{"id":41882,"date":"2023-10-22T08:21:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T12:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=41882"},"modified":"2023-10-17T09:23:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T13:23:11","slug":"matts-mishaps-79","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/matts-mishaps-79\/","title":{"rendered":"MATT\u2019S MISHAPS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cServing overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Matt <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silent shabbiness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not uncommon in any place in the world to be annoyed at times by how a property next door is being kept up.  The neighbor\u2019s dandelions are starting to take over your yard?  Less than excited about the neighbor\u2019s dog who loves to incessantly bark?  Frustrated by the neighbor\u2019s shabby yard that could use a bit of tidying up?  It is a good sign when these are one\u2019s biggest life frustrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was getting whiney about a shabby lot right across the street from an apartment we were living in overseas.  The shabby lot was beginning to accumulate trash, waves of weeds, and attracted people who abandoned old cars.  I was so happy one day when I realized that a local construction company put up signs that they would begin work on a large apartment complex with store front shops.  I celebrated the no more shabby, unkept, vacant lot, but didn\u2019t realize what I was in for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a lot is prepared for construction in small-town Indiana, it often means a day or two with a bobcat or bulldozer to level and prepare the land.  However, overseas we live on solid volcanic rock.  Zoning regulations mean that a basement garage is required to alleviate parking problems on streets.  It means no bobcats to prepare the lot, but rather industrial sized jack hammers of different types.  So for us it meant headache producing \u201cra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta\u201d every day, Monday through Friday, from 7AM to 5PM.  The jackhammers had to break up, dislodge, and remove 1.2 million cubic feet of solid rock to prepare the entire .86- acre lot.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took months to prepare the lot for construction and our apartment\u2019s walls would rattle when they jackhammered along the property line closest to us.  Many days I dreamt of the QUIET, shabby, unkept vacant we used to have.  However, the project eventually came to an end, but I often wondered if \u201csilent shabbiness\u201d was better than \u201cconstruction commotion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something similar ever happen to you?   Contact me and let me hear your story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt\u2019s Mishaps, PO BOX 114, Grabill, IN  46741 <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cServing overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":33580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,25,13165],"tags":[13025,15581],"class_list":["post-41882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-churches","category-columns","category-matts-mishaps","tag-matts-mishaps","tag-silent-shabbiness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t