CityView Magazine

10 | April 2020 One additional thing about the Kimbel mailbox – it was a stud. It was on an insulated 4-by-4 post and concreted way into the ground. e mailbox itself was no generic model from Home Depot. It was a custom job weighing about 40 pounds. Mickey put it there with the intention that it last longer than he would. Instead, it only lasted the same amount of time as did Wanda's radiator, front bumper, hood, and le quarter panel, all of which died at the scene. Harry was unharmed; but was frightened beyond words and humiliated. By the time I got there, the Kimbels were too. ey handled it well. I probably would have been puffing smoke. Mickey was a little disgusted, but otherwise, he was pretty cool. Wanda arrived, and she was actually pretty cool too, probably because she had to factor in the relief of Harry being unharmed. Still, that car was her primary means of getting to work. Harry knew this was bad. In short order, Mr. and Mrs. Hill and Mr. and Mrs. Kimbel had proposed a solution. It was unanimously agreed (without consulting Harry) that Mickey would replace and re-erect his own mailbox, aer which Harry would work at the home and in the yard of the Kimbels for as long as it took to pay off the expenses associated with the resurrection of the mailbox. e result of this vote would be the death of any of Harry's free time for the rest of the summer. One thing about Harry Hill you can take to the proverbial bank is that he is dutiful. He reported to the Kimbels for the rest of the summer, keeping a tally of his hours, and working down the debt with each visit. Mickey's mom, Margaret, was pretty famous out here in Eastover. She ran a bakery at the side of her house. She made wedding cakes, cookies and pies. Aer buying the house in 1991, I would occasionally walk across the street to see Mrs. Kimbel and eat two dollars worth of oatmeal raisins on the way back home. Mickey's mom went on to heaven in 2005. So let me tell you what they make at the Kimbel house these days – lemonade. As in, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Let me tell you who squeezes the lemons – Harry Hill. e debt was eventually satisfied, but neither Mickey nor Linda wanted Harry to stop coming. ey found the same thing to be true about Harry that I did so many years before – he was a beautiful kid then and he is a beautiful man now. e Kimbels came to love him. erefore, at the cancellation of the debt, the Kimbels asked Harry if he would like to continue helping them around the yard and in the house with pay. As a result, Harry Hill joined the Kimbels' family business. Linda Kimbel shared this: "I told Wanda that I wanted to adopt Harry – but not until he had graduated college!" Tuitions cost more than custom mailboxes aer all. At first, I was a tad jealous, given that I had already adopted Harry so long ago myself. It occurred to me, though, that there was likely enough of this good young man to go around. So I shared. Harry now has lots of parents. Middle Road has gained a fine son. And the Kimbels and the Hills share what is among the tastiest of all beverages – the lemonade of love.

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