| 2003-11-15 Proceed With Caution. Note: This entry contains conversations that could be construed as morbid and/or offensive. Parental discretion is advised. Or something like that. However, it�s not my intention to be morbid or offensive. This just is my life and, actually, a mystery was solved during this encounter. And, I like that part. Anyway, there�s a resident at TheHotel who does woodworking as a hobby. I discovered this one day when I came back from brunch and caught him building a doghouse in the alley. I was intrigued by that as TheHotel doesn�t allow pets and there�s certainly no backyard. At the time, we just exchanged pleasantries as I headed inside. Recently, though, I realized that I needed some woodworking done. And, I remembered that whole doghouse thing. I�ll let you connect the dots there. It just so happens that when I came home from work yesterday, I ran into Mr. Builder (MB) in the lobby. Here�s what happened. (MB:) Hi Cruel-Irony. How are you? (CI:) I�m as right as rain; thanks for asking. Hey, you do woodworking right? (MB:) Yeah. (CI:) (Talking over my shoulder as I�m retrieving my mail.) I�d like to commission you for a small project� do you do commission work? (MB:) Uh, no. I wouldn�t allow you to pay me, but I�d be happy to do a favor for you. What�d you need? (CI:) I have this trunk� um, the kind that you put at the foot of your bed and� (MB:) Like a �hope chest�? (CI:) I guess you could call it that, you know, if I was hopeless. No, definitely not a �hope chest�. I think of it more like a pirate�s treasure trunk. Albeit, an empty one. See, that�s where you could give me a hand. (MB:) How so? (CI:) Well, there�s the main part of the trunk, which is where I want to store linens and what not, and then there�s like a shelf/drawer type of thing that sits above the empty space. The trunk is fine � it�s metal and all � but the �shelf� is falling apart. I need a replacement for it. It�d be a simple project for you, I�m sure. After we got all that conversation out of the way, we moved on to other topics. At some point we started talking about the alley behind TheHotel. Here�s where it gets kind of morbid, and perhaps offensive. (CI:) Just recently, I had an odd experience in the alley. I was taking out my trash when a young woman came towards me. She was looking up at the back of the building but at the same time, she was watching me. And, I could feel her fear. She was afraid of being in an alley Downtown. She was carrying something and was very nervous. (MB:) What happened? (CI:) Well, she told me that she wasn�t there to hurt me � which was apparent to me, but fine � and that she was carrying flowers. She showed them to me and told me that her brother died. I didn�t know what to do, so I just stopped and told her that I was sorry that her brother died. You know, she was very conflicted about it � I could feel that. I sensed that this gesture was very, very important to her, but she was� I don�t know� conflicted, confused, upset. It was a really uncomfortable moment. (MB:) What�d you do? (CI:) I wanted to rush inside so I wouldn�t traipse on her grieving moment, but I was standing between her and the building. I didn�t want to walk in front of her or behind her because she was clearly frightened. I didn�t want to make that worse but I really didn�t know how to make it better. (MB:) So, you just stood there? (CI:) Yeah. Then she threw the flowers onto the ground while looking upward. I bowed my head and closed my eyes. When she was done, I opened my eyes and we both walked away. But, as she walked out of the alley, she said that she hadn�t been back here for a long time. (MB:) Okay. Sit down. I know what that was all about. (CI:) You know who she is or who her brother was? (MB:) No. But I know what it was about. It�s morbid, actually. Are you okay with that? (CI:) Yeah. (MB:) Oh, this is weird. I know what happened. See, there was this guy and he committed suicide by jumping off the roof of TheHotel. (CI:) What? He jumped off this roof to kill himself? This is a short building. Why didn�t he jump off either of the buildings next door that are way taller? I mean, you could jump off this roof and still live. I�m just wondering. (MB:) Well, he lived here. On the top floor. He was apparently despondent over a breakup with his girlfriend. (CI:) What? He lived here? How old was he? (MB:) He was young� in his late twenties. I remember when it happened because I was sitting in my office when I heard this weird thud� I can�t really describe it, but it was loud, like the dumpster being slammed shut, only it wasn�t that noise. A side note: MB has a home/office at TheHotel. His actual office space faces the alley but since he�s on the first floor, he keeps the blinds closed. (Thankfully, in this case.) (MB:) I kept working, but shortly thereafter, I saw strange, red lights through my office blinds so I headed towards that alley to see what was going on. (CI:) What happened? (MB:) When I got to the alley, a cop stopped me and told me that I couldn�t go any further. Then, I looked over and saw him, with his backpack on. They told me he�d jumped off the roof. (CI:) Whoa. Back up a bit. A backpack? (MB:) Yeah, I remember his backpack. (CI:) Wait. This young man decides to jump off TheHotel to kill himself and he wears a backpack? Sorry, I don�t mean to offend, but I�m not getting the backpack thing. What was in it? (MB:) I don�t know what was in it and I don�t know why. I do know that he was despondent and I think it was just an impulsive act. I don�t think he planned it. (CI:) Wow. You know, I think that was his sister that came here. It makes sense now. (MB:) Here, come out to the alley; I�ll show you. See, he lived there, jumped from the roof and landed right here. (CI:) Oh, that�s just freaky. On so many levels. (MB:) Why? (CI:) Well, that�s exactly where she was looking, she threw the flowers right on the spot he landed, and, um, OurBoss lives in that apartment. See the window box (hanging outside the window that the young man climbed out of to get to the roof) up there? (MB:) Yeah, why? (CI:) OurBoss is a chef, as a hobby, and I asked him once if he put that window box there to grow herbs and such. He told me that it frustrates him to no end that he can�t access that box because the window screen is bolted to the frame. (MB:) That�s interesting. (CI:) After that young lady left the flowers in the alley, I went back there about 30 minutes later to see if the flowers were still there. You know how it is in the alley� anything that�s not nailed down is fair game. Plus, she placed them right in the line of traffic. (MB:) So, what happened? (CI:) When I went back to the alley, the flowers were gone yet that cute, little sports car that your neighbor drives was parked right in back. However, I found no evidence that she ran over the flowers or anything. (MB:) She probably picked them up and took �em inside. (CI:) That�s what I thought too. your thoughts? seed flower