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title: Virginia Ave
---

In 1999, I was finally able to buy a [house][virginia] thanks to a government loan program. The neighborhood had been seriously depressed during the 1990 census. My modest salary was enough to make us qualify as a successful household moving into a needy census block.

The back yard featured an enormous (25 meter) black oak, and we dug a small koi pond. Somehow the interior woodwork has escaped painting, so when we removed the carpeting and had the floors restored, it was beautiful inside.

We didn't get to restore the exterior, which had been painted red, before divorce meant selling it to buy [the loft](esl401.html).

[virginia]: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2623-Virginia-Ave-Saint-Louis-MO-63118/2939775_zpid/
