Blogs you should know: DuAll Services
As the 365MP starts it's three-month draw to a close, I wanted to highlight some of the blogs that are doing remarkable things right now in the Twin Cities.
Enter DuAll Services: a Twin Cities property restoration and garbage removal service for homes that have been foreclosed, abandoned, or previously inhabited my hoarders.
Didn't expect that from a music blog did you?
So when we listen to music, we're inviting it to join, define, subdue, or amplify an experience: be it a drive to the beach, good times with friends, a quiet evening with someone special, or perhaps one alone with a broken heart.
But when we welcome music into our lives, we do it at our discretion and when we want, avoiding songs that raise emotions perhaps not aligned with us at that moment.
And one can say that's the beauty of music, yes? We can essentially experience what we want, when we want it. The only tangibility lies with us, the listener. Outside our perceived similarity with the musician's lyrics, we really have no idea what they might have been experiencing at the time of conception.
So it was this tangibility I was seeking when I reached out to my new friend Peter from DuAll Services to see if I could tag along during one of his site visits. And sure, there were some "liability issues" and "red tape" and something about "upper management", but eventually we were able to come to an agreement that worked for everyone.
And so there I found myself, two days later, standing on the front porch of such a property in a nice, sleepy, seemingly unknowing neighborhood, wide-eyed, with camera and curiosity in tow.
As we prepared ourselves to enter the house, the thrill of adventure came forth when Peter turned to me and said he quite literally had no idea what could meet us at the door.
But upon entering the home—thankfully sans-stench—the only thing we were met with was a ghost of a life that once was and the muse of tangibility I was seeking.
Usually when Peter visits a site like this, he tries to piece together the mystery of what brought things to this point. Things that, oftentimes are no different than the tragic lyrics of the music we experience: a death, the end of a relationship, perhaps too much fun.
And in a haunting way, you don't have to look far to spot pieces of yourself in the mix of debris and garbage. For just as this homeowner opted to keep a piece of wood in the corner of a room, I too, had one of frightening similarity (mine's on the right).
But unlike a song we can skip ahead on a playlist, as we climbed over children's toys and discarded goods from memories past, gazing upon walls that no doubt had stories to tell, it was easy to see where despair is birthed. A swan song not yet comprised of pretty lyrics, catchy hooks, or atmospheric soundscapes.
This is the beauty of what DuAll Services does. In these dark moments of desperation, they are perhaps the third verse of moving on and hope. A company that quietly brings integrity and humilty to an otherwise, ironically, throwaway task.
And as you stand there, looking down on a life that once was and maybe still is, it's easy to wonder just where we might find ourselves someday in the similarity of a musician's lyrics. Hopefully not here.
Thank you to Peter and all of the folks at DuAll Services who made this visit possible. To see more pictures and Peter's take on our joint adventure, click here.
