The white house on Hinman that is being torn down.

As long as we have lived in Evanston, this white house on Hinman, near the corner of Main and Hinman (click on the image for a map), has been empty, boarded up,  condemned, and,  generally,  in a state of disrepair.  During the summers, the shrubs grow ever and crowd out the sidewalk.  In the winter, the snow piles up in a craggy,  moon cratery,  slippery surface.  But regardless of the time of day or the season,  I always slow down a bit and take in the white house.

It appears now that the white house in being torn down.  So far, the garage in the back has been demolished, just a heap of sodden, white paint chipped, lumber. This was the same garage that had City of Evanston violation notices posted around it, as well as rather aggressive plastic rat traps (darn, can’t find any representative samples online) posted every 10 feet or so around it.

The strange thing is that I feel both triumphant that the house is being torn down, yet also aware that it has been so a constant presence in my daily life for so long, that a chunk of that life will be removed and displaced. Soon I will forget that it was ever there and have to remind myself of it and recall imagining hearing the scrapping of rats feet as I passed it day after day.