Before moving into my house, I went with a realtor to see various condos, town houses. At that time, quite sick, I didn’t want to be responsible for home maintenance. Now I’m glad that I have a whole house to myself.

Yesterday, canvassing for Obama, I trudged the streets of Ghent where most of the buildings are apartments. Driving by on the street, you say to yourself, “Oh, look at these charming old homes.” But they aren’t homes…Ghent is busted up into tiny apartments; the one-family house is unusual.

How depressing it would be to face an entrance consisting of a poorly-painted and damaged door, broken floor tile, wobbly banisters, peeling wall paper. That’s how it goes in building after building. Plus dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt. Stairwells are narrow and twisting. I wondered how movers get sofas up there. Also, I wondered how people would get out in case of a fire…everyone trying to rush out at once, no room on those stairs for more than one person at a time.

An apartment doesn’t have a porch. As I sat on outdoor stairs waiting for Lydia at one address, behind me a door opened and a young woman came out onto her itty-bitty balcony. There was no room for furniture; she sat on the floor and lit a cigarette. I thought that if she needs to smoke outside, she hasn’t got a very comfortable place to do it.

Those who live in apartments perforce smell each other’s food, hear each other’s voices and feet, listen to each other’s yapping mutts, share the sounds of each other’s TV’s. No privacy. Everyone would know everyone else’s business; who had family fights, who got drunk, who had cranky kids, etc. You’d know when the neighbors were taking a shower, hear their phone ringing, wake up to the neighbor’s alarm clock.

One man told me that he loves to live in a Ghent apartment and said that above all, it’s cheap. I asked. He pays $900/month for a small space in a poorly maintained, dirty building. Ridiculous. Money down a rat hole.

All that political canvassing yesterday was miserable. My back ached, my feet hurt, I was so tired, I thought I’d have to just sit down and call a taxi to haul me home. However, it had one good result. Now and then I think, “I really should have moved into a condo. Why do I have a whole house for just me? It’s immoral to heat and air-condition all this space for one person. For months at a time the only upstairs room I use is the one with the bathtub. Shoulda moved into an apartment.”

Yesterday wised me up. After seeing all those apartments yesterday, I couldn’t care less that I’m heating/cooling a whole house for one person.