The old car that belonged to the woman next door

Emotions, Memories, Things,

I found two photos of an old car among photographs from our earlier days. I immediately assumed it was the car that belonged to our neighbor in Pittsburgh but Dean didn’t remember taking a photo of it. I just showed him the photos and he said that’s what it must be. This story is less about the car and more about the guilt I still carry about not doing something when I saw mail piling up on the neighbor’s front porch.

Dean and I lived in Pittsburgh from September 1982 through June 1985 while Dean earned a PhD in Statistics from Carnegie Mellon University. We lived on the 3rd floor of a 3-flat on College Street in the Shadyside area. The home next door was occupied by a woman who’d lived there for decades. We spoke to her occasionally and I even gave her our phone number to call if she needed anything. Dean probably spoke to her even more, because one day she told him that she still had her old car in the small garage in her backyard but since her husband died no one drove it. I don’t know if she showed it to him or if he peeked in through the windows, but he must have taken photos of it because I found them among our photographs from our Pittsburgh days.

Old rusted car
Old rusted car with tools on running board

Dean thought it was a Model T, but I see now that it was a Chevrolet, so probably a 490 touring series, according to The National Museum of Transportation.

Our houses were very close to each other, and about the same height. Our living room window looked into a window of her house that might have been a bedroom at one time, or perhaps it was an attic. I don’t know if the woman ever went up to that room because the view we had never changed. It was always of a box of cat food. Purina, if I recall correctly.

One day when I returned from work I noticed that mail was sticking out of the mailbox. For the next few days that mail piled up. I knew I should probably call the police or something, but I thought that should be up to the mail carrier. I don’t know how long this went on, but one day emergency vehicles were in front of her house, police, fire trucks, ambulance. I didn’t stick around to see what happened, but went to my apartment and tried to not think about it. Not long afterward the house was sold and remodeled. It is now a duplex.

I should have called the police as soon as I noticed the mail piling up. It’s as simple as that.

On another note, I have gone down a rabbit hole looking at street views of our old apartment building. That’ll have to wait for another post.

Dona Tea: Heartbeat

tea, ,

I’m tasting the teas from my Dona tea library in the order they are presented in the library (I skipped the Amber Assam because I already know I love it). Today’s was a spiced black tea called Heartbeat.

The description reads: Full-bodied black tea, directly sourced from the Chota Tingrai tea estate in Assam, India, paired with ginger and cardamom. Inspired by Indian masala chai.

This tea smells like chai — and it should since it contains cardamom (sourced either from Honduras or Nicaragua) and ginger (sourced from Nicaragua).

The taste reminds me of a Victorian mansion for some reason. I can definately taste the cardamom, but not the ginger. I splashed a little milk in my tea, but did not sweeten it. It’s just about perfect. If I were just sitting in a parlor drinking the tea instead of sitting in my messy attic, it would be perfect.

Dona Tea: Supertwist

tea, ,

I’m tasting the teas from my Dona tea library in the order they are presented in the library. Today’s was a green tea called Supertwist.

It’s from the Chota Tingrai Tea Estate in the Assam region of India, as are all Dona’s teas, green and black, according to the sourcing map included in the tea library.

When I opened the tea sachet pouch and took a whiff, I recognized a scent but could not name it. Finally I figured it out. It reminded me of dried orange peel. A review on Dona’s website mentions a lemony taste — I don’t taste lemon (or orange) — just green tea. The leaves were full and the color of the tea a typical green tea color.

I am curious about how this green tea will taste differently from another Dona green tea, especially if the teas all come from the same tea estate. Does Dona tea do something to the tea leaves to give it a distinct taste/aroma? Or does the tea come with that taste/aroma?

Ahh — it comes that way. The tea estate lists SuperTwist on their website under Whole Leaf green tea.

I liked the tea as much as other green teas — I am not that into green tea, but this was good. I’ll have to taste the other teas to compare — maybe I will buy this someday.