My elderly next-door neighbor , Betty J., moved away last week. She moved into an assisted -living home, which really surprised me,since she's pretty healthy and active. I hope she makes some new friends her own age.
I'll miss her-she was a good neighbor. A couple years ago I was house-bound following surgery and she brought me food and beer, which helped a lot. Last New Years Eve I went to a really depressing party. It was so depressing I left before midnight and went home. It was unseasonably warm so I sat on the porch and drank beer for a while, wondering why I couldn't be happy like all those other people.
Betty came out with a bottle of champagne and told me some funny stories about her youthful years. She really cheered me up, and I'm notoriously difficult to cheer up.
Now she's gone and I'm dreading whoever fate casts as my new neighbor(s). Will it be someone who pounds on the wall the second you turn the stereo? A cat-hater? A bunch of poorly behaved students? A cop? A couple that fights a lot and fucks too loud? (They just moved out from the apartment on the other side). Someone with noisy babies? A really bad guitar player who wants to 'jam'? A crack dealer? A cannibal? A Republican?
Since most people suck, the odds are my new neighbor will too.
Maybe it'll be a smart ,creative single woman with a wide array of charmingly harmless neuroses.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
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