Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I guess one of the challenges we all face to one degree or another is getting along with the neighbors. There are 10 businesses in the building that houses Lorna's Laces. I know everyone by sight to say "hello" to and have developed real friendships with several people over the course of the past five years. We even vacation with one.

Unfortunately, it isn't all a dream come true. Go figure. There is one fellow who has been difficult almost from the beginning. We'll call him W.

W. seemed like a nice guy at first. He had a couple of dogs and we bonded over our pets. He had rabbits too. They were awfully cute. Frankly, one of the reasons I decided to rent in this building is because it is animal friendly. Pearl doesn't come to work with me every day any more, but she did for a long time. And I like to have the option.

After a while things started to get weird with W. He'd lash out at people for no apparent reason. He lost a bunch of weight and looked kind of sick. I started hearing stories about him getting into shouting matches and that sort of thing. One day last fall, he flipped out and started screaming at me. He's erratic enough that I wonder if it might be one of those things where he needs to have his medication adjusted.

I'm sympathetic, but a little afraid of him too. Ever since "the incident" I've done my best to avoid him. I don't make eye contact when I pass him in the hallway. If we arrive at the same time, I'll wait a few minutes before I enter the building. I don't want to do something that sets him off.

So, I can't say that I was sad when I heard that his lease was up and he'd be moving out of the building. Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed him slowly packing things up and loading them into his trailer.

By this time next week, W. will be completely gone and settled into his new digs. I'll be relieved.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow-weird guy. I guess you never know what's going on in someone else's life. I was wondering when we will see the next "A Color Commentary" color. I am getting anxious to see it.

Lorna's Laces said...

We're tweaking it right now. I have to send one more sample out for approval and then we'll be good to go!

Anonymous said...

Hmm....My DH had a similar situation at work. It turned out that the guy acting out at his place of employment was an alcoholic. Unfortunately, the guy's behavior did not improve, despite confiding in, and apologizing to my DH, and eventually he was let go.