July 2, 2004

Times FeatureMurry Frymer

Bless This House

By Murry Frymer
Staff Writer

We are proud of all of us at our house. But, I must admit, after having attended all the glowing graduations for all the kids, that we have failed to properly recognize the most successful of us all. That is the house itself.

My house is a wonder of accomplishment. Without a bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree, or that most expensive of honors, the Ph.D, my house has achieved success on a scale beyond my wildest dreams.

Yes, just sitting here and looking pretty (on its best days), my house has been the big earner in the family. While I banged away at newspaper columns, while Barbara struggled to teach her special ed students, while the three kids went on to fine colleges and with dutiful hard work won degrees, my house did nothing much. Except excel. She did not cost me the price of a fancy college degree, only a roof job and some paint and, yes, recently some kitchen update. But what is that? My house has paid it all back and far, far more.

Oh, I can get absolutely rapturous about this stucco wonder. How could I have known when I brought her into the family some 25 years ago, that she would prosper far more than any of us? In fact, I thought way back then, on my arrival in California that I was paying more than she was worth. How silly of me! If only I had known just how much she really would be worth in 2004! Forgive me, sweet house.

Sometimes I find it quite confusing to understand that this none-too-pretentious structure, a pile of wood and wires and such, could balloon so much in value. And in fact, I have to consider that the structure itself is only part of this happy story. It is where she is sitting, this little plot of land that I sadly used to call a matchstick lot. No. It is a precious place, where the sun beats down most days of the year, where the temperature is Goldilocks perfect—not too hot, not too cold—where breezes banish any humidity. How much is all that worth? Who can possibly guess?

Of course, the successful career of my house is not particularly unique. Many of my friends can sing similar paeans of joy. And even back in Massachusetts, from whence we came, the old neighbors report to me just how successful my old house has been!

I am not an economics major and I can’t quite figure it. I know in the glorious world of Palo Alto and places like that, damn few of the homeowners could afford to buy their homes if they were shopping today. And if we had only to rely on wages, probably most of the neighbors in Times Media Land would come to the same conclusion. Back when I was shopping for my first house, a good long time ago, a couple years’ pay could qualify me to buy a home. Now, it probably would cost the average home-seeker 10 to 15 years pay to buy a place. Oh, but I am talking last week. It must be more today.

That is great for those of us that bought 25 years ago. My kids face the other side of that coin. Even with two current incomes, much higher that my sole income was when I qualified for my first house, a large percentage of today’s young couples have been virtually priced out of the market. The work they do just isn’t worth as much as the work I did when you consider what it will buy.

Still buyers of homes keep buying. Mortgages are massive. So are so many of the homes. How long can this go on? (My wife reminds me that I said the same thing 20 years ago.)

Anyway, I am thinking of having a testimonial affair on behalf of my house. I must admit that much of the comfort I am feeling in my older years comes from the achievement brought on not by me, but by my house. I owe her a lot.

Maybe I will paint her again, just to show my appreciation.

I think most of you could do the same.