The first six months in Riverton, New Jersey were simply one calamity after another. What could go wrong did and everything we did was wrong. Who knows whether it was because we were not very happy being there or if the east coast was so different from everything we knew.
As usual it was my job to make sure the entire family was happy. Why?
There were more days than I wanted to admit to that I just wanted to be transported back to Kansas City or just spend the day crying. No one except or next door neighbor, Danny, popped up on the porch with cookies to welcome us to town the first month we l lived there. Dennis complained more than Wes and Wally about the house, the town, the people, the weather, the garage and me. So it was a real test of my a strength to put on the happy face and try to solve everyone’s problems.
I wanted to scream and tell all three of them that I didn’t get us into this situation and I was as unhappy as they were. But I didn’t and just put on the happy face and plodded through.
The moving van came the day after we closed on the house and filled the house with boxes and furniture. It was difficult to really tell the movers where to put what as I had actually only walked through the house a couple of times. Their guess was as good as mine what went where. It might have been easier if Dennis had gone to work that day instead of trying to supervise everything.
Just as I had not thought out the house he had not given any thought to the fact we had left a two and a half car garage and now had a single car garage built for a Model A. Naturally it was my fault the the 1950 Mercury, the race car, the motor scooter, workbenches and tool boxes didn’t seem to fit very well. Besides being a tiny garage there were twenty some windows stacked in there that appeared to have resided in the garage for many years. I am sure the language Dennis used that day did not make the neighbors not too eager to rush over.
My first encounter with a neighbor came about the next day. Dennis didn’t think I could find a grocery store or navigate the jug handles on my own so after the boys went to school we went off to locate a bigger grocery than the little local one. That was an experience as New Jersey grocery stores carried things I had never heard of before, lots of things I usually bought were not there and shopping took a long time. As we were unloading the groceries at home a lady walked over from across the street with Wally in tow. Seems like the mailman found Wally sitting on the front porch crying because no one was at home. Guess I didn’t realize that kindergarten only lasted until noon. The mailman took him across the street to the neighbors for her to take care of until someone appeared at the house. I also got a lecture from the mailman that a white basket handing by the front porch was not an approved mailbox. He mentioned he had been trying to get Mrs. Adams to change it for many years. Somehow I rather like the look of it myself. Not the best impression to make with someone in the neighborhood. Poor little Wally thought we were gone for good.
About a week later when Dennis had gone back to work and the boys were in school I heard a noise in the kitchen. When I went to explore I found a man in the kitchen. I asked if I could help him and he said he was there to check out our pipes - referring to them as if they were half his. Interesting! Then he informed me that his name was Harry from the company that took care of our radiators and provided us with oil for
the system. The Adams left for Florida every winter and he would come
and drain the system after they left and fill them up again a week before they returned. I got an hour lesson about the “our” radiator system complete with radiator covers and humidity trays and that he did have a key and would come and go as needed or wanted. Guess we now could add him as a member of the family since they were “our” pipes.
I have to admit that the hemlocks and the shrubs in the front of the house were perhaps a little overgrown since it was difficult to see out the front windows. Dennis spent an entire weekend pruning them in his words. Our next door neighbors who had not spoken to us in the three weeks we lived there referred to the trimming as “killing” them which was something that was not done in Riverton. Dennis was also obesessed with the fact that there were leaves in the fish pond in the backyard and the poor Koi needed more room to swim. He cleaned out all the leaves which later proved to not be such a grand idea.
About the same time a little gray haired lady from across the street appeared on the front porch. Again no introduction but very angrily
informed me that our cat had eaten the baby cardinals they enjoyed watching every morning from the breakfast table. French Fry, the cat, had been venturing outside but I didn’t think he would have eaten the little birds. She informed me that although she did not see him do it she had found bits of yellow fur on the nest and tree branches. I apologized, scolded the cat but beyond that I guess he would stalk whatever he wanted. Three weeks and three neighbors who don’t like us very well.
Thanksgiving weekend we put up the artificial Christmas Tree decorated with my designer red velvet bows and red velvet apples that both Wes and Wally hated. Dennis outlined the roof in lights and I hung the fake wreath over the door knocker engraved with the Adam’s name. Isn’t that what you do Thanksgiving weekend? A couple of days later while I was out raking my tenth or so bag of leaves another gray haired lady walked up the drive and actually introduced herself. Wow! Someone who has a name!
Her name was, of all things, Sis. I didn’t ask about that. She was quite nice, seemed to know all about us which made me realize we were probably the talk of the town. When she informed me that she had never seen Christmas lights on a house in Riverton I realized we had pulled off another faux pas. When I invited her in the house I also found out that no one puts up a Christmas tree before Christmas Eve unless your house was on a house tour and certainly no on ever has a fake tree. This was not going well at all.
Sis asked what church we attended. Boy, that was going to be another black mark on us so I fudged a little and told here I was raised in the Episcopal church. I did not mention that I had not set foot in one since the day I got married. Nor did I mention that Dennis was anti-religion and the only time in fourteen years I had been in a church was for weddings and funerals. She was delighted to hear I was an Episcopal as that huge church one block down the street was Episcopal and invited me to attend with her the next Sunday.
The only way I could answer was to give a resounding yes. Quick thinking made me realize the roof of the church might fall in but here was the first neighbor in a month who actually introduced themselves before the “we don’t do that in Riverton” came. The other interesting thing I learned was that she had lived her entire life, which I guessed to be about sixty years, on that very same block. That was very useful information as it made me realize that very few people from the outside world moved into Riverton. I lived in what would always be the Adam’s house and all the small little unspoken town rules were not to be broken. I had the feeling that Sis was going to be very helpful.
The exception to the stand-offish neighbors was Danny, next door. He would show up most evenings with pizza from a three hundred year old oven in Philadelphia, cases of Tastycakes or toys for Wes and Wally. His wife, Mary Jane, was a very interesting lady and always could make me laugh. I was amazed that at fifty-eight years old she did not drive, cook or do much of anything except ride the bus to Philadelphia to shop or get her hair done. I’ll get to her story one of these days as it is a great one.
There was still at least one time everyday when Dennis would proclaim he hated the house, the garage, New Jersey and still blamed me for
everything that made his life unhappy. So between Dennis and four neighbors that would not talk to us things could have been pretty dismal but I looked on the bright side. After all two neighbors were talking to us, the boys seemed happy in school and were Tastycake addicts thanks to Danny.
One evening right after the first of December a very pretty lady named Susan knocked on the door even though the Christmas lights might have terrified her. She gave me two tickets to the Christmas Candlelight
Home Tour the following Saturday night. It will be fun to actually go in some of the big old houses especially Susan’s that sat on a huge lot on the river.
About the same time Sis brought over a Better Homes and Garden Magazine that featured her daughter’s nut cracker collection. Come to find out she was married to the Lt. Governor of Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Wally sat at the kitchen table looking at the pictures of the nutcrackers and the house and announced that our house should be in Worser Homes and Gardens. Guess after Christmas it will be time to visit the local paint and wallpaper store and try to step up the looks of the house. Wally was sure the house was haunted so maybe I can turn them into happy ghosts.
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