No, We Own It

as most of you know, a. and i moved to clinton, ny in july, 2005 because a. received a job at hamilton college. unbekownst to us, we bought a house previously owned by a beloved english professor at hamilton. He sold the house in 2002 when he moved into a retirement community.

when we tell people in clinton where we live, most automatically say, "oh, in fred's old house." indeed, our house is known as fred's house, because this esteemed academic lived there for many years. this doesn't bother us in the least. what does bother us is this: after establishing that we live in fred's house, the question that invariably follows is: "are you renting"?

renting? excuse me?

why do people always assume a. and i rent instead of own our home? the house we live in is not the kind of house that people rent. it's never been rental property; it's clearly a home that has always been owned. so, why are we always asked this question? do people think that a gay couple can't own a home? two women can't own a home? do we look like we are fresh out of graduate school, and are simply too young to be home owners? last time i looked in the mirror, i saw a 41 year old woman staring back at me - not a 30 year old. what the fuck? i find this question so annoying, and offensive that i want to scream and claw the questioner's eyes out.

so, i have resolved to respond thusly to the following question:

where do you live in clinton?

we live in fred's old house, and no, we don't rent, we own it.