Covid Coaster

I think the ups and downs of this pandemic (Covid Coaster) ─ the civil unrest (and her wanting to be involved in protests but none in the area), the not being able to get out of this complex, the not being able to entertain, not being able to visit the people, places, things that kept her on the go pre-pandemic are pushing Next Door Neighbor (NDN) over the edge.

On a rant this morning, I said something NDN didn’t find amusing. Her reaction was to puff up, give me a hard look, turn and stomp away without another word. LOL.

Actually, I said a few things she didn’t find amusing, because I didn’t react to her rants the way she wanted me to. She wanted me to get on the soap box with her, rant, rave, when instead I deflected.

Heading out to run an errand, I ran into The Baker and, while we were chatting, here comes NDN down the quad in a huff.

“How long do you think it’s going to take for them to fix the gate? Are they waiting until one of the cars is stolen?” she angrily said.

What she’s talking about is that one side of the gate has been open for over a week, leaving us exposed to people entering the complex all hours of the day/night AND, like NDN said, it is just a matter of time before cars are stolen or vandalized by some walking down the street opportunist.

“I dunno”, said I laughing. “I’m still waiting for my smoke detector to get fixed”.

Getting the impression she didn’t care for my laughing and deflecting from the subject of the gate, I focused in on her mask said “Nice mask. Let me take a photo to show my daughter”, which of course was a guise to take a photo of the mask for the blog. LOL.

Still communicating in angry serious tones, she said “You know what it’s about don’t you?” (meaning the "I can't breath logo on the mask")

DUH! I thought it was a stupid question, so I gave her a stupid answer, “No. I just got off the boat”.

She cut her eyes at me.

Switching from ranting about management to No. 45, she ranted about 45 not wearing a mask, holding rallies, putting his own supporters at risk of infection and death, taking advantage of his supporters being “too stupid” (her words) to understand he’s killing them off.

“I know”, said I. “It makes me laugh when I see what’s likely to happen to them because I have no sympathy for stupid people”.

I got the eyes again.

THEN, she made a political statement, a popular political statement which I won’t repeat because it is the prevailing belief. When I made the mistake of saying, “I don’t believe that” was when she’d had enough of me. Sucking in her breath at my not believing that prevailing concept to be a fact, she turned on her heels and stomped off without a word.

Color me amused.

The Baker, not wanting to deal with NDN’s soap box, had long walked away, but what we were talking about before NDN interjected herself was what The Baker had done with a financial windfall she’d told me about a few weeks ago.

Some of you will remember Jeep Guy ─ the resident who purchased a jeep just like mine, had a fall in McDonald’s, broken his pelvic bones, went into rehabilitation but had such a bad attitude, was such a difficult patient that they allowed him to recuperate in his unit, with help. At home, he continued to whine cry and be such a difficult patient that he had a hard time keeping help. Then, not able to handle the pain and how his active life had suddenly come to what it was, he committed suicide.

His mother lived here as well ─ not with him, she had her own unit and was in poor health for as long as I can remember. The Baker befriended her, would check in on her, take care of her, run errands for her, was more a help to Jeep Guy’s mom, than Jeep Guy was.

At any rate, the mom passed away shortly after the son’s suicide and that was that .... until The Baker was recently notified the mom had left her a bundle of money.

There would probably be hell to pay if Jeep Guy were still alive, but he’s not. He has a sister, and I’m assuming sister is okay with mom leaving The Baker a nice thank you for all you did for me.

Baker was worried, a few weeks back when she told me of her good fortune, that her windfall would push her over income, at which time, she’d be asked to move out. So, I’d shared with her how management handled my windfall ─ that there is some leeway if the windfall comes AFTER you’re a resident, not hidden and discovered later by management that you'd hidden it BEFORE you became a resident, and that so long as your annual income doesn’t exceed a certain amount, you can be over income but in a percentage gray area that allows you to remain so long as you don’t also exceed that gray area.

It’s complicated ─ something to do with the Area's Median Income which, with no travel spending and not much purchasing going on, I myself am close to exceeding that percentage gray area. If it happens, it happens. I'll move away from the hanging smoke detector and life will go on. LOL.

Baker had discussed what I'd said with her daughter, and wanted me to know what she'd worked out and that she'd bought her daughter a new refrigerator.

While she was filling me in, before NDN walked up, I didn’t want to ask Baker if her husband was okay. Instead, I worked around it asking “Is everyone around HERE okay?”

She said yes, so hopefully her husband running through my head is a false read.

And that’s all the latest here in my world, except Head Maintenance Guy was walking around posting yet another notice to our doors today about requiring us to comply with the statewide order to wear a mask, and he was walking around NOT wearing a mask as he did the postings.

CURSE WORDS!