Seniors Behaving Badly

So Red Light calls me yesterday afternoon asking, “Did you hear that?”

"Hear what?"

"That yelling?"

I didn’t hear a thing but went to the patio window to see what I could see, which was nothing — didn’t hear anything, didn’t see anyone walking down the pathway. I missed whatever was going on.

Red Light said a resident living on the back side of her building was screaming at the Community Manager.

I interrupted with, "We don’t have a manager".

"A woman from Corporate is temporarily in the position. She and A___ (Head Maintenance Guy) were talking to the yeller about the office getting complaints about her smoking and she starts yelling and screaming at them."

Oh! Oh!, thought I. Yelling at someone from Corporate isn’t smart. Neither is smoking in your unit.

With elderly residents dealing with all manner of illnesses, this is and has always been a non-smoking community. Residents know that and agree to abide by no smoking when they sign the lease agreement.

Of course, there are rule breakers that agree and then go on to do whatever the hell they want to; and, with the smell of cigarette smoke wafting into surrounding units, complaints being made, the result is rule breakers moving out of their own volition or getting themselves evicted.

One rule breaker moved out of her own volition, but not because of complaints of her smoking, but because she was bougie — fancy dresses, expensive jewelry, designer handbags, etc.

She lived here for about two years, constantly expressing how unhappy she was because we were too slow, too normal, not up to her bourgeois standards with our Walmart and Target wear.

Needless to say, after so much of hating it here, I was surprised to see her return a year later, wanting to move back in.

Also surprisingly, management did welcome her back, but wanted her to pay an additional $2500 over the move-in costs to cover what management had to shell out in getting the smoke smell out of the unit … repainting they told her.

Bougie told me she got heated at the amount, said "There ain’t no paint that costs that much" and that’s the last I saw of her. She didn’t move back in.

No loss to us.

At any rate, it’s no secret that smoking is not allowed anywhere on the property. It’s a lease violation subject to anywhere from a warning to an eviction. Residents wishing to smoke are directed to exit the gate, walk all the way off the property to the sidewalk.

Red Light said what she could make out was the yeller shouting, "I don’t want to do that! … I don’t like to smoke outside! …  Someone might get me!"

Sounds like an entitled Karen with a personal problem wanting what she wants with no concern as to how it impacts others.

Red Light said the smoking is so bad that she once complained as it was wafting all the way over to her unit, and she’s worried the yeller will think it’s her complaining again and retaliate, as she did when Red Light made that complaint.

I wasn’t clear on how the yeller had retaliated other than Red Light said the yeller turned around and made complaints about her and had a younger friend, that sometimes visits, who looked tough and had scared her.

I told Red Light to post a sign to her door "It wasn’t me this time"; but she said she’s going to keep a low profile for the time being, stay inside.

So now I’m looking forward to bingo on Friday, so I can get an update.

Red Light also tells me there were three deaths last week.

I do recall hearing sirens a couple days in a row, took a peek out the window but, seeing nothing that seemed to be affecting my quad, thought no more about it.

I didn’t know any of the residents who passed away, even though one lived on the backside of my building.