I stopped by a Rite Aid today, looking for darker phone cord for Mary's house, didn't find that, but found a little desk with three bins, plastic, for a child. On special sale, $15. As I stood there looking at it and thinking "This or the crayon table and chair - which is $30?" my next-door neighbor happened by. Said hi, haven't seen you in a while, used to see you out walking all the time. This is another one who is fundamentally a recluse, who lives with his teens and takes such good care of his cars that it seems almost sick. We've never been friends, have come close to being enemies because Toonces once peed in his wife's van...ex-wife, that is. I offered to pay the cleaning cost but she never came back with the estimate or bill. Oh yeah, and Toonces once destroyed his freshly-planted plants, and Elaine told him I'd repay him the $10 he spent on those, but I never got around to doing so. So we've not talked, not for years.
I asked about his move, said I'd heard he was moving. He said he thinks so, it's hard to get things to coordinate, to get a buyer and a seller working at the same time so he can move. He thinks he has succeeded this time but doesn't know. I mentioned my hope for replacing my house. He said he had thought of that but the park ownership was so difficult about it he didn't want to go through all their paperwork. I do suspect it may be a problem.
This is odd, this business of talking to neighbors who have almost studiously avoided talking to me as much as I've avoided talking to them - for years. We had a friendly conversation, this guy, Dan, and I. I did not remember his name then but it has since come to me.
I bought the table. Brought it home, put it together. I am sure Joey will get a lot of use out of it, will like having his own place to draw and play with toys. I'm thinking puzzles.
I washed my car. Didn't vacuum the inside. It's a start.
