Neighbors

Dear Larry,

OK, Anna and I were outside smoking earlier. Not late-maybe 10:00 PM. She likes to sit on the steps leading to the apartments upstairs. I prefer to stand near my neighbors door. It's close to the steps for one so that I can have a normal conversation with the person sitting on the steps. Two, there's a very handy rail upon which I can sit my drink if I were to have one. Tonight I did not have a beverage but that is beside the point. So, we're talking about Anna's vacation time or something to do with her job and speaking in a pretty quiet tone as far as I could tell when we hear the door behind me unlock. Then, not surprisingly, the neighbor lady cracks the door about a half an inch and just peers out with her beady little crazy eyes for like 15 seconds. As soon as I realized that she wasn't going to say anything, and it was obvious that she was only doing this as some sort of attempt at intimidation, I turn back around to face Anna and we continue the conversation. She shuts the door and then promptly cracks it again, as if to get our attention-like we didn't hear it the first time. I glanced back rather nonchalantly, thinking that this time she might actually engage someone in conversation. She didn't. Instead, she puts on her clothes, calls the front office I believe, and steps out of her apartment. No eye contact. We overhear her clearly asking someone to send someone over to her apartment right away. I thought that it might have been the police but I guess that she didn't have the balls to do that. She walks out and gets in her car and drives off. Me and Anna, finished smoking at this point, head back inside to finish watching an excellent episode of 24. About 5 minutes later, I hear her (the neighbor) pulling her car back in and see that she is accompanied by the security guard because I've noticed the flashing yellow lights of his security pick-up truck. I don't know what they did out there but no one ever came to the door. I can only imagine that the security guard showed up and asked her what the problem was only to have her reply "There were people outside...and they were... (choking back the sobs of frustration) they were talking". I wonder what the security guy said. He has more patience than me. I want so badly to leave her a little note on her door. It would say "Dear Over-Reactor" and then something else, probably insulting. It may be too late for that though. And she's not really worth it. I think that it's a white thing with her. I hear other people talking loudly outside much later in the evening-I've even heard her come in late-and to my knowledge she hasn't said anything to anyone else. I wish that she would have come to the door tonight. I had a "Shove It" for her all cocked and loaded. It would have been so great to see the look on her face. Fucking neighbors.

Eight days until I move. I can't hardly wait.

WBS,

Paul