People Watching

I’m in the hospital so haven’t put any stories out in a while but here goes.

The characters I’ve met here guarantee this story will be about the characters we meet, even if they’re us.

The first neighbor I had here was a sweet guy but had enough family visit to raise the roof. Kids would be peeking through the curtains at me until Abuela (his wife) laid down the law.

The next neighbor immigrated from the Middle East to Italy and then to the U.S. He spoke on the phone constantly at loud volume. Sometimes until 1am.

He switched and mixed languages along with subject according to who he was talking to. The conversations went from a bad Sopranos act to a middle eastern soap opera. Did I mention he also played loud music while talking. He would browbeat staff and claim things like he hadn’t been told something or hadn’t seen a doctor. He had on all counts.

I was simmering at his behavior and wanted to heave something around the curtain at him. After he got medical staff frustrated he would brag and insult them to his friends. He was looking for a magic ticket to UW.

I heard several doctors trying to keep anger in check with this guy. Finally a doctor came in with one message. If you want to go, go! Not delivered very friendly either. While he was here, his mob grabbed every one of my visitors chairs. So much for visitor limits. He was finally gone but I fear he’s in for a wait at UW.

My present neighbor is a nice guy with some hard rehab ahead of him. His family can be raucous but joyful. They also return chairs when they borrow them.

Next time I’ll delve into characters in my past. For now I’m still on the right side of the grass. Bye.