Tom designed his house himself and made sure that the kitchen was at the front and not at the back as this was usually the case. I still hear him raving about this crazy idea of having a kitchen at the back of the house, facing a fence or an ugly clothes-line (Hills hoist). No his wife deserved better, while she's stirring the pot, she can watch the world passing by, instead being locked away at the back. Mind you, quite soon his forward looking idea paid off handsomely. As this quiet stretch of road became busier in later years, Tom became busy as well, by reporting the numerous car accidents to the tow-truck company of his choice, who renumerated him bountifully. It helped also that he lived near a cross road without any lights or decent traffic signs. In those early times, the first appearance at the scene of an accident were not one, but two, three, four tow trucks, well before the ambulance or police when needed. They were like sharks seeing blood.