Opening doors to windows

I've been chary to post anything substantive about our window problem, but . . .

Clayton Lopez, our city Commissioner, set up a working meeting with me later this week, and as luck would have it the Historic Architecture Review Commission has a community-input meeting set up for April 16.

He was not shy about my problem: "I am behind you all the way on this," he told me after I sent him my letter pleading for sanity on building codes in Old Town. "There is no reason in the world you have to tear those things out.

"And by the way, what kind are they? I want to put them in my house."

Clayton had walked by our house -- prompted by his assistant, Virginia, whom I'd buttonholed after one of our neighborhood-watch meetings.

"I went up to the gate and took a good look at them," he said. "I can't understand how anyone would find them offensive at all," the Commissioner said. "They're so beautiful."

I gave him my boilerplate line about not wanting to change the character of Old Town, and being willing to switch to wood ones -- though they'll cost us $3,000 a year in added wind-insurance premiums. . . .

"Don't even think about changing those windows," he said. "We're going to make this all right."

All right!