When I first moved into Marina City Libby lived on my right side and Whatshername on the left. Libby was a pretty nice lady, took care of my cats when I went out of town and was just generally nice. Whatshername was a little aloof, well she wasn't here very often, she had some house in Florida and another in the burbs. About five years after I moved in Libby had a stroke and died. Since then there has been a succession of people on my right, none lasting more than two or three years. Marie has remained.
Charlene lives next door to Marie, a very friendly woman, and she took over looking after my cats when I was gone. We run into each other on the elevator or on the sidewalk to the Jewel, have long conversations in the hallway, have told each other our life stories several times, a good friend. And she was a good friend to Whatshername, both having been neighbors since like twenty years before I moved in. Since Whatshername is out a lot, Charlene has taken in her mail and whatever things need to be done for a person who is often in Florida or the burbs.
And then three years ago, out of the blue. Whatshername suddenly turned on Charlene, accused her of telling lies about her, stealing a cheap watch that she had given to Charlene, that sort of thing. Charlene was taken aback, a forty year friendship gone in the snap of a finger.
And it also seemed like Whatshername was gone. I don't believe I've seen her for three years, when those flyers about not turning your water on from 10am to 2pm on Thursday because they will be working on the pipes, are slipped half under our doors hers remains there for weeks.
So I was surprised to see her yesterday pushing a walker (she hadn't previously used one) through the lobby. I made some very small talk, kind of hoping to discover what was with the row with Charlene, without openly asking, and came away with only her saying she was still around.
But what was her name? Oh I knew it, knew it well, one of those things that folks of my age are familiar with, where you mentally reach for the shelf that contains the box with her name and before you can grasp it, it sprouts wings and flies off into the blue, and you will just have to wait until it returns to its roost.
And so it did that afternoon as I was taking a walk through the near northwest side on a pleasant enough summer day.
Marie!
Marie, of course, how had I forgotten that.
And before I got to the end of the block suddenly I found myself silently humming
The moon in all its splen
dor
A kiss so very ten
dor
The words will you remem
bor
Damn you Old Dog. Damn you to hell. Damn you straight to fucking hell.
Oh I dread getting into a gun control discussion with the doting owner of Old Betsy, but it appears inevitable. In the meantime I will just mention a couple facts. The first is that according to recent polls https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/07/poll-most-voters-support-assault-weapons-ban-1452586 70 percent of Americans want to ban automatic weapons On the other hand the supreme court is packed with gun lovers who are just itching to make them as available as stick of gum.
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