Hobo Island 2?

The housing crash really hit my neighborhood hard this summer. Just about every fourth house in Tyner Ranch (Ha!) is either abandoned, for sale, or for rent. The rather angry folks who lived behind my house moved out a few months back, taking their 80 angry chihuahuas with them.

I haven’t seen a realtor or any prospective tenants visit the house the entire time it’s been on the market. But a few weeks ago, I noticed that one of the windows in the back of the house was wide open with the screen taken off. I figured it was an accident by a cleaning crew and didn’t think much of it.

And then it rained. Torrential, hand-of-God, wipe Bakersfield off the map kind of raining. It was the same rain that flooded the trunk of my car. And, yes, that window was still open. I called the Homeowner’s Association of Tyner Ranch (Ha!) and told them the window was open, but no one ever came to close it.

Ever since, I’ve been hearing funny noises coming from the house. Uh-oh! We have hobos! Yep, I’m pretty sure we’ve got a group of squatters living in that house and they’re leaving that window open to get in and out. In this economy, it’s not surprising at all.

This morning, I was in the backyard, as usual, smoking my first cigarette of the day and freezing my arse off. I heard quiet voices coming from the house. Shortly thereafter, I heard the pipes running, and echoed singing. Someone was taking a shower in the house, and a cold one, I’d imagine!

At this point, I have no real plan to do anything about it. I just find it fascinating to be living in an adjunct of hobo island suddenly.