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The Benjamin & Maria Hasbrouck House
Mar. 18th, 2025 09:32 amSue was short & plump with a nimbus of curly white hair and what I would characterize as a fairly advanced case of adult ADHD. She is also quite deaf, has only one hearing aid—there was a story behind that; I didn't listen to it—& the hearing aid she does have had rolled beneath her bed so she didn't bring it. So, communication in the flesh was difficult.
On the other hand, she is obviously bright & has numerous close friends. And she made one extremely astute observation when we were discussing electricity bills: "Your monthly bill is that high? But, of course, if you keep your computer on most of the time, that is going to drive up electricity costs."
Very, very true!
And something I have completely overlooked.
Henceforth, I will be turning my computer off when I'm not using it.
###
The house itself turns out to be historic: It is the Benjamin & Maria Hasbrouck House' c. 1798-1800. One of its original fireplaces was actually stripped out and is now on permanent display in the Fine Arts Gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The landlord will be taking me on a tour of it at 11:30 a.m.
###
In other news, TaxBwana-ing yesterday was exhausting, plus I forgot to eat before I ran out of the house in the morning—these days, I rarely get hungry & can go days without eating, though I do get lightheaded and shaky.
I was very shaky yesterday plus that stranger-in-a-strange-land vibe was going on all day—like Who are these people? Why am I here? How can I get out?
My first client of the day was absolutely wonderful, an 86-year-old woman in full possession of her mental faculties who seemed to sense something of what was going on with me internally & kept trying to feed me her sandwiches. She literally had 12 1099-Rs and 18 interest statements—all pittance amounts—so I was with her three hours.
"The housing situation is crazy," she said. "If I didn't own my own house, I don't know what I'd do."
And told me the story of her hairdresser who lived in a tiny apartment above her shop except her landlord was now selling the building—what was the hairdresser going to do? Her income was miniscule; she had no children & she didn't drive.
"And that story is being retold a thousand times all over the place," my client sighed.
Maybe I should just kill myself, I thought.
And that thought made me very happy.
Nonexistence!
But, of course, if I killed myself, it would be devestating for my children, and I can't destroy them that way.
I suppose I'm just very, very sad over Annie.
On the other hand, she is obviously bright & has numerous close friends. And she made one extremely astute observation when we were discussing electricity bills: "Your monthly bill is that high? But, of course, if you keep your computer on most of the time, that is going to drive up electricity costs."
Very, very true!
And something I have completely overlooked.
Henceforth, I will be turning my computer off when I'm not using it.
###
The house itself turns out to be historic: It is the Benjamin & Maria Hasbrouck House' c. 1798-1800. One of its original fireplaces was actually stripped out and is now on permanent display in the Fine Arts Gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The landlord will be taking me on a tour of it at 11:30 a.m.
###
In other news, TaxBwana-ing yesterday was exhausting, plus I forgot to eat before I ran out of the house in the morning—these days, I rarely get hungry & can go days without eating, though I do get lightheaded and shaky.
I was very shaky yesterday plus that stranger-in-a-strange-land vibe was going on all day—like Who are these people? Why am I here? How can I get out?
My first client of the day was absolutely wonderful, an 86-year-old woman in full possession of her mental faculties who seemed to sense something of what was going on with me internally & kept trying to feed me her sandwiches. She literally had 12 1099-Rs and 18 interest statements—all pittance amounts—so I was with her three hours.
"The housing situation is crazy," she said. "If I didn't own my own house, I don't know what I'd do."
And told me the story of her hairdresser who lived in a tiny apartment above her shop except her landlord was now selling the building—what was the hairdresser going to do? Her income was miniscule; she had no children & she didn't drive.
"And that story is being retold a thousand times all over the place," my client sighed.
Maybe I should just kill myself, I thought.
And that thought made me very happy.
Nonexistence!
But, of course, if I killed myself, it would be devestating for my children, and I can't destroy them that way.
I suppose I'm just very, very sad over Annie.
