, and was now situated across the street from a Habitat for Humanity house, currently unoccupied. PIP was happy that there was underground, enclosed parking, because she had a strong feeling that the daring duo was in over their heads.

PIP received the paperwork and door keys from the manager, and he indicated he lived in the next building over if there were any problems. He was very sweet, but in quite a hurry. Such a hurry, he didn't even ask for first month's rent, which was a definite indication to PIP that she needed to vacate the neighborhood before dark. PIP did ask about safety issues as she saw his back rapidly receding into the dusky evening, and was assured by a comment thrown over his shoulder that things were definitely getting better in the neighborhood, and everything was swell now. Um. Okay.

The apartment was lovely, new appliances, and carpeting had been installed just that morning. Walls were repainted, and it was really very nice throughout. A lot of apartment for the money. Yes, folks, this is another indication something is not what it seems.

PIP went back to the hotel, and sacked out for the night, leaving the key to the apartment in the car for Adam to find when he finally arrived. Which he did at 5 a.m.

At 7, PIP awoke to a text stating that moving had commenced, but now sleep was required, and come over at 4. In the afternoon. PIP was flying out the next evening, so that did not leave a whole lot of time to help, leaving PIP feeling a little miffed. Finally, around 1, PIP received another text letting her know they were up and ready to move, so she headed right on over to help them out.

This is when things got really interesting.

The street was quiet, save for a few mothers and their children who were out playing in the front yards. One of which had weeds waist high. Xeriscaping, perhaps? Low watering landscape plan?

Carmen remarked on how sweet it was to see the children playing, in fact. This was immediately followed by four police cars pulling up directly in front of the moving truck, and eight officers running to the house across the street.

After the excitement had died down, Adam went over to the nearest cop and asked if crime was a problem in the area. The cop looked at him and laughed, then said, "No." Adam came back telling us this, feeling a little bewildered as to why the police would laugh at an honest question like that. [You will figure out the answer for yourselves, I promise.]

About 3 p.m., Adam decided he was hungry, and needed sustenance. Since there was no time to go elsewhere, he called for pizza delivery. As he talked, his face grew more and more incredulous. He eventually got off the phone without having ordered anything, and told Carmen and PIP that the pizza shop, which was three blocks away, would not deliver to that block because their drivers kept getting held up. It was at that moment PIP saw the truth begin to dawn upon the fair maiden and her gallant knight. It was not a pretty sight.

By this time, Adam, being the upstanding kind of guy he is, felt he had to get over to the office to pay the rent, so it would not be late. He took off with the checkbook, and was gone a very long time, which caused PIP grave concern. She was just beginning to think it was time to form a search and rescue party when she saw an amazing sight coming towards her.

It was Adam, in his little white flip flops, long blue shorts flapping wildly, grubby wife beater shirt exposing limbs flailing wildly as he ran across the grounds screaming, "GET IN THE APARTMENT NOW." This unexpected apparition was so startling, PIP and Carmen were dumbstruck, and had no response. Again, he screamed, "Get in the apartment NOW." PIP and Carmen felt it would be best to comply, and met Adam at the door. Everyone went with great haste to the apartment, whereupon PIP said, "What on earth is the matter with you?"

Adam uttered the words that no one in that room will ever forget. "We need to get out of here NOW."

Well, this was a little disconcerting, considering we had just spent the last few hours moving everything they owned, including their three cats, into that very apartment. Cooler head prevailed in the form of PIP, who pointed out the obvious, that this was where they were now living, and leaving really was not an option. Adam then told his story, and a hair raising one it was.

As he walked across the grounds of the complex, another resident yelled at him from the doorway of her building, and said, "What the hell are you doing here?" To which he quite naturally responded, "What?" He proceeded to talk with her, and got quite a bit of information that would have been good to know before they signed the lease. Including the murder that happened at the school down the street last year, and the dead body which had been found in the back yard of the house across the street two weeks previously. When PIP mentioned the underground parking perhaps making the apartment safer than it would appear, it seems the evidence also included stories of people following drivers into the parking garage and robbing them there.

Adam, Carmen, and PIP contemplated the situation with some horror. Adam said the woman told him that the management would likely work with him, since they were new to the area, but PIP had a strong suspicion that was a little optimistic. PIP told them to call the management immediately, to notify them that they would have to break the lease and get out. Carmen called, and hung up rather quickly, then informed us that they would be allowed to break the lease, but they would have to pay the full 12 months rent in advance.

That was not going to work out, since no one had that kind of money available, so PIP decided it was time for an angry adult to step in and get this resolved before it all got any further out of hand. She got the management back on the line, and after being threatened with legal action, arranged for the supervisor to call in the morning to further discuss the situation. By this time, Adam was slack-jawed at seeing his usually calm and complacent mother being so pushy, and Carmen was just panicked at what they would do.

It was not a good evening for the trio of unhappy people. They eventually drove to that pizza parlor and got pizza, then they spent the rest of the night strategizing and organizing themselves to face the enemy in the morrow. They got a game plan in place, and awaited the fateful call that would determine their fate.

