A Timely Visit

We're having a coolish weekend, however the humidity is a bit high. As long as you don't move, everything is cool. Move and buckets.... okay, pints of sweat start dripping. I'd rather have it this way, though, than 90 degrees of dry heat.

The lack of coffee pushed me out to the store earlier this morning. Coffee and the possibility of a great deal at one of the stores around here. Buy one set of Sharpie pens and get two free.... so three sets for the price of one. Sigh. I got the coffee, but the store was out of Sharpies, however, I did walk away with a rain-check. (Today was the final day of the sale.)

By the second cup, it was time to go outside and have a smoke. Thats when I saw a familar face... sort of. Let me set the background. When I first moved in I noticed a young man who seemed to spend a great deal of time in his car. (Anyone younger than me is a "young" person.... even if they're forty.) Once in a while I would see him go up to one of the apartments. We finally got to the place where we would wave or nod hello at each other in passing, but that was about it. He did not look like a happy man. He was (and is) a very thin man who shuffled along as though he had a great deal of weight on his shoulders.

About five months ago I realized that I had not seen him for a long time. I briefly wondered how/what he was doing, but that was about it. Just a brief thought. This morning he pulls up in a different car and on his way to one of the apartments, he came over and we had a long conversation. I think he was feeling good. His life was looking up.

He is/was from Kenya and although he spoke English very well I had to really focus in order to understand him. The apartment he would visit is where his ex-girlfriend lives. They are still friends. He had been homeless and living in his car... thats why I would always see him in his car. (I had suspected as much.) And if you have to park it somewhere, I'm thinking its handy to have it by someone you know who might let you use the bathroom now and then.

He had recently been in a car accident and "if you saw my car you would be surprised that I am alive...." He is now driving a better car. And he is no longer homeless. He apparently was working for a well-to-do couple and was taking care of the father. The father has since died. When he finally mentioned his homeless state to his former employers, they told him he could stay with them as long as he needed to... just vaccum a little and pick the place up. (Rich empty-nesters.) I think this is who he is buying the car from... anyway, he's been very honest with them (finding things/money when vaccuming and giving it to them instead of keeping it) and they've been very generous to him. And he's shared his good fortune with others back home in Kenya.

So... from a 'not-so-good thing' (car accident) has come a lot of 'good' for him. And he is feeling much better. His talkativeness and smile says so.

But you know what all of this is leading up to? Not the plight of this man, but in his timely arrival here and him helping me!

I locked myself out! AGAIN! For the second time!! (knocks head several times against the door. It still doesn't open.) Besides a dead-bolt, the door has a locking door knob where you can open it from the inside, even though it is locked. Sigh. Dangerous things. Danerous, Dangerous things. Handy as hell, but ohmygawd you have to be so careful with them.

My front window was open... I just had to get the screen off and squeeze my fat ass through the narrow opening. Much, much easier said than done, let me tell ya. First of all I had nothing to stick into the screen frame to force it out. I didn't even dwell on the squeezing part. First things first. Thank goodness the window was open!

As I was standing there mentally kicking myself, the young man came out. Apparently his friend was not at home. Boldly I asked if he could help me. He was able to get the screen off and nimbly get through the window to open the door for me, skinny little thing that he is. Thank God he was here.... otherwise I don't know what I would have done. Well... I do know. I would have ripped the screen completely out of the frame and then would not have been able to have the window open. You know, bugs and all.

Now... I'm sharing this overly long, overly wordy "adventure" because to me it just smacks of the Universe helping me out or destiny.... or sumpin'.

I was not surprised that I had locked myself out, because the thought of that occurring has been skipping through my mind for over a week now. So much so, that I would often checked to make sure the door was unlocked and/or picked up the keys when I went out. But, of course, not today. But I had someone here to help me and it became a non-issue. Someone who I had not seen for months and had never talked to before today. It just kind of has that Twilight-Zone feeling, but in a good way.

So... how's your day going?