A top-of-order conversation asked if "Bill-across-the-street" was still alive. Bill and his family lived on the other side of the cul-de-sac on a somewhat large, but irregularly shaped piece of property. He was an extreme do-it-your-selfer who literally dug out his own full size swimming pool umpteen years ago. Bill was also a compulsive hoarder.
Even as far back as the 1980s we would hear stories of how hard it was to walk through Bill's house. Things were stacked so there were only narrow aisles to walk through, even in the main living areas of the house. Bill's wife had died many, many years ago, and the kids were long gone. Bill was quite self-sufficient, if a little bizarre, and was last seen, at least by us--still driving a van--in his 90s. Bill was a Collyer brother-type personality, without being a complete recluse, and without the booby traps.
Well, we found out that Bill had passed away a few years ago. The family came by and emptied the house and yard, using five dumpsters before the job was done. The house is now for sale.
One of the categories of possessions was Bill's accumulation of lawn mowers. Someone thought to count, and it turned out Bill left 52 lawn mowers lying about. It is not known if some were working, or they were just projects he was going to get to and fix, but the number 52 certainly sticks in one's mind. Bill had a lawn mower for every card in a deck.
This of course meant that while Bill might certainly been thought to not be playing with a full deck himself, he certainly could offer proof that he had a full deck of lawn mowers.
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