9:38 p.m. | 2003-11-01 Then I Stumbled Into Dorkville. It�s A Familiar Place, Actually. Earlier tonight, I took the trash out. I was headed back down the alley when a young lady started walking in my direction. She was carrying something and looking up at the building windows. Now, a lot of people walk down this alley. Tons. Some are fellow residents, or folks that live in the Senior Center next door, Senior Center staff members, skateboarders, people taking short cuts, the homeless, the mentally ill, and so on. Notwithstanding the diversity of the pedestrian traffic, there are some universal unwritten codes of conduct. Alley manners, if you will. It�s hard to describe, but you learn to read people. I acknowledge and greet all folks who appear to be okay with that. It�s not advisable to greet people who are dumpster diving, those caught up in a schizophrenic or seriously intoxicated moment, or anyone who purposely averts their eyes and looks away. In addition, there are different codes of conduct during daytime versus nighttime hours. Most the alley people are �regulars� which makes things less complicated. There was an exception tonight. One of those weird moments. I had just finished locking the dumpster back up when I turned around and spotted this young lady (YL). Then, we had this rather uncomfortable conversation. (YL:) I�m not here to do anything to you� or hurt you or anything. My brother died; I�ve got flowers. (She held the flowers forward as if to prove that she wasn�t carrying a loaded weapon or something.) Uh, my brother died. I, um� I, uh� brought flowers. (CI:) (I stopped dead � no pun intended � in my tracks, having just walked into her moment of grief and all.) I�m so sorry that your brother died. (YL:) Do you live here? (CI:) Yeah. Then, suddenly, she threw the flowers to the ground while simultaneously looking up. Realizing that she was just gonna have her grieving moment right in front of me, I reverently bowed my head and closed my eyes. When I sensed that she was done, I looked up. (YL:) I haven�t been back here for a long time. Then, she hurriedly walked off while I contemplated the flowers and the fact that she threw them right in the traffic lane, so to speak. The next vehicle that comes through the alley will crush them, providing that someone else doesn�t come along and pick them up. I hurried back to my Dreamspace feeling really horrified that I, a complete stranger, inadvertently interrupted her mourning gesture. Had I not been there, perhaps she would have lingered. But, maybe not. I think we both walked away thinking that we acted like complete dorks. Albeit, respectful dorks. I have no knowledge of anyone in TheHotel passing away recently, however, the former HotelManager died less than a year ago after a long illness. Maybe she was paying her respects to him. I really don�t know. Purple irises, if you want to know. Other than that odd moment, my weekend has been pretty uneventful and has included a lot of rest to make up for that which I�ve lacked. Oh wait, there was another odd moment, now that I think about it. As usual � not counting the last two Saturdays � I went to brunch this morning. I�m still going to the NewDiner and I�m still getting used to it. Anyway, I was eating when I was approached by a man who asked me if there was a pay phone in the restaurant. I told him that there was one near the restrooms. He wandered off in that direction, presumably made a call or whatever, went into the restroom and then headed back towards me. Here�s what happened. (CreepyGuy:) Thanks. I hope you have a great day! (CI:) You�re welcome. Have a nice day. (CG:) I hope you have a really FANTASTIC day, if you know what I mean. (To my waitress.) Hey, there�s a used condom in the men�s bathroom. You might want to check that out. (Laughing.) I ignored him and went back to reading the paper. I was interrupted by my waitress only seconds later. (W:) Do you know him? (CI:) No, I don�t. (W:) I�m so sorry. (CI:) It�s no problem. I work and live Downtown; I�m used to it. I have to say, that the NewDiner scored points today. I had no idea she was keeping such a close eye on me. I appreciate that. I really do. And, I did check the parking lot before I ventured out. Stupid Creepy Guy. your thoughts? seed flower