danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

On September 30, 2000, I went to a yard sale in front of this house.  Jeff’s then-girlfriend Britt lived there, and she and a couple other people were selling their personal belongings.  A fellow named Chris, who lived a few houses down, had some instruments for sale, and it was obvious that he needed to sell them to pay his rent (my recollection is that he lived without electricity).  I generally don’t care for yard sales, and I am sure I didn’t buy anything, but I was there because my friends were, and if you weren’t present back then, it was likely that you would miss something fun.  In fact, when this yard sale concluded due to rain, Britt and several other attendees proposed running down to the above-ground pool on SW 2nd Avenue for swimming.  I didn’t go because I was, and still am, no fun.

This house stands in a neighborhood we used to call the “Emo Ghetto”, since it was–and still is–home to some of Gainesville’s skinniest and tightest-pants-wearing hipsters.  You never knew who you’d run into hanging out there.  A fellow whom I recognized as Jeff’s neighbor was there, and with him was a girl I had never seen before.  She was dressed rather fancifully and wore sunglasses.  We didn’t speak that day, but 1,701 days later–four years ago today–we were married.

Filed under: Dana Heritage Project, Friends on May 28th, 2009