The Garage Door and Memories of Mom

© 2001 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Winter 2001
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 50


CLIPPINGS
Garage Doors and Openers in the Media


The Garage Door and Memories of Mom

Every afternoon, when he hears the whir of the garage door, DeAndre Blagburn can't help thinking, "Ma's home."

On Sept. 11, Blagburn's 48-year-old mother, Carrie, was working her job as an Army budget analyst at the Pentagon. On that same day, DeAndre was stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where he was on temporary duty in the Air Force.

Four days after the attack, Blagburn flew back to his home in Temple Hills, Md. After 15 days of vigil with his family, they were finally notified that Carrie's remains had been identified.

Now, Blagburn is trying to stop connecting the sound of the garage door with sizzling pork chops, his mother's smiling face, and family gatherings in the kitchen.


Garage Door: A Fashion Statement

This article delivers your garage door sales pitch for you.

"It's as important as anything you buy for the home," says Canadian Susan Thomlinson. "A garage door is the first thing people notice about your house. If it's shoddy, dented, or scratched up, it sends a message about who lives inside."

"A fashion statement," is how Ezio Stirpe, a door dealer in Markham, Ontario, views it. "It's one of the most visible ways to distinguish you from your neighbors."

Garage door openers are "the greatest invention since sliced bread," according to Lisa Gib of Canadian Tire. "Convenience, safety, and security are all must reasons to install one in your garage."


Ordinance Restricts Garage Doors

Want your garage door to face the street? In certain neighborhoods in Farmers Branch, Texas, it's forbidden.

A new city ordinance prevents homeowners from moving their garage entries to the front of their homes in neighborhoods where other garage orientations prevail.

Residents who pushed for the ordinance voiced concern about conformity within neighborhoods. If most garage doors were hidden from view in the rear of a house, residents did not want anyone rearranging so the doors face the street.

The new ordinance says a homeowner cannot build a front-facing garage door if 75 percent of the surrounding neighborhood has something different.


Columnist: Garage Door Buying Tips

Dulley, the syndicated columnist, responds to a question about replacing an old garage door.

"More than 30 percent of the frontal area of a typical home is garage door," says Dulley. "With lifetime warranties, a new efficient, insulated garage door can be a good investment."

He promotes quality hardware that reduces noise, "carriage-style" doors, decorative and energy-efficient windows, pinch-resistant joints, and thermal breaks. Dulley sells a "buyer's guide of 11 highest-quality garage doors" (Bulletin No. 894) at www.dulley.com.


Garage Door is Not the Focal Point

Should you paint your garage door the same color as your front door? Gillespie, a home columnist, thinks not.

"The front door is your home's exterior focal point," she explains. "If you were to paint the garage door the same color as the front door, it would be competing for the role of focal point."

"Keep your garage door the same color as the siding," she adds.


Jed Clampett's Remote Control

Buddy Ebsen, alias Jed Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies, isn’t about to quit. With his new book, Kelly's Quest, the 93-year-old entertainer has now added "novelist" to his many careers as an actor, dancer, artist, and biographer.

In this USA Today story, Ebsen admits he has slowed down a bit over the years. When people ask him what it's like to be his age, he says, "Well, when you're sitting on the porch and a pretty girl walks by and your pacemaker starts to open the garage door, well, that's how you feel."