The Real World
I’ve never really watched the show and don’t have any aspirations to be on it, but I’m pretty sure that my living situation down here in Prattville is a close replicate of what life is like on the Real World. Prattville is a sleepy town located right outside of Montgomery that smells constantly like ice cream waffle cones thanks to the nearby International Paper mill. I found my roommate, Maud, after posting on Craig’s List, and have been delighted with the find. The house is spacious (especially compared to New York standards!), the price is great and Maud is an easy-going, friendly and laid back person to live with. (I still haven’t figured out how old she is, but I’m guessing 30-something to early 40s). Maud is so easy going in fact, that she hasn’t been working the last few months, and spends a lot of time a the house watching television, surfing the web and drinking beer. She drinks a lot of beer.
Maud is also gay, and that fact, along with her generous and laid back personality, accounts for a lot of the excitement we’ve had in the place for the last 2+ months. Unlike cities in the northeast, the gay community in places like Montgomery is not supported by city politicians or a bevy of nonprofit organizations, nor does it coalesce in certain neighborhoods that provide social outlets and group support. Instead, Maud is like a fish out of water in a neighborhood that’s comprised of mostly military and retired military families. And she’s not the only one. Throughout the summer we’ve had a parade of wandering characters (straight and gay) staying in the house or passing through, who know that Maud is liberal with her beer stash and is always happy to offer a place to crash on the living room futon or in one of the spare bedrooms.
First there was Maud’s friend, Mae Belle, who had been living in the house for a few months before I arrived but went back to her on-again, off-again girlfriend right before I moved in. When Mae Belle left, she forgot to take the three rusted shotguns she had been keeping with her and had to come back for them. Three weeks later she pulled into the driveway one night and didn’t leave the futon again for about a month except to go to work during the day, content to drink beer and watch TV at night until she and her girlfriend decided to get back together.
No sooner had we said goodbye to Mae Belle, then Maud’s ex-girlfriend, Sue, and her high-school-age son showed up. Of all the people we’ve had staying with us this past summer, Maud’s ex is the only one that should not have been there, but she claimed she needed to come to take a break from her boyfriend. Maud’s ex and her siblings all live in trailer parks on the road between Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. Many of them are alcoholics and petty criminals, eager to take advantage of a woman like Maud, who’s both generous and lonely. Over Christmas, for example, Sue invited her whole family to come to Maud’s for Christmas dinner since none of the trailers could accommodate all of them. One of the guests repaid Maud’s hospitality by stealing blank checks from her checkbook.
During the few days that Sue parked herself in our house this summer, her son unlocked the windows in Maud’s bedroom so he could make an easy, and illicit, return. (That never happened.) One week later, Sue’s sister showed up drunk, probably at Sue’s prompting, with her mentally disabled infant daughter and dog in tow looking for some beer. (Maud refused and got her out as quickly as possible). Despite all of this, Maud made sure to buy a birthday gift for Sue’s son, and replaced Sue’s bed with a new one when she said she couldn’t afford one of her own.
One day I showed up and a guy was sitting on the couch, smoking cigarettes and watching television. I didn’t see him move an inch from his spot until two days later when he decided to go back to work. Another day, yet another guy showed up - an old friend of Maud’s who used to live in the house. He drove Maud home from a bar one night after she was in no condition to drive back, and didn’t leave the house for two days.
Earlier this week, I returned home in the evening to find a woman sprawled out on the couch. As I learned the next morning, Terry is a Navajo woman and divorcee from New Mexico who’s lived all over the States, and is crashing in our house for an indeterminate amount of time, while she and Maud spend the days drinking, watching television and cooking.
In case we didn't have enough people coming through, we also had 3 dogs and 2 cats roaming around at different points during the summer. (1 of the cats belongs to Maud).
All this might make my living situation sound out of control or unpleasant. The truth is I haven’t felt that way at all. Besides offering me a window into the different lives that people lead here, everyone with the exception of Sue has been friendly and easy to get along with, especially Maud. I’m not sure this would work in New York, but then again, whoever said living in the Big Apple was like living in the real world??
Maud is also gay, and that fact, along with her generous and laid back personality, accounts for a lot of the excitement we’ve had in the place for the last 2+ months. Unlike cities in the northeast, the gay community in places like Montgomery is not supported by city politicians or a bevy of nonprofit organizations, nor does it coalesce in certain neighborhoods that provide social outlets and group support. Instead, Maud is like a fish out of water in a neighborhood that’s comprised of mostly military and retired military families. And she’s not the only one. Throughout the summer we’ve had a parade of wandering characters (straight and gay) staying in the house or passing through, who know that Maud is liberal with her beer stash and is always happy to offer a place to crash on the living room futon or in one of the spare bedrooms.
First there was Maud’s friend, Mae Belle, who had been living in the house for a few months before I arrived but went back to her on-again, off-again girlfriend right before I moved in. When Mae Belle left, she forgot to take the three rusted shotguns she had been keeping with her and had to come back for them. Three weeks later she pulled into the driveway one night and didn’t leave the futon again for about a month except to go to work during the day, content to drink beer and watch TV at night until she and her girlfriend decided to get back together.
No sooner had we said goodbye to Mae Belle, then Maud’s ex-girlfriend, Sue, and her high-school-age son showed up. Of all the people we’ve had staying with us this past summer, Maud’s ex is the only one that should not have been there, but she claimed she needed to come to take a break from her boyfriend. Maud’s ex and her siblings all live in trailer parks on the road between Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. Many of them are alcoholics and petty criminals, eager to take advantage of a woman like Maud, who’s both generous and lonely. Over Christmas, for example, Sue invited her whole family to come to Maud’s for Christmas dinner since none of the trailers could accommodate all of them. One of the guests repaid Maud’s hospitality by stealing blank checks from her checkbook.
During the few days that Sue parked herself in our house this summer, her son unlocked the windows in Maud’s bedroom so he could make an easy, and illicit, return. (That never happened.) One week later, Sue’s sister showed up drunk, probably at Sue’s prompting, with her mentally disabled infant daughter and dog in tow looking for some beer. (Maud refused and got her out as quickly as possible). Despite all of this, Maud made sure to buy a birthday gift for Sue’s son, and replaced Sue’s bed with a new one when she said she couldn’t afford one of her own.
One day I showed up and a guy was sitting on the couch, smoking cigarettes and watching television. I didn’t see him move an inch from his spot until two days later when he decided to go back to work. Another day, yet another guy showed up - an old friend of Maud’s who used to live in the house. He drove Maud home from a bar one night after she was in no condition to drive back, and didn’t leave the house for two days.
Earlier this week, I returned home in the evening to find a woman sprawled out on the couch. As I learned the next morning, Terry is a Navajo woman and divorcee from New Mexico who’s lived all over the States, and is crashing in our house for an indeterminate amount of time, while she and Maud spend the days drinking, watching television and cooking.
In case we didn't have enough people coming through, we also had 3 dogs and 2 cats roaming around at different points during the summer. (1 of the cats belongs to Maud).
All this might make my living situation sound out of control or unpleasant. The truth is I haven’t felt that way at all. Besides offering me a window into the different lives that people lead here, everyone with the exception of Sue has been friendly and easy to get along with, especially Maud. I’m not sure this would work in New York, but then again, whoever said living in the Big Apple was like living in the real world??
posted by Ariel Glasner @ 1:30 AM
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