A Twisted Fate

I hadn't announced to Mrs. Brady she wasn't renting my home in Pinson. There are lots of reasons for this. For one thing, I hadn't rented out the house in Pinson just yet, so there was no reason to tell her it had gone to someone else. For another thing, maybe, just maybe, after all the nonsense with Kerry and the yard drama with Tommy and Tammy, they would look better to me. I was thinking so on Thursday.

But, the biggest reason I hadn't bothered to call or e-mail Mrs. Brady is that I have been sidetracked lately with things that have nothing to do with Alabama, rentals or investing. I have been dealing with my own stuff. My personal life was running way ahead of anything else. Including Mrs. Brady.

On Thursday, I was flirting with the idea of revisiting Mrs. Brady. This completely bypasses my basic rules, but there really is very little in this world more desperate than a landlord with a vacant home. At that moment, Mrs. Brady was the clear winner.

The reason I had rejected Mrs. Brady to begin with was that she told Carolsue she had a dog, then told me she didn't but was thinking of getting a dog. It wasn't the dog I was against. It was the inconsistency. Someone was getting a lie. And yes, her credit came back less than desirable. But, I really don't hold the credit against Mrs. Brady. I have rented to worse.

While sitting down to write Mrs. Brady a note, asking her about her moving time-frame and what we could do to work something out, I found an e-mail waiting in my inbox from her. It seems she noticed that the Birmingham News' online classifieds was still carrying my ad (they do that for seven days whether I want them to or not). And she was none-too-happy I hadn't called her up to that point. She had lots to say about this. Some of it accurate--I hadn't contacted her during the week. But little of what she wrote was appropriate.

I think there is some unwritten rule somewhere that goes like this: if you wouldn't speak that way to the Barista at Starbucks, you sure shouldn't talk that way to a potential landlord. And even if I dropped the ball and hadn't said word one to Mrs. Brady this week, I sure didn't have much to say to her after her e-mail.

I did write her back and tell her the home was still vacant, but given her displeasure at this point, it was probably best she made other accommodations. Best of luck to her.

I do feel bad. I normally don't wait four days to get back to applicants. That's not what is causing me remorese. Simply, Mrs. Brady had a lot of frustration in one e-mail. I am guessing very little had to do with me. After all, it isn't like she called or e-mailed me earlier in the week with a "what's up?" She just laid out the big guns. Normal people don't do that. Even in Alabama.

I have run into some bizarre twists of Fate running my accidental Alabama business. Marty Sunshine also seems to think Mrs. Brady's e-mail to me was Fate stepping in, saving me from a year of future headaches. Perhaps. I am ok with that.