So I had just gotten out of the shower this morning when I heard a knocking across the hall at my neighbors’ apartment. When my neighbors didn’t answer, the knocking turned to my door. Since I was still dripping wet and not prepared to greet anyone, I just kept getting ready. If it was someone who really needed to see me, they would call. Usually when someone comes around knocking on all the doors in the building, it’s a salesman of some sort. Or, from what television tells me, a serial killer/rapist. A few minutes pass and the knocking returns. I look through the peephole and it’s some woman I had never seen before. Because I am a cautious person, I decide not to answer. Some would call this uncharitable but I call it savvy.
After getting dressed, I went out into my front room where I could hear a woman outside shouting to someone. “Hey! Hey! Excuse me?! Can I ask you a question?!”, she yells. Naturally, I peek through my blinds to see what is going on. It is the same woman who had knocked on my door. The woman appears young yet she is morbidly obese, so it was hard to tell her actual age. She gets the attention of a mousy looking girl across the street. The girl approaches the strange woman, talks for a bit and then leaves. The woman now walks back to perch on my building’s stoop, which happens to be right next to my window (it’s a not quite garden level apartment). After a few more tries at shouting the same question to passersby, the woman has another mousy girl come up to her on the stoop. Because she is sitting about 3 feet outside my window, I can’t help but hear the conversation.
Woman: “Excuse me?! Can I ask you sumthin’?”
Mousy Girl 2: “Yeah…”
Woman: “Do you have any food?”
(at this point I start giggling to myself)
Mousy Girl 2: “Well yeah. My apartment is right across the street.”
Woman: “Can you give me some of your food? I am starving!”
(starving, eh?)
Mousy Girl 2: “Oh sure, sure. Let me go drop my stuff off and get you something right away.”
Woman: “Thank you! Thank you! You are the answer to my prayers!!! Oh thank god!”
a few minutes later…
Mousy Girl 2:“Here are some pretzels. You can have all of them.”
Woman: “Oh thank you so much!”
So here is where things get interesting. The Woman watches as Mousy Girl 2 runs back across the street and into her apartment building. When Mousy Girl 2 is out of site, the Woman dumps the bag of pretzels on the ground and leaves the stoop without eating the food she requested. Why didn’t she eat the food? Why didn’t she take the food with her for later? Why did she go around asking for food? Was it a cover for something else? It was just such a weird series of events. I can’t help but wonder if she does this in other neighborhoods…
Anyway, it was rude of her to litter.
Today is the final ordinary day of the year 2007. Once Thanksgiving is officially upon us, all commercial media outlets and front lawns across America will be inundated with holiday cheer. Gas prices, gluttony and capitalism will be on the rise as crazed parents rush to Wal-Mart at 5am for the latest toxic toy.
