Today I added this site to the GeoURL server (that little button on the left.) Following my link to the list of local sites, I found a great site called Rebuilding Madison, set up by a guy who has some serious stones. He’s got a log documenting the progress on a house he bought over in Bolton Hill and the experiences he’s had fighting the drug dealers on his block. I have to respect him for this idea: He met with the local beat cops and built a break room out of the carriage house. Sending the word out, he was able to gather a bunch of donations from the community, including a fridge, stove, microwave, and furniture. That site sent me to 2321 E Fairmount, another site run by a woman battling the same issues in her NW Patterson Park location. It’s a testament to the people who take chances and work hard to improve neighborhoods. Keep up the good work, folks.

Reading through that first site makes me think about my own worries over the last few days, now that this house is looking more like a probability. I’ve been fretting over the work involved, the time and money and stress levels that we’re going to be taking on, sleeping poorly at night wondering if we’re getting in over our heads here.

Then I think about all that this guy has taken on—not just the rebuilding of a house, but of a neighborhood—and it gives me hope. He’s not just working on his house, but fighting against racism, drug gangs, the city, and prejudice every day. He goes to sleep with it (from what it sounds like, that can be hard sometimes) and wakes up to it every day. His defeats are hugely personal, and heartbreaking. But his successes are dramatic and uplifting. I have an overwhelming amount of respect for his fight.

His story gives me a lot of hope. I’ll eat PB&J for a month if I have to. I’ll live in the basement if I have to (and it wouldn’t be the first time.) We can do this.

I’m also considering how to document all the progress at our new house, if we’re able to buy it. I was originally considering a new URL for it, but I think I may just start a sub-section off the main site. Believe me, there are going to be a million pictures of the place before we’re done.