by Sally O'Quinn

Created on: May 20, 2009

I do not believe the events of our lives are random and meaningless. I believe that every day we are presented with lessons, and if we'll just pay attention, we are made greater by them.

Our home was purchased from my husband's mother, who had it built in 1984 on land deeded to her by her late father. It lies between the home where Kelly's grandparents used to live and the lot where he grew up, in a mobile home which no longer stands. There is family history here.

When we moved here in 1989 our back yard looked out on a large pasture where Kelly remembers tending cows and shooting doves as he grew up. This bucolic environment was part of the reason owning our own home was such a joy. We were both rural kids, and after living in apartments for several years, the wide open spaces were just what we craved.

A few years later, Kelly's grandfather sold the large tract of land behind us to a developer, who planned to build houses on the acreage. A few years after that, the developer resold the property to a man who was known for setting up low-end trailer parks. To make a long story short, we now have about 75 mobile homes, in various states of disrepair, crammed together behind us. There is no manager's office, no homeowner's association, no rhyme or reason to what goes on in this neighborhood.

Most, but not all, of the residents of this community are Hispanic. The sounds of Latin music and Reggaeton howl from passing cars at all hours of the day and night. Conversations in English are a rarity. Loud motorcycles, squealing car tires and noisy go-carts are constantly drowning out the sound of our television. There is illicit gang activity which brings the Sheriff's Department around frequently. There have been robberies and even one confirmed murder in the neighborhood over the last few years.

For Kelly, understandably, all of this is alien and threatening. Paranoid by nature anyway, he prepares for an inevitable home invasion by cleaning his guns, sharpening his knives and keeping the pit bull riled up. And while I recognize the possibility of such an event, I try to keep a positive outlook where people are concerned and look for the good in everyone. That's why the events of this week have been such an affirmation for me, and such a needed reassurance for Kelly.

While watching television a few nights ago, I heard a small motorbike break down in front of the house. There was the distinctive sound of a chain leaving the sprocket and metal parts rolling down

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