From Bad To Cursed

1

AT FIRST GLANCE, the town houses in Silver Sage Acres are as white and identical as an endless row of bared teeth. Looking down the single road that winds through the community is like holding a mirror up to another mirror and watching the world curve into infinity.

        If you search hard enough, you can find landmarks, even though the place is engineered not to have any. The ficus tree with the one branch that sticks out sideways. A thick splotch of paint (white, of course) on the asphalt from the can that rolled off the back of a contractor's truck. Each discrepancy is a little scar on the landscape, in constant danger of being buffed away by the all-powerful homeowners association.

        Every few hundred feet is a turnout with a colony of mailboxes and a row of guest parking spaces, because heaven forbid your guests should park in your driveway, much less on the street. And that's just one of the billion rules: No dog bigger than twenty-five pounds. No decorative items in the windows. And trash cans are like Cinderella- only allowed out for a few hours at a time. After that, the citations start piling up.

        But for all it's artificial cosmetic appeal, the development feels like it was built to last only until somebody came along with a better idea. When it's rainy, the gutters get so full of water that you have to take a four-foot leap to keep from getting your shoes soaked. When it's breezy, the street becomes one big wind tunnel, freezing you to the bone and pelting your eyes with an asteroid belt of grit and crushed leaves.

        We've lived in #29 for a year and only know one other family, the Munyons in #27, who pay me five dollars a day to feed their cat when they go on vacation.

        Really, though, it could be worse.

        One thing about a place this locked down- there are no surprises.

        Twenty-nine Silver Age Acres Road is everything our old house wasn't:

        Modern. Sterile. Generic. Efficient. Compact. Controlled.

        Most importantly, it's completely devoid of murderous ghosts.

        And that suits my family fine.