4th of July recap

You may remember I am deathly afraid of yet full of bile toward my loud music loving v.i.e.tn@m v.e.t. nei.ghb.or. I am afraid to write out the terms associated with him because in my mind he's like one of the hackers on "24" or some super agent possibly and could find any and all mention of him on this blog. Or maybe he could just....read the blog.

[Or: he could google the search terms: "psycho + neighbor", or google vietnam + vet + neighbor. I'm dead.]

Anyhow--FINGERS CROSSED!

[Seriously, am I in danger?]

So. I returned from a nice weekend trip up to Woodstock to my apartment to note an odd and unfamiliar detail: the door to admit roof access was wide open! I knew it was open because I could hear the crackle and rumble of distant fireworks echoing in the stairwell. I rushed upward, sweaty and elated.

'NO TRESPASSING' SIGN AND DOOR ALARM BE DAMNED! I thought in my head, with oddly archaic phrasing.

As soon as my eyes adjusted to the relative darkness, I noted that while adjacent rooftops were crammed with a buzzing and cheery populace, mine had one lone inhabitant. It was the only man in my building who would have the knowledge, skill, and daring to disable the permanent door alarm: it was my v.i.e.tn@m v.e.t. nei.ghb.or.

He sat up on a ledge smoking and spitting and staring out at the night sky. Lord only knows what he saw. I hung back, one foot hovering above the topmost stair, ready to bolt at the slightest jerky motion from his direction...but he was still. Aside from the constant spitting and smoking, which had a predictable rhythm to it.

The fireworks were brilliant and beautiful...

I was wary that the explosive sounds and lights might trigger off fl@shbacks for my silhouetted friend, but he hung in there like a champ (dare I say trooper?) and remained chill. It got tricky for me toward the end of the pyrotechnic display because there was no clear finale. I waited as long as I dared, but before the smoke had cleared entirely, and before my crazy VVN turned around and leapt off his perch--I fled down the stairs and threw myself into the cubbyhole that is my apartment.

So you see, sometimes there is a community where you think there is not one.

HAPPY 6TH OF JULY.