House on highway

Several years ago when I drove down to Georgia for a family visit I would go off the Interstate at Cleveland, TN drive twenty or so miles east and take Hwy 411 to Cartersville, GA. This was partly to miss all the highway construction going on in Chattanooga and partly nostalgia. Before multilane traffic arteries crisscrossed the country US 11 and 411 were two of the main north-south routes into the GA/TN Appalachian region. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say northeast/southwest routes through the region since they follow Tennessee's slanted eastern border. So when I headed south to Georgia I actually drove in a westerly direction for much of the way. But I digress.

One spring some few miles after crossing into Georgia on the non-interstate leg of my trip I noticed an unoccupied house on the side of Hwy 411. It had some fairly large writing spray painted in red on the side facing the highway but I could only read one word, "Keep - ". I figured it was vandalism. But on another trip in winter when the vegetation had died back I could make out that the words were "Keep out" and "Not for rent". I had my camera with me on that trip so I pulled off and took some pictures. There had to be a story there. I always thought I might dream one up incorporating the house but so far have not.