9.10.2008

Holly Knoll.

In my quest to remain sane today, I ventured out into the lovely fall-esque weather and headed towards the bookstore. On the way to burying my head in literature, I stopped and got of the highway a little early to explore. I remembered this particular neighborhood from visiting friends a few years back and decided it needed further investigation. My drive lead me to Holly Knoll (http://19hollydrive.howardhanna.com ).

Holly Knoll is a stone Virginia Manor Estate that was built in 1866, in Raleigh County Virginia. Around the early 1900s, the home was painstakingly dismantled and transported to the knoll of parcel where it currently sits and was rebuilt by a prominent citizen, especially for me. He may not have known it at the time, but he was creating my dream home. Thanks Mr. Craig!

The regal home sits on 2.8 acres of mature land, has 5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. Perfect. As I drove around the property, it was easy to imagine having barbecues, throwing birthday parties for little red headed children, and hosting many, many white Christmases. Holly Knoll in twinkling Christmas lights would take your breath away. Trust me, I've seen it my mind already.

Without being too overly romantic (okay, I know I'm there already with the above Christmas description), Holly Knoll is my own personal American Dream. But there's a small glitch. Miss Holly costs $629,000. We're about $600K short for this venture. And here's where I get angry.

I know for the rest of my life what I'll be earning. Really though, who goes into teaching for the money? No one. There are douche-bags that go into it for the vacations, and the rest of us are clouded by our budding philanthropic hearts, wanting to save the world one kid at a time. And yes, I've saved at least one. I know what my salary will cap at, and it sure as hell is not enough to purchase Miss Holly.

Now Big Red on the other hand stands a much better chance at making the big bucks. If the planets align and his dreams come to fruition, he'll have his own shop. And that's where the income possibilities lie waiting. I'm all for making dreams come true, but even I KNOW that this one is slightly out of our grasp. Maybe more than slightly. Enter anger.

It seems like everyone should have a chance to live in a place like Holly Knoll. Right? What would be so bad about that? Why do homes have to cost so much and why do teachers make so little? The real estate agent selling Holly Knoll wouldn't know how to read if a teacher hadn't taught her. The unfortunate irony in this story is that all the people who can afford Miss Holly, were educated by the people who will probably never be able to afford that home.

So I went and bought 3 tickets for the Powerball tonight.

And I didn't win.

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