Tonight, Mary Ellen needed to practice the piano, and also wanted to watch a TV show that I didn't care to see. So, I set out on foot for the six-block walk to the Grant St. Garage. It was around 8:45 when I left, so it was already dark. Here are the dangerous, scary things I encountered while walking over:
1. A young man and a young woman on the steps of a nearby house. She had her arms around his neck.
2. Two women walking and chatting while pushing baby carriages.
3. About 20 people sitting at the outside tables at Molly's Pub, talking and drinking.
4. A woman leaving the Turkey Hill convenience store with two bags of groceries.
5. An old man sitting on his steps, talking to a young man.
So, when I got to Grant St., I started working on my project. Around 10:00, I decided to call it a night and locked up. On the walk back I encountered:
1. Angel, who lives across the street from the Garage. He parks his car in front of my door, and he was just parking when I came out. He usually works nights, as a machine maintenance tech at a local factory. Incidentally, Angel is the only person I know personally who has dreadlocks.
2. A woman talking on her phone while pushing her laundry cart.
3. This... Yes, it's a Ferrari, and the owner was clearly comfortable leaving it top-down.
4. An old black man, missing his front teeth, walking with one of those metal canes that "clacks" every time you set it down. He was singing, very well I might add, and was tapping the cane on the offbeats. Tap! Tap! Tap! I started double-snapping my fingers, and he stopped and sang as I walked by snapping. I called out, "Sounding good, my man!" and I heard him start back up - Tap! Tap! Tap! The singing never missed a beat.
5. A family of four - Mom, Dad, two kids, leaving a restaurant.
6. Another couple holding hands, walking with two other friends and chatting.
7. Just as I reached our door, a guy came by on a bicycle, and as he passed he called out, "Jesus is my Rock and my Salvation!"
Dangerous stuff.. city life rocks!
Yeah, you gotta' watch out, the city'll love bomb you to death. My problem when walking my doggie later at night is that a "hello" to people out on their porches frequently ignites conversations that double the time it takes us to do our nightly round (about six blocks square). These people are generally too nice and neighborly… Grumble….
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