It's All in the Perspective
By Audrey W.
The Bachelor's View
"Would you get a load of that house. . .man," John Gage said as he and his partner Roy DeSoto neared the address they'd been dispatched out to in rescue Squad 51. A brush fire was burning in the distance and they'd been directed to inform the occupants that an evacuation was possible in the near future; to be prepared. The home was an old two story one, with what appeared to be an attic window in the center of the front of the roof in a section of the structure that jutted out from the rest. It had a large covered front porch and was up on a hill outside of Carson, with no other residences in sight anywhere. Just hilly landscape, grassy slopes surrounding it, and several trees in view . A long dirt road led up to the east side of it.
Man, I could *live* in a place like that, Gage thought to himself. I can just imagine how impressed the chics would be. And the parties. . .man. . .I could have a party every weekend off and no neighbors to complain.
He rubbed at his chin as he gave it more consideration. He wasn't really the party type. Not that kind of party, anyway. But surely there would be other benefits. . .
I could finally have a pet. . .a cat. . .no, a dog. That's it. A dog. Man's best friend. . .aside from girls, that is. Some girls.
He sighed.
Man, I could *really* get used to wakin' up to *this* scenery in the morning. . .takin' my dog for a hike on days off. . .I wonder what a house like this goes for?
Meanwhile. . .The Family Man's View
Roy took in John's comment and did 'get a load' of the house. The load continued to pile on.
I can just imagine what the upkeep would be. . .the yard work, the exterior of the house itself. And the kids. Sooner or later, they'd probably venture off at least once and we'd need a search party to find them.
He wasn't much for parties, especially of the searching kind. Of course, it was never good if one was needed.
We'd need to put up a fence to deter that. . .fences aren't cheap. . .
Speaking of cheap. . .
How would we ever afford to pay a sitter to come out this far? And who's going to let their teenaged daughter stay out here without an adult around anyway?
Not to mention, we'd probably have to choose between the house or sending the kids to college later. . .
The Meeting of Minds
"Hey, Roy," John said, breaking the silence in the truck cab.
"Yeah?"
"Is it me or does that house look like the one in the movie 'Psycho?"
Roy took in the structure again. Johnny was right. It did. It looked exactly like it.
As the truck came to a stop beside the home, both men had one thought.
You wouldn't catch *me* living in that house, no matter what!
