Location, location, location!

They teach you that when it comes to real estate the top selling or non-selling factor is LOCATION.

Maybe that's why we've stayed in Irving, and particularly, our neighborhood, so long. There are always exciting things happening on our street.

In the 8 years we've lived here there have been:

4 houses burned down (3 down the street, 1 right behind us);

1 house blow up (right across the street);

1 drug bust by the FBI (1 block down);

1 hostage situation where SWAT was called in and we were asked by the police to not leave the house due to the sharp-shooters on the roof-tops (2 blocks down);

1 burglar killed in a shoot-out with the cops (2 houses up);

1 car drive through a house (corner);

1 car smash through our neighbor's brick mailbox then land, flipped over, onto our driveway;

1 surprise visit over our back fence (while Mark was in the backyard) by fully-outfitted policemen chasing a running suspect;

multiple calls to the police to complain about the ever-annoying marijuana smoke drifting into our yard;

multiple calls to the police to complain about the Latin music blasting over the fence through the wee hours of the morn;

multiple calls to the police because the neighbors are passed out, drunk in their cars with the radio blasting;

and most recently -- the inspiration behind this post --

someone from the Attorney General's office knocking at our door to inquire as to the whereabouts of our neighbor who recently, and quite suspiciously, moved in the middle of the night.

Ahh, Irving, how we love thee.