Gut Instinct

Years (decades) ago when I was 22, I followed my musician boyfriend to NC and I was renting a tiny white cottage on a main road in Carrboro NC, the town next to Chapel Hill. I had a crazy landlady. The bathroom had a hole that led to the backyard. It was the size of a big raccoon! You could see the backyard through it. Over the winter the pipes froze in the bathroom. I made a fuss saying I would withhold rent. She didn't fix it.

She was a diabetic who was not always taking her insulin and she became off balance signing two different names on the rent receipts. I had some concerns back then that she would harm me and torch the house. My boyfriend said "Don't be silly, that's a RI thing!" I even had a dream that I was in a street fire in my home town in suburban NY and my yellow lab named Travis rescued me or I rescued him. Then, the next day I found a 35 cent T-shirt my size at the thrift store NY FIRE DEPT - so I bought it. I should have followed my instincts and paid attention to the subsequent coincidences.

Frances Lloyd-Parks torched the cottage! A construction worker across the street was in his truck sipping coffee waiting to get into a house He saw her at 6:30 AM in his rear view mirror. (He said he saw her go inside and come out and then flames.) It turned out her ex husband was the fire chief. What a mess. Luckily I was not in the cottage. I had already begun packing to move before the fire. I was with my dog staying at my friends Frieda and Frank's rural ranch house that night. Then I drove my blue VW bug with my dog Travis, and moved back to Providence RI.

Months later I was sent a notice and plane tickets to fly down to NC from Providence with my boyfriend and testify in Hillsboro Court house. The prosecutor brought the floor of the house in as evidence. The fire specialist testified the burn patterns proved she used a flammable liquid and set it. It was a big deal. At least Frances Lloyd Parks got mental health help and not prison time.

I even found a perfect dress at the thrift store to testify in, a Perry Mason-ish black and gray pin striped A-line dress that had two twin rhinestones on the lapel. I still have it even though at that time, I had never seen Perry Mason on TV. I had heard the name before. I subsequently became a (vintage) Perry Mason fan. Mostly I am a fan of resolving things smartly and paying attention to my gut instincts.

Happy football day. I don't know anything about football but it's a great feeling knowing the world might enjoy something. A holiday of sorts. The snow is my holiday. Any excuse to cook!