[BRINDLEKIN TALES – Book 2: Chapter 9]
Subject: Sweetening the Pot
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 24, 2021 5:22 PM
So I printed out an updated resolution, folded it into a legal size envelope, and taped it to their door. Upon returning to my hovel, I glanced at the revised statement once more, to discover that one of the several times I typed “[real name of realtor],” it was, instead, spelled “Ablahblah.” A small panic ensued, as I quietly rushed back to their apartment, hoping they didn’t see it yet. Thank god they didn’t, it was still there. So I gingerly reclaimed it as I heard voices within, and skittered back to my room. Where once again, I had to go through the miserable process of lugging my printer from the storage bin, hook it all up, insert more paper, and reload Windows (because I can’t figure out how to interface Linux with my Deskjet 3000). There is an introductory page this time, which briefly states:
I have given much thought to my proposal for a happy resolution all the way around, and have decided to include these additional conditions: free utilities, Internet service, and garbage pickup…all locks changed and a decent security system provided…partially furnished…complete laundry facilities…no rent increases…occupation of the new residence for as long as you want to stay there, provided you never have more than one housemate.
Enclosed you will find my updated letter. Please toss out the first one, and keep the new one in a secure place. If you should ever misplace or lose it, just let me know, and I will gladly print out a replacement.
Please also note: any false accusation you make against me, will only serve to make my proposal more difficult to achieve, though not impossible.
The actual, revised proposal in full can be read here, in rich text format:
http://www.gay-bible.org/blogstuff/2021A/landlord3-revised-resolution.rtf
Turns out this will be the opening piece to “Letter to the Landlord (part 3)”…sure hope it’ll be the FINAL segment of this nerve-wracking scenario. Though I DO understand that, as bodhisattvas playing the enemy, they are pressuring me to sharpen my thought processes and writing skills.
Well, whaddya know, just when I completed the paragraph above, there was a knock on my door (around 5:15 PM). It was Adisa, with a friend by his side. He told me to stop posting letters to their door, it’ll just cause problems. I replied I have no intention to, and it’s a good resolution. (I noted he wasn’t wearing his mask, but just waving it in his hand.) Then he started to discuss other matters about our conflict, which were pointless. He said it’s not gonna happen (referring to their eviction, I guess). After making the false accusation that one of my dogs bit him, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on (pun intended).
So I told him I don’t want to discuss this, have a good night, then returned to my room. At least, this time he was calm and soft spoken. What an improvement! But look what I had to go through to get his friends to stop potentially exposing residents to COVID-19, as well as creating a nuisance and loitering.
I presume his mother will see the letter, because I’m done with this particular approach, and waiting on that attorney to get back to me. I’m open to speaking with her, but in a limited fashion. They both continue to pretend they’ve done no harm. What nonsense, as I’M the one who’s been most impacted by their foolish antics. At any rate, this case SHOULD be elevated to the manager and Ablablah Realty, seeing as they are ultimately responsible for this conflict.
I am accustomed to some people labeling me “crazy,” but I know better: I have a unique way of addressing issues that do NOT employ hypocrisy or lies in order to achieve results. No status quo guy here, Wattson! Besides which, calling someone crazy is a quick tactic to shut down the other person’s side of the argument, and poison people against you.
On another note: Marshall hasn’t read any of my pieces for the past two Fridays! Don’t know why, as he seems to really enjoy reading my material. And it looked like he was going to narrate my Brindