The Natives Are Restless

Let me start by pointing out that not only did every resident have the monthly calendar attached to their door in a timely fashion — which is not always the case, it was distributed a week early.

I imagine this early release was to give us plenty of notice that the new gate system was nearing completion …… "Bring your parking permit number, along with your registration, to receive your new entry gate card".

So it was that Next Door Neighbor had me ROFLMAO when she knocked on the door yesterday afternoon, out of breath, sweaty, panties all in a bunch, venting because she couldn’t get back inside the gate after running errands.

"HOW DO YOU GET IN!?" she ranted.

After I stopped laughing, "With the new keycard," said I.

"WHAT NEW KEYCARD!?"

"The one mentioned in the bulletin attached to the monthly calendar".

Inasmuch as management devoted a whole entire single page, in big block letters to that topic, it would have been hard to miss, yet NDN said, "I DIDN’T SEE THAT! ….. THERE ARE NO ACTIVITIES ON THE CALENDAR, SO I DIDN’T READ IT!".

Well then, more the fool.

I’m laughing through the entire conversation because the situation, and NDN’s reaction, is just so comical.

Of course, in NDN’s mind, getting locked out is not her fault … "THEY NEED A BETTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE THESE THINGS INSTEAD OF STICKING SOMETHING ON OUR DOORS!".

She then went on with a litany of complaints about management — the rent increase (even though the county pays the bulk of her rent, and not being included in the recent increase), how none of us residents DO! anything about anything.

What does she want us to do … revolt, picket?

What complaints we have, in the grand scheme of things, are really not so serious as to push us over the edge, like she's been pushed by not being able to get in the gate.

The deal with NDN is that her background makes it difficult for her to adjust to living like us limited-income folks; and that came out when, during her rant, she said, "I’ve lived better" and how it is she can’t accept how most of us are like the "Walking Dead" around here, waiting to die, that she herself is thinking of getting a job to get enough money to move out because, "I DON’T WANT TO DIE HERE!".

I was quite impressed NDN used the word "Walking Dead", leading me to believe she'd watched the show, as she doesn't seem the type.

As for getting a job ..... she’s 80 and fairly fit. So, I suppose she could find something. I've seen folks older than she forced back into the workforce by the economy, so it's possible.

For those new to the blog, NDN saying she'd lived better was valid.

When she joined us in January of 2015, she ranted and raved about the high place she came from, what she’s accustomed to, that "I’m a very cultured woman" is how she described herself and how depressing and demoralized she was here — so different from the glitz and glamour she enjoyed as first, a military officer’s wife, travelling the world, having servants and, after leaving her husband, a career as a State Commissioner of Education, with power and employees.

Life circumstances placed her here as a Section 8 tenant and it took years for her to get over being depressed, demoralized about it, settle into living a limited-income life …… or so I thought she’d settled in and was over it; however, this thing with the gate seems to have pushed her a few steps back.

So, anyway, despite being a snob at times, I like NDN, listened, let her vent, laughed — because the situation was so not serious to me, and when I could get a word in, asked "How did you get in?".

"I had to wait until someone came and opened it, and there was a line of us stuck waiting".

She means that when someone with the proper card drove through the gate, she and the others followed in while the gate was open.

The conversation ended with NDN saying she’d be calling the office on Monday to lodge a complaint.

Inasmuch as she'd indicated there was a line of cars stuck outside the gate — (cars not registered or didn’t read the bulletin?, who knows), she might not be the only one filing a complaint blaming management for their own stupidity.