Sunday, March 15, 2009

Welcome to the neighborhood!

See this house? It's just across the alley from us. William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State and a three-time Democratic nominee for president, gave a speech there once, when there was nothing around but onion fields.

It seems deserving of something other than chaos, doesn't it? Something other than screaming matches in the backyard? Something other than beefy men with shaved heads lifting barbells on the front porch, as if to say, mess with me at your own peril? I've written about these folks before, and I can say with a clear conscience that while I wish them well, I do not miss them. The day they moved out was like a Christmas present.

Happily, there's a new tenant in that 1st-floor apartment. She's a morning person who drinks her coffee in the back window before the sun's even up (probably wigged out about that neighbor across the alley noticing what's going on in her window). She's a visible nerd with short, dark, curly hair who takes a morning jog in perfectly mismatched sweatshirts and sweatpants -- no fancy active wear for her. (She reminds me of someone I can't quite place . . . hmmm). At the risk of jinxing the odds, the summer promises much improvement.

2 comments:

leslie said...

Think of the hijinx you & your neighbor can pull when you switch classrooms and teachers can't tell you apart!

Christy said...

My identical cousin! She lives!