The New Guy

There I was, pulling into the parking lot of the office supply store yesterday, when the first sign of rain hit the windshield.

I’d better figure out how to work these windshield wipers, thought I.

I always keep the manual with me for just such situations and sitting in the car, motor running, looking for the wiper section, more drops of rain falling, all of a sudden the wipers swept across the front window.

WHAT?!

Turns out the wipers are moisture-sensitive and activate on their own.

Works for me.

I’m beginning to miss the Saturn less and less.

Heavy rains expected that day ("Storm" the weather folks said), I actually had no plans to be out on the road. However, in the middle of printing out an enlarged view of the pattern for the section of needlepoint I was working on, the printer stopped. It needed magenta ink.

Of course, I had cartridges in every color except magenta.

It wasn’t raining yet, so I headed to the office supply store in hopes I’d beat it.

Almost, but not quite, but so light a rain that the wipers didn’t have to work that hard.

Anyway, I picked up the cartridges and was headed home when I saw equipment loading huge containers of sand onto a truck.

Probably headed to the areas expecting the worst when the storm arrives. 

I don’t know which is worse – being in the Red Zone when it rains, which I’m not, or in the Red Zone when fires erupt on Little Mountain, which I am, but I imagine being in a traumatic situation while dry is preferable to being wet and muddy.

At any rate, I made it home before the rain got any heavier and the first thing I did when I arrived back was to scour the residents’ Facebook page and remove any images of one of the new guys. 

Not the new guy who moved into the upstairs unit across the quad -- he’s keeping a low profile, but the guy Lo0sey Goosey (our resident nymphomaniac) was chasing and, since I didn’t know he’d end up fodder for this blog, I haven’t given thought to a name for him yet.

I removed his images because, as I was leaving the complex, heading to the office store, he approached and said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put me on Facebook. I’ve got enemies and I’d rather they didn’t know I’m here.”

Inside I went WOW, but outside I said, “No one but us sees the page, and I find it hard to believe that you’ve got enemies. You’re a hero. But sure, I’ll take down any photos you’re in”. 

After I’d removed photos in which he appeared, I had a wait-a-minute moment.

Enemies???

Don’t want them to know I’m here???

Who talks like that?

A fugitive from justice maybe or someone in witness protection?

Probably not a fugitive, because the office has vetted him and, if a fugitive, he would not be here.

On the other hand, James Whitey Bulger -- on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for 17 years, was living in an apartment building in Santa Monica when another resident recognized him on the FBI’s website, turned him in and collected a two-million-dollar reward.

That’s $2,000,000!

I’m sure Bulger was vetted in one way or another by some leasing agent, yet there he was, hiding in plain sight, while probably not allowing his image to appear on Facebook.

So, fugitive is not totally out of the equation but, more likely, if he’s talking “enemies … don’t want them to know I’m here” witness protection is more likely.

Either way, it’s terribly interesting but I’m beginning to question everything he’s shared with us residents, like is A____ his real name, is he really a Purple Heart recipient (which is why I had referred to him as a “hero”).

We do have another resident who has asked me not to post her photo on our Facebook page, but she didn’t say anything as dramatic as having enemies/being in hiding. It was just a simple “Don’t put me on no Facebook”.