Childhood Home Project.

A rewrite of a phone interview with my mother, Anne Lane.

Owen: Mom, do you like the house you and Papa live in?
Mom: Yes. I wish we could get rid of some your guys' crap and be a little more minimal or something. Im glad we dont have any pets anymore. That makes things easier. The house is nice now, especially since the remodel. But its way too much space without any of you kids here.

O: Why did you and Papa decide to buy this home?
M: We originally intended to have a home built near Potter's Marsh in Anchorage so that we would not need to move out of town. It would be close to your father's work in Anchorage. We were able to have a much larger home built if we moved out of town.

O: What were you most pleased with, in moving into the new house in Palmer?
M: The lot was really nice. We had an acre for a yard. I liked that much of it was 'hay field" so it would take less work to have a vegetable garden. When we moved into this subdivision. There were just a couple families. We felt like we had a lot of space. We had the (Matanuska) river to walk to, and the lake. The Hook's farm was next to our street. It was really quiet.

O: What did you not expect about our new home, or were unhappy with?
M: The house was fine. Your father was unhappy with the commute (to Anchorage). As the subdivision grew, we didn't seem to to fit in with the "snobs". Nathan (brother) would stir a lot of shit in Sky Ranch, and everyone hated the Lanes. Casey (brother) changed a lot in Palmer. His grades went to shit, and he started doing drugs.

O: Mom, can you tell me a "big thing" or important memory related to the house? Something that stands out.
M: You remember Tommy and the gun, right? When Nathan was about 16 if Im right, came home from shooting with Tommy Hooks. That shit Tommy was walking upstairs with his finger on the trigger and the god-damned thing went off. It went through the staircase into the basement stairs. Everyone was always zipping down those stairs, crushing cans or playing in the basement. He could have killed someone. He was such a fuck-up.

O: What was your favorite part of the house?
M: The porch. The back porch. The view of Pioneer Peak, which is now almost completely covered by cottonwoods, and you could see the lake to the North. We had/have the smoker out there, the BBQ. The whole deal.

O: If you could change something about the house, what would you and Papa change?
M: The basement. We always wanted to finish it. We've been trying to clean it out for 20 years, and get rid of all of your guys' crap. (the children). We still have all of your crap from when you moved down to Oregon. When Casey went to jail, we had to put his whole apartment down there. He still hasn't gone through it. It's such a mess!

O: Would you like to stay here, or move out?
M: I could do without the dark in the winter. I really hate it. It's so depressing. We had planned to move down to New Mexico after Papa retired, but he lost so much in the recession. We're happy with the house, but I dont care for this neigborhood anymore. Everyone in Sky Ranch is so crazy. They are always throwing their hands up in the air about something. they're crazy!

O: Do you think the house in Palmer changed us significantly as a family, or shaped us?
M: I dont know. The only thing I think is weird is that everyone has stayed so close, besides you. Your brothers and sisters have all stayed within Palmer or Wasilla. They all seem to be very comfortable in the valley. Nate's expressed leaving state, but he doesn't. I think they still want the option of doing laundry here.

O: Can I have the house when you croak.
M. That's not funny. No.