such things were n't unheard of where i came from-a falling-down wreck on the edge of town , curtains permanently drawn , that would turn out to have been home to some ancient recluse who 'd been surviving on ramen and toenail clippings since time immemorial , though no one realizes it until a property appraiser or an overly ambitious census taker barges in to find the poor soul returning to dust in a la-z-boy .