Little Pink Houses

A couple years ago, this woman moved into our neighborhood. She was a single mother with three children (including bi-racial twins) who was an...err...dancer for a living. And let me tell you, when she bought a house on our suburban cul-de-sac, our white-bread, Republican neighbors were none too happy.

How dare such a disgraced woman own a house where they lived. How disturbing that she could have a big-screen TV and a leather sectional couch and video games and all those other things that, by right, belong to hard-working, college-educated, pro-life Christians.

Me, I didn't mind so much having her here. You know, I'm all about the diversity. Plus, before she showed up, I was the Outcast Mom, what with my full-time job and John Kerry yard sign.

I ran into Single Mom at Starbucks occasionally and found out that she was going to cooking school. Last time I saw her she told me that she'd finished school and gotten a job as a sous-chef at one of the golf/ country clubs here.

A few months ago, the older son of one of our other neighbors - let's just call them the Ole Miss Rebels - started playing with those despicable bi-racial girls. Well, the Rebels were having NONE of that. They put their house up for sale.

Before long, Single Mom's house went up for sale, too. I didn't think too much of it. Until a couple weeks ago. When My Kid told me that they'd moved out. Even though the For Sale sign remained. Until a couple days ago. Big Daddy thinks the foreclosers got 'em.

After they moved out, the Rebels For Sale sign came down too. They figured maybe the neighborhood hadn't completely gone to hell in a hand basket afterall.

Maybe one of her babydaddies went to jail and the child payments stopped. Maybe she fell victim to a predatory lender and after a couple years her mortgage payment doubled (or tripled). Maybe she could raise three kids alone on a stripper's wages but a "legitimate" job just didn't cut it.

Who knows? All I know is the white-bread prejudice suburbanites won.