mailbox surprise
so last night when i returned home at midnight i found an empty beer bottle in my mailbox lying patiently on top of the day's mail (only junk mail, no real mail - and i am trying hard not to become completely paranoid right now).
i took it out of the box and in darkness, tried to first figure out what it was. dumbstruck in disbelief. soon enough neurons began to fire and message packets were delivered from one corner of my brain to another - lines of internal communication were restored. i took my mail out and put the bottle back in the mailbox. stood in the flourescent shadows of the pine tree in my back yard. and wondered what to do. then i came back into the house, closed the garage door and stayed awake till 5:18 am (the last time i checked the time).
today i called the president of the homeowners association and told her my story. about a harmless drunken prank that could have severe implications if left unaddressed. about my powerlessness in being the victim of a faceless trespass/crime. she understood and let me vent. was immediately on the phone with the suspected perpetrators, the renters from nextdoor. in 2 hours, two college kids were on my front porch - smelling of beer at 2:00 pm (it is after all superbowl sunday) and apologizing for the wrongs of their guests, their brothers/sisters-in-arm. i smiled loudly and accepted the apologies, gracious up to my eyeballs. not that i had a choice. i did make a case that we try and be civil and respectful towards each other; pointed out that we all have something to lose in an all out war.
but let's face it - being renters, what have they really got to lose if they were to take this up a notch? i live alone. i travel frequently. the house is unlit and unoccupied for days. i am the proverbial sitting duck.
meanwhile, a beer bottle is rolling around inside my mailbox.
...
i have often wondered how people in this country live the way they do... tricycles on front yards left upturned for days, garage doors open for long hours with no supervision, cars parked permanently on driveways. the very same country currently that's near paranoia over identity theft. credit agencies are spreading word to householders that someone somewhere is going through their trash to get at confidential information, when their unlocked mailboxes stand day and night, tempting the criminal intention. how does this system function? is it just a matter of time before the whole structure collapses onto itself? how could it not be?
i took it out of the box and in darkness, tried to first figure out what it was. dumbstruck in disbelief. soon enough neurons began to fire and message packets were delivered from one corner of my brain to another - lines of internal communication were restored. i took my mail out and put the bottle back in the mailbox. stood in the flourescent shadows of the pine tree in my back yard. and wondered what to do. then i came back into the house, closed the garage door and stayed awake till 5:18 am (the last time i checked the time).
today i called the president of the homeowners association and told her my story. about a harmless drunken prank that could have severe implications if left unaddressed. about my powerlessness in being the victim of a faceless trespass/crime. she understood and let me vent. was immediately on the phone with the suspected perpetrators, the renters from nextdoor. in 2 hours, two college kids were on my front porch - smelling of beer at 2:00 pm (it is after all superbowl sunday) and apologizing for the wrongs of their guests, their brothers/sisters-in-arm. i smiled loudly and accepted the apologies, gracious up to my eyeballs. not that i had a choice. i did make a case that we try and be civil and respectful towards each other; pointed out that we all have something to lose in an all out war.
but let's face it - being renters, what have they really got to lose if they were to take this up a notch? i live alone. i travel frequently. the house is unlit and unoccupied for days. i am the proverbial sitting duck.
meanwhile, a beer bottle is rolling around inside my mailbox.
...
i have often wondered how people in this country live the way they do... tricycles on front yards left upturned for days, garage doors open for long hours with no supervision, cars parked permanently on driveways. the very same country currently that's near paranoia over identity theft. credit agencies are spreading word to householders that someone somewhere is going through their trash to get at confidential information, when their unlocked mailboxes stand day and night, tempting the criminal intention. how does this system function? is it just a matter of time before the whole structure collapses onto itself? how could it not be?
