Serendipity

When I first learned to know Hiromi he lived in the back of his TV repair shop.  After he bought the property, he had worked diligently to create a comfortable living space out of what was formerly a storage area in the back, but connected by a doorway to the front of the shop.  One of the special features of his living area was a deep and wide Japanese-style soaking bathtub, created from tile-covered concrete.  It was partially recessed below the floor level of the building.  The address was 104 W. 5th in Hutchinson.

Later on, Hiromi moved into an upstairs apartment in the building next door which he also owned.

Hiromi sold his business and rented out the shop and the apartment when he joined our church.  After we had been married for a year or two, he sold his entire Hutchinson property at that location to Jim, the man who lived on Washington Street around the corner from Hiromi.  He had wearied of being a landlord and having to see to maintenance matters in town while living in the country.

Jim used the shop for a business which he called "The Glass Doctor." The apartment house was eventually razed, while Jim owned it, as I recall.  The living quarters in the shop reverted to storage, although it has recently again served as a residence.

Next the building became a gun shop.  Most recently, it was a Payday Loan Company, operated by the wife (now ex-wife) of the man who also owns Sunset Pawn.  After the divorce the property was put on the market again.  Here's where things got interesting.

Shane was looking for a ground-level office and storage space for Rock Rentals, his property management business.  The present office on the second floor of Sanford's Computer Works was satisfactory in most ways, but dragging tools and supplies up and down the stairs when they needed to be moved out of vehicles became very tiresome.  Nearby parking space was limited as well.  The property at 104 W. 5th caught Shane's eye, and one evening he called Hiromi and told him he was considering buying it for use as Rock Rentals' headquarters.  Hiromi was pleased at the prospect, but urged Shane to make sure it made good business sense.  He also made sure that Shane knew that he should not feel like he needs to buy it for any sentimental reasons.

It's a one-story building.  Several overhead doors on the back side of the building facilitate moving building materials in and out, there's ample office space for Nathan and Janet, and a new street side addition that can become a private office for Shane and a conference room for staff meetings--all of which made the place seem very well-suited for the company's needs.  He signed papers for the purchase over a week ago--more than 40 years after his father had done exactly the same thing.  Closing happens in February.  Hiromi and Shane are both smiling.

Hiromi drove by last week and stopped to talk to Jim's widow.  She said she welcomes Shane to the neighborhood.  I'm praying that the minimal remodeling needed will go well, the move can be completed smoothly, and that the new location will prove as satisfactory as it appears now to be.

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One other piece of the story about the addresses on that street came together for me a number of years ago when I saw a picture--perhaps at my Aunt Lizzie's house.  My sister Linda and I were with other members of a young girls' Sunday School class, and we were lined up in front of the porch of a 2-story house in Hutchinson.  Aunt Lizzie was living with Alma Fern Yutzy (and perhaps Vera Nisly?) in the house during the work week.  On weekends, these young single ladies returned to the rural residence of their parents who lived in the Pleasantview area.  The ladies all worked at Grace Hospital in Hutchinson, and living in town kept them close to their jobs.  Aunt Lizzie was our Sunday School teacher, and she had invited the girls in her class to spend the night at "her" house in Hutchinson.  The picture documented the event.

The house in the picture looked very familiar when I saw it again all those years later.  "Where was this house?" I asked Aunt Lizzie.

She gave me the exact address:  108 W. 5th.  It was identical to the house right beside it, at 106 W. 5th, which was Hiromi's apartment house--where he had lived on the second floor.

Let's just say that our family has a lot of memories and history invested on 5th Street between Washington and Adams streets in Hutchinson, and the next chapter is just beginning.

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Before I forget it, I'd like to pass on a story that Harry S. told the rest of our curriculum planning committee when we met recently to discuss the physical education part of our school offerings.  It happened when he was in high school in the Lancaster, PA area.

Jack Hess was on the school's basketball team.  Whenever  he fouled another player in the course of a competitive game, he had the good-sportsmanlike habit of facing the scoring station and raising his hand--presumably to take responsibility for his actions and make things easy for those keeping records.

As occasionally happens, he played during one public game when the referee "blew the call," and assigned a foul to Jack.  The ref must have been the only person there who saw it that way.  On that single occasion only, Jack did not face the scoring station and raise his hand.

Just a guess, but I think it's likely that that ref still remembers the silent reproof of Jack's action at that moment.  It certainly registered with the crowd.

Good sportsmanship does not call for obsequious behavior--just honesty and respect for the rules of the game and the individuals who are present.  When Jack was wrongly accused, his earlier integrity and consistency allowed him to speak very loudly without saying a word or making any disrespectful gesture.  Perfect.