THURSDAY THOUGHTS: SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

It just seemed odd. 

Why was the guy just sitting on the ground in the rain? 

He seemed fidgety. 

He'd taken off his hood, then just as quickly, put it back on. 

Was he waiting for a ride? 

Had he locked himself out? 

Did he even live here? 

Was he a stalker? 

Was he homeless? 

Why did his actions seem so suspicious? 

Every now and then he'd reach into his pocket, and take a drink. 

It could have been liquor the way he was swigging it. It could have just as well been orange juice. 

Who was he? 

People passed by on the sidewalk, and he'd turn in the opposite direction. 

The mailman came, but the guy never moved. 

No one seemed to acknowledge him.

 

I left the window, and went back to my work. 

Almost an hour later, the guy was still sitting there on the cold, hard ground.

I dialed 911 not knowing whether to ask for the police or an ambulance. 

The last time, it was an easy choice. 

A young woman had passed out on the sidewalk outside the gate. She was so drunk, she was unresponsive. It was raining that time, too--no. 

It was pouring. I grabbed a blanket and went outside. The ambulance came, and they took her away. 

How many people had simply passed her by? 

I wish I knew if she was okay.

Last night a noise prompted me to go to the door. 

A man in tan clothing was staggering up the stairs to the 3rd floor. He stopped, stumbled, and coughed as if his lungs were in serious trouble. 

I never heard keys, or a door opening or closing. 

I opened the door, and heard a loud moan. 

I didn't call 911. 

A brave neighbor came out of her home, and told him he had to leave. 

He said he was sorry, and even in his drunkenness, told her he loved her. 

The door was open, he said, so he just walked on in. Maybe he thought he was at his own home. 

He had planned to sleep in the hallway on the landing. 

He reeked of urine and alcohol, but he made his way down the stairs and out into the drizzle.

I wondered if I had done the right thing last night. Maybe the drunk man needed medical attention even though he said he didn't. 

Maybe he needed a place to sleep. 

Maybe wandering aimlessly into places where he didn't live was his MO. 

Maybe he'd done it before, and had just been a little quieter. I don't know.

Early in the morning, weary looking people can be seen emerging from the park across the street, disheveled, disoriented, unbalanced, eyes blazing. Park benches are gathering places--or beds.

So much happens in the lives of men and women that cause them to turn on themselves; to stop caring; to check out temporarily.
I wondered if my hesitation to call 911 last night caused me to overreact this morning? 

When the ambulance came, the EMS worker got out and asked something of the guy who'd been sitting in the rain. Apparently the answer was satisfactory, because the ambulance left as quickly as it came. False alarm.

I suppose, your suspicious may be someone's normal.