You can get lost in a house worth nearly a half-million dollars.
Dark wood floors stretch throughout the two-story structure, which covers roughly 2,750 square feet in the Summer Park neighborhood of Chesapeake. With five bedrooms and three baths, there's space aplenty for privacy, comfort and touches of luxury. It has 14-foot ceilings and walk-in closets.
The master bathroom, with its deep tub and separate shower, provides options: You can linger, or go for a quick lather and rinse.
The backyard has an ample fire pit, surrounded by a slate tile. It's perfect for parties. Several trees stand Colossus-like. A screened-in back porch keeps bugs at bay.
Then, in one bedroom doubling as a den, you glance at a poster of a 10-year-old boy named Keshaun. He's the "Ruler of the Playground." He's bereft of hair.
He has acute myeloid leukemia.
And you remember why this place, the newest St. Jude Dream Home, is much more than the envy of your friends.
You see, the folks behind St. Jude Children's Research Hospital don't play fair.
The Boss and I don't mind one bit.
We turn to mush when we view their commercials, in which seriously ill children nestle with their grateful, teary-eyed parents. We frequently buy tickets for the local Dream Home raffle; this is the 14th in Hampton Roads.
We thank God our kids have never needed the hospital's lifesaving care, but we're glad it's there for anybody who does.
The nonprofit research facility has been around since 1962. The brainchild of the late entertainer Danny Thomas, the hospital in Memphis, Tenn., fights major childhood cancers, sickle cell and other diseases.
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
As you can imagine, all of that is expensive. Leilani Lawrence, a spokeswoman for the ALSAC/St. Jude office in Virginia Beach, told me it costs $1.9 million each day to operate the hospital. Fundraising is constant.
"We're working very hard for the kids at St. Jude," she said.
Stephen Alexander Homes & Neighborhoods donated time and materials for the latest Dream Home, the fifth one it has built locally. Organizers hope to sell 12,500 raffle tickets at $100 each. By Friday afternoon, about 1,300 remained. The drawing will be Sunday, May 4, on WTKR NewsChannel 3.
From now till then, there will be an Open House each day. The $450,000 home is at 1929 Millville Road, off Moses Grandy Trail. You can purchase raffle tickets there, or call 1-800-851-5323. For more information, go to www.stjude.org/dhgreaterhamptonroads.
A steady stream of folks stopped by Friday to ogle, to dream about winning, or simply show support for the hospital.
"We really believe in the cause," said Perry Edwards, 74, who came with his wife, Anita, 66. They live in the Lake Gaston area and have three grandsons who live in Chesapeake. They bought a raffle ticket again this year.
"I think the television commercials tug at your heart," added Perry Edwards.
A ruptured Achilles tendon didn't prevent 43-year-old Dawn Mitchell from hobbling up and down the stairs. She maneuvered as best she could on crutches as her husband, Derick, 45, stood nearby.
Dawn Mitchell called the house "beautiful."
The research hospital is, too.
Roger Chesley, 757-446-2329, roger.chesley@pilotonline.com, pilotonline.com/chesley, www.facebook.com/RogerChesley