Vic Socotra

30 June 2008

The Grassy Knoll

The Monstrosity across the Street

The small green patch that buffers Big Pink from the new construction monstrosity across Pershing Road is where the dog people go. Some of the new ones, the Rookies, let their dogs off the leash there and the animals love to run. One of the newbies even hits a tennis ball with a racket to really challenge his hound.

Some of them fail to Pick Up After Their Pet, which is a misdemeanor offense here.

It is only going to be a matter of time before the Animal Control People are called back to the knoll, which isn’t really. It is just a level bit of grass that you have to climb a six stairs from the Big Pink parking lot.

See, the problem with the grassy spot is that it is not Big Pink land. Granted, it was all part of the same property once, but the Buckeye Development Company spun it off into an independent condo scheme, just as they did our proud tall building.

Things looked bright in those days for condo development. Everybody had been buying up older properties, fixing them up and flipping them for a tidy profit. My folks did it. Everyone who had a little loose change did too. It was where the smart money went, unlike today, when we all are buying oil futures.

Things fell apart in the real estate market with the oil shock and stagflation. It seems curious to me that an abrupt rise in the price of oil did not cause a fundamental change in the way we choose to live, and where. Certainly the OPEC minister figured it out in relatively short order- they were killing the goose that produced the Golden Egg- and efforts were begun to lull the American public back in to the illusion that everything was just fine.

It took a while, but the effort was successful. Maybe the height, or depth, of madness arrived with the introduction of the Hummer military utility vehicle for the suburban market.

But I digress. The grassy knoll is a remarkable plot of undeveloped green in this sea of group housing. It is completely in concert with the original vision of the Buckingham Garden Apartments, but those days are long gone. The monstrosity that is rising is the complete antithesis of the park-like environment.

It will not be as tall as Big Pink, since we are an anomaly that predates the master plan of 1980. But the massive four story block is built right to the curb-line, and sits atop a two-level parking garage deliberately constructed in a ratio of .7 slots per unit. You can see the implications.

There is no green space at the Monstrosity, and hence, the grassy knoll will be an enticing destination for the new residents who will undoubtedly get cabin fever in the dog days of summer. I feel sorry for the Condo Association that owns the Grassy Knoll. It will shortly be under siege not only from Big Pink, but also from the dwellers in the Monster across the street.

I was sitting on the bench on the Grassy Knoll thinking about the changes to come, looking back at the proud tower. The distance is about the same as that from the original Grassy Knoll in Dallas to where President Kennedy’s limousine slowed on Elm Street, after the left hand turn from Houston.

It would be an easy shot from either direction, I thought, though I think the better one would be from one of the balconies.

I had not thought about that for a long time, not until that business about the Mob came up, and who knew who, back in the day.

I’ll have to get to that in a minute, or maybe tomorrow. I think what the world needs most right now is another conspiracy theory. Something to take our minds off what is really going on.

I’m pretty sure that might actually be the point, you know?

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