My Awkward Neighbor

first of all, i'd like to point out how awkward the word awkward is. i mean, it isn't the smoothest way to spell a word. but anyhow...

my neighbor is a strange dude. he sits out on his porch all the time, smoking. sometimes his wife is with him, but a lot of times he is there by himself. i sometimes wonder if he actually has a job or if he is just a full-time smoker. anyway, i like to think i am a pretty friendly and personable guy, but for whatever reason, this neighbor and i have never really hit it off. several times, i would say hello and he would either totally ignore me, or act startled at my greeting as i walked through the door even though i know he watched me get out of my car and walk over towards him.

it gets weirder when i find out that my roommate josh has had quite a few conversations with the neighbor, mostly about the weather, but conversations all the same. one time, having been blown off by the neighbor once again as i walked in the front door, i said to josh that the smoker guy is such a weirdo and how he ignores me. josh then told me that our window was open and the guy probably heard what i said.

anyway, this evening as i walked out the door to go to c4 (which i highly recommend, by the way), i was about to just walk to my car, but i caught a wiff of that nicotine swirling through the air, so i turned and, seeing my neighbor in his normal seat, i greeted him with the typical "hey, how are you doing today?" he mumbled (and trust me, he is a mumbler) that he was ok, and i thought he said he was "just eating pizza." i didn't look to confirm this detail. as i unlocked my car, which was parked right in front of him, i felt like another question/comment was in order, so i said he had better enjoy the weather while he had it because next week it is going to be hot (i said this because i knew that he and josh talked about weather, and i had heard a heat wave was going to roll through). i said this in a very clear and coherent manner. it could not have been misunderstood. but he nodded and responded cheerfully, "yeah, i love peaches!"

stay tuned, because it is always an adventure on jimmy street.