Sweet. I especially enjoyed this line:

"...I've never known a deeper sense of empathy nor a deeper gratitude that I was not the man I beheld..."

What a tale! I could have been a Carl many years and a thousand summers ago. I never had a house though, and I have since learned many lessons. Congratualtions on a fine piece of writing.

Prov 31:10 - "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies."

So too with her rarity, I would add.

Heart wrenching tale! Makes me feel badly that I laughed so hard!

Great piece!

Your heart would break if you saw how Litchfield has been destroyed by the NYC weekenders.

What Lucy said. And I can't help thinking that the next installment in the saga of Carl is that his good friend Chris Dodd (just up the road in Haddam, dontcha know) got him a great sweetheart deal on a Countrywide mortgage.

Great read. Thanks. A typo for you: "...his send-off part at Wolfpit Farm." Party? ◄Dave►

I love your stories.

Thanks for the typo alert. Without good readers I would be always mistaken.

thoroughly enjoyed that lovely bit of writing!

perfection="Every time Carl stood up in his house he had to squat down and shamble from room to room. He had to be especially careful when going through the doors of his place since they were shorter still."

Carl is to be given credit for not becoming pickled and bitter like this guy. It can be tough to retain that saintly disposition.

Once again...sometime during those first three dates you ask her to list what, in her life, is less important than her man. If the list is empty you run like hell, because it's gonna be kept that way.

I dunno . I think it quite fitting to have a send-off part for Carl at Wolf-pit Farm. Something's better than nothing, you know.

Now I finally understand your comic facination with scrotal inflation syndrome.

Now I finally understand your comic facination with scrotal inflation syndrome.

What a terrific story, read through alternating tears of laughter and empathy.

One more tiny typo for you: >Back then it was slightly more painful for quit a bit longer.

This story fills me with both despair and hope, much like it did the first time that I read it. As for the pain, well, modern surgery has advanced quite nicely in that regard.

It takes a good bit for something to wipe clean my Saturday a.m. "to-do" slate. This just did.

Loved this story! Brightened my day, laughing and sympathizing with the poor guy. You really are my favorite blogging essayist/storyteller.

Now all the autism snarks are forgiven.

Thank you it is good to be forgiven but better still to forgive. I'll try to keep the snarks down to a dull roar but I am not always in control of my snarking.

Aw, poor Carl. Every time you post this one, I hope a little more that he did indeed find his one good woman, and that their years together will be long and happy.

I'm with Julie. I liked this the first time I read it a few years ago.

Fix the typos and put it up again in a few years.

Gerard, absolutely delightful. Of course, it's also painful since I identify with dear Carl. Experience is a dear school, and a fool will learn in no other.

Love is a concept by which they measure their sales.

Great article.
I think I remember that house. Was it 1/2 on stilts, with a view to the east, a guest house at the bottom of the hill for his writing and a palm tree in the vaulted half?

Shame if it burned down. Saw it in the late 70's as a kid and it made quite an impression.

When and where did you post this before? I remember reading it.

Dan Kurt

Written first in 2006. Rewritten and reposted in April, 2012.

Excellent writing.
Carl first wife should have gotten her tubes tied.

I remember reading this some years ago
and yes, someone like Laura

I remember reading this some years ago
and yes, someone like Laura

Gerard, I've read this at least twice, probably a year apart, and I don't think I've ever laughed harder at that closing line. It reads like Waugh. Brilliant!

Wonderfully written. ("Ouch" to the house burning down as I contemplate love as shelter rather then vessel.)

Fantastic story. I hope you find out someday that Laura ended her days with another lover and a claw hammer somehow poetically and lethally involved.

Wedges Outfit and Red High