Meantime, PIP decided to google the block to which they had committed themselves for a full year. The first item that came up was about a dead body. PIP could only shake her head in amusement as Carmen and Adam consulted and discussed the reviews they had seen online. A quick perusal of the reviews showed them to be several years old, which probably should have tipped them off, but live and learn, right?

PIP also contacted everyone she could think of and asked them to pray, as there was a situation at hand, and they really needed God's help to make this all work out as it needed to. [Pay attention to this part, because it's an important part of the story.]

In the morning, the manager called, and said the supervisor had gone home ill and couldn't talk to us, but had decided to give us two options. Either we could list the apartment on Craig's List, and as soon as it was rented, they would get out of their lease, or they could break the lease with two months rent up front.

PIP felt very optimistic at this point, as she had predicted this outcome the previous evening, and now the worst case scenario was something manageable. So she then said they would be right over to discuss the options further, and they drove to the office. Less than a block away.

Upon reaching the office, PIP demanded to speak to the supervisor, and finally said that either they were going to her, or she was coming to them, but one way or another that situation was getting resolved now, and she needed to participate. Eventually, the supervisor came dragging in, whereupon the situation was pleasantly outlined for her in short and to the point terms - out of towners, no clue what they were doing, taken advantage of, young and stupid, not equipped, learning lessons is great but no one wants anyone to die for it, you get the drift. Ultimately, she asked what was wanted, terms were agreed upon, [move out immediately so it could be rented as not having been lived in yet at the cost of one month's rent] and we were good to go.

Then we had a few hours to get everything out of the apartment, find a new place for two people and three cats to live in a college town on August 4, and get them moved in before I had to get to the airport for a 5 p.m. flight. Tall order.

Made even taller by the groups of teenaged boys who kept strolling by the truck and texting people as we were moving everything out as quickly as possible. No one felt safe with Carmen out there, so she was in the apartment making calls for appointments to see apartments while Adam and PIP loaded up that truck in record time. [In case anyone wants to know, it was 3.5 hours, and that 17 foot van was full to the rafters.]

By 2 in the afternoon, we had everything out, the truck completely loaded and three people and three cats in the car, ready to go. Except for one teensy problem - they had no where to live. Adam and Carmen looked at each other and said, "We are homeless. Everything we own is in a moving truck and a car, and we have no where to put it." Um. Ya. Bad moment. We won't go any further into that.

First appointment, PIP remained in the car with the cats while Adam and Carmen scouted out the apartment. There were two available, and Carmen came back and asked PIP to go and have a look. [Apparently they had figured out more heads are better than two, especially when the two are both under the age of 25.] PIP was happy to see something workable available, and felt that would be the ultimate destination, but encouraged them to look at the other available options, just to be sure.

Ultimately, at 4:30, Adam and Carmen made the decision to go back to the first apartment, and arrived almost at closing time. This apartment complex required checks with prior landlords, going back three years, before they would rent to anyone. They required co-signers for anyone that didn't have a three year rental history. They required a deposit, and the first month's rent pro-rated from that day, meaning they had to pay out another month's rent plus deposit unexpectedly.

In addition, PIP had to change her flight for the following day, because there was no way they could get everything done that needed to be done before the flight left. Fortunately, her travel agent is her cousin, who took care of that situation while we dealt with the paperwork.

The office staff was very kind to the traumatized pair, and stayed after hours to enable them to get into their apartment that night. Everyone [four previous landlords] that needed to be contacted for recommendations was miraculously available at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday night. PIP was able to co-sign, and although they had to pay the first month of pro-rated rent, they would get the second full month's rent, which turned out to be exactly the same amount as the first apartment, for free.

They got the truck backed up to the apartment building, got the cats situated, and then collapsed. They decided to go have a meal and assess what had happened in the previous eventful two days.

If you ever ask yourself if God answers prayer, my answer to you is that He does, in everyday situations, even for people who have done everything possible to screw things up.

God moved the heart of the management to allow them to break the lease, even though the law said she didn't have to.

They got everything in and out without any trouble from a neighborhood which clearly wanted to find some.

They ended up in a much better situation for the same amount of rent.

They had to pay a month's rent to break the lease, but ended up getting one month's rent for free at the new place.

The old place posed a serious hazard to the three cats, in the form of a loft on whose short wall they kept jumping up onto, which the new place did not have. They got the walls painted and all repairs done to the new apartment within the week, and it turned out to be a lovely place to live.

The flight was easily changed, and the events which the PIP was worried she would miss by the delay all went off exactly as planned.

Although I have enjoyed sharing this story with everyone who knows Adam and Carmen, the truth is, I have used it over and over to remind myself that God truly does answer our fervent prayers. When you give your troubles over to God, He will stand in the gap for you, and will see you through. He didn't solve the problem - we had to do the work ourselves. But there is not a question in my mind that God moved the hearts of all concerned to enable this young pair to find the home they needed when they needed it.

Oh, and by the way, they love Madison, now that they have moved on up out of the 'hood!