Beautiful Rubble

     We are all human beings in balance. We tolerate negative aspects of people in balance for a greater part of themselves. What I like about Ace is his honesty.  Most of us, at some time, shade the truth to meet our own need. Even sometimes sub-consciously, we put a spin on a description. Ace is amazingly straightforward.  In fact, “straight ahead” could be his motto. But, you’ll see what I mean in a bit.

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Transcript

                                                         Beautiful Rubble

          My friend Ace was here a little while ago this morning and brought donuts.  In reference to the selection of donuts, Ace was explaining to me that Abraham Lincoln said that sometimes you can’t please any of the people. I was trying to explain this was a slight turn from what Lincoln said about some of the people all the time or all of the people some of the time. The discussion only went on for a minute, but it made me want three Advil. Instead, I ate two donuts, drank a coffee, and tried to remember that you can’t argue with Ace. He’s right about one thing though: sometimes you can’t please anyone. 

          We are all human beings in balance. We tolerate negative aspects of people in balance for a greater part of themselves. What I like about Ace is his honesty.  Most of us, at some time, shade the truth to meet our own need. Even sometimes sub-consciously, we put a spin on a description. Ace is amazingly straightforward.  In fact, “straight ahead” could be his motto. But, you’ll see what I mean in a bit.

          Now, I have to consider that Ace may read this. I will say that Ace’s friendship has meant a great deal to me, and I would not want to harm it. However, “straight ahead” is not a criticism of Ace but rather a fair description. As if to test my own judgment of Ace, I look at the other people with whom Ace keeps company. People seem to like Ace from the start.  He seems best friends with the most surprising people. The gray lady that lives God knows where with her shopping cart adores him. The first couple of times I waited in a rush for Ace while he listened to her complaints of that day, gave her five dollars, and called her “little mother.”  After that, I knew it was coming and no amount of toe tapping on my part was going to hurry him. I joined the conversation. Now if I go to Ace’s place and he’s not home, I would walk far out of my way to greet this person Ace has caused me to care about. The owner of the big deli will treat you like a cousin if you go in with Ace. It is amazing.  

          I have met through Ace several movie stars including Ginger Rogers (she treated him like a best friend, and he fixed her kitchen drawer) and Herimione Baddeley (the household maid in Mary Poppins) who was like a mother to Ace. You might not expect it at first, but people in general seem to like the straightforward way Ace throws himself into life. 

          I will describe Ace for you. He is quite short but on the lean side. He has gray hair that includes a mustache and beard. I tease him that one day he will call from animal control to be bailed out. If you saw him once, you would likely remember him years later. To my surprise, most women find him rather cute. I am not a very good judge of such things.

          Ace owns an old beat-up apartment building of about sixty units that was willed to him. It constantly teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. None of the lenders want to foreclose because it is held together with glue and operates in the red. It is a relic from the thirties, and no one in their right mind would want to own it. I was actually around when Ace first saw it because he wanted legal advice. I jumped up & down and screamed with no effect at all.  Ace just kept saying, “It will be beautiful, a showpiece.”  I explained that it was obviously rubble waiting to happen, and who was going to pay to turn the tide that gravity was winning? Ace’s response was the same, “It will beautiful.”

          Now, years later, it is still a pile of rubble waiting to happen. Although he really throws himself and his limited funds into the project, gravity and the tendency of atoms to fly apart are taking a serious toll on this building. The most expensive unit, a one bedroom, is only $600. These are twenty-five percent vacant because no one in his or her right mind would want to live in this building.  It is a hovel on Shakedown Street.  But, my point is, the tenants like him. The single mom with four kids sees him as a savior.  Ace really tries to help her and knows the name of each child. He brought presents on Christmas. The place is really important to her.  And, having it there for her and the others is important to Ace in that really straightforward way of his. “It’s beautiful,” he says.

          The grandmother who is the resident manager tells me about her granddaughter coming to visit, and that Ace is the most generous but stubborn creature in Los Angeles. Her actual language was a bit more colorful. Even the punk rocker on the second floor thinks Ace is a nice guy. They all like him. Except the Nazi with the alcohol problem. Ace feels an almost paternal sense toward the building and felt it necessary to reprimand the Nazi for the drunken, shouted monologue in front of the building one night. Drunken Nazis don’t reprimand well and, ironically, easily take offense. Anyway, Ace must be doing something right if a drunk punk Nazi hates him. 

To be continued….