Our house, situated in an older neighborhood which is in the throes of revitalization, divides the north and south of lower downtown. To our immediate north lies: 7-11; the Food & Care Coalition; a transitional home for the mentally ill; the liquor store; cheap motels. To our south: the tracks, complete with empty, heated passenger station; Community Action; an unofficial and unmonitored "halfway house" run by a gin-you-wine slumlord (whose butt I would dearly love to kick) for the "benefit" of fellas who aren't "bad" enough to be institutionalized (a highly debatable point, in my book), aren't "good" enough to live in a transitional home, but are overqualified to drift around in various strange attitudes and chemical stupors, scaring neighborhood children and hitting people up for money; an overpass which year-round shelters transients.
My front porch: enclosed; lots of windows; usually locked at night (although apparently not last night); comfortable couch (perfect for napping) outgrown and given to us by elderly friends; various plants, shoes, etc.
This morning on the front porch I discovered a mystery matryoshka of: long-handled basket, fanny pack, luggage keys, and nonworking cell phone. No identification. No clue.
Oh. My. So, did some poor wayfaring man of grief spend the night on my couch under the yellow bug light? This is one of life's disturbing questions. And here are 1000 others.
13 comments:
a mystery! I used to live on the route to the recycling center, and had lots of transients using our yard for various reasons. just part of the neighborhood...
Whoa. Yeah...I'd be wondering the same thing (and possibly feeling a little freaked out). As an aside, I am just finishing "Expecting Adam," and have absolutely loved it. Becca told me it was one of your favorite books when I was telling her that a friend of mine recommended it to me, and I have also absolutely _loved_ it. So...I'm now going to take a nice long look at your other favorite books listed on here as I'm needing to make another library stop. :)
stacie: You've got me curious about the "various reasons" . . . ! Do tell. I've got an overactive imagination.
elizabeth: I was a little freaked out this morning, but the mystery has been solved, at least enough for me to know that nobody spent the night here last night. However, what little I have learned does involve a homeless man . . . I may report here as (hopefully) more details unfold.
Hey, I'm glad you enjoyed Expecting Adam! As I recall, it was Brian J. who gave it to me several years ago, so there's some more reader genealogy for you. My most recent favorite is hands-down A Girl Named Zippy. If you need to laugh out loud, I say try it.
P.S. I rearranged this post because I'm not sure my two links were obvious enough before. They're worth a look-see . . . .
Thanks for the recommendation! (I always love new book recommendations. A friend of mine did a post where she posted her top ten favorite books, and it was a fabulous post. Always love new reads.)
Do tell more about the mystery!
(I couldn't resist posting a bit after finishing that book this afternoon. Such a great read.)
Geo,
You have such a beautiful way with words. You are friends with some of my blog friends and you held my tiny baby at a blogger lunch not long ago. Everyone I come across who knows you has wonderful things to say about you.
You paint such a picture with your words and I am excited to read your archives. I just wanted to introduce myself...
P.S. Having a mystery visitor would make me nervous at first and then curious. We don't get folks like that at our newest place, but our old place was right on the main road and we got ALL KINDS of stuff on the front porch....
Wow!
I love your porch. I think I could easily seek some peace, comfort and rest there myself.
Now the real mystery is...will your mystery guest return?
(Spring break is next week. I'm taking some time off. Let's walk!)
p.s. LOVED Girl Named Zippy. It made me feel happy and zippy inside!
I too loved Zippy. Brought back my own memories of childhood.
AND to the north of you is my office. dont forget.
A little unnerving for sure!
Lock your doors, kay?
The links were very interesting....made me curious.
elizabeth: I think it would be great if we all posted our top ten reads. Right now, I am working my way through everything else Haven Kimmel wrote (she's the Zippy author). I usually sample around, but once in a while I want to get stuck someplace and stay there a while, get to know a mind.
As for the mystery, I still don't have all the answers, but I know something about the key players: a woman in my neighborhood who works for one of the social agencies I mentioned in my post, a male friend of hers who is visiting from Hawaii, and a homeless man whose truck won't start. Does that make you want to know more? (snik)
bek: I remember you very well. You are somebody I liked immediately, and not just because you showed up with over a dozen fancy caramel apples to give away. (That was you who did that beautiful thing, right?) And naturally I remember your adorable baby girl, who was a hundred times sweeter than the caramel apple. I'm so glad you re-introduced yourself! Thanks for your kind words.
c-dub: You are welcome to my porch. I should hide a key someplace in case you find yourself in need of a south Provo couch nap.
Next week for a lake walk sounds yesyesyes.
sue: Zippy did the same for me. So much it almost scared me!
Maybe I will pay you a friendly office visit one of these days, when I figure out where you're located.
b.: I'm all about locked doors. Especially since my in-laws, who live exactly one block south of me, were robbed, what THREE times? Yeah, we see a lot of squad cars in our neck of the woods.
Same building as Joe Vera's, just down the hall #109.
I would LOVE to see you. We could do lunch.
Good idea!
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