Across the street from where I live, a familiar activity in Ballard is occurring once more: a small house formerly owned by an elderly person is being prepared for demolition and will be replaced by two condos.

In certain areas of Ballard, it seems as if this is happening to every other house to the point that Archie McPhee sells a humorous bumper sticker that proclaims "Ballard Welcomes Our new Condo Overlords." While humor is one way of dealing with rapid change, I wanted to put a human face on my experience.

The house I refer to once was owned by a man my housemates and I referred to as "The Sea Captain." According to my housemates who had lived there longer than I, he was a retired Merchant Marine Captain who lived alone in what, even by mid- 20th century Ballard standards, was a small house, but it had a garage in the back (seen being demolished above).

In this garage The Sea Captain kept an olive green Buick Centurion, a mammoth 1970s boat of a car that he kept in mint condition. Not too long after I moved in across the street, he began to park it in front of his house, as he was no longer able to maneuver it into the garage, as evidenced by a huge scratch on the side.

His neighbor told me that he was selling the car for $1,000. Even though I already had one, I thought long and hard about buying it because it was such a great car. It was soon sold to someone who I hope appreciates it.

The Sea Captain passed away shortly thereafter. A few months later, there was an estate sale and eventually a "for sale" sign was put out front. It seemed the sign was up for less than 72 hours before it was sold. The yellow sign indicating the imminent demolishing of the house and subsequent condoization of the property appeared shortly thereafter.

There were a few months of limbo and then last week, the construction crew who will soon become a daily fixture in my life for the next few months started to prepare the site by demolishing the garage.

I cannot claim to have ever met or talked to The Sea Captain. If he was even aware of my presence, he probably thought of me as one of those guys who was living in his old friend's house across the street. I liked to imagine that he had some pretty interesting adventures on the seven seas but always returned to his modest one bedroom castle in Ballard and cruised around in his Centurion.

There is nothing I can do about the destruction of The Sea Captain's house. Someone else bought it fair and square and they can do whatever they want with it. I am sure the plot of land is worth way more than the house and garage and will be worth even more with two condos on it.

On one hand I am glad that Ballard is a living, evolving place, but it is also important to take a step back in the midst of all this progress and take the time to remember all the Ballardites who have gone before us and made Ballard the great place it is to live today.

If you have neighbors like the Sea Captain, take the time to get to know them and listen to their stories while you still have a chance, before they get lost to the ages and their houses become just a memory.

Questions, comments, column idea? Please contact Brian Le Blanc at brianleblanc76@yahoo.com or comment below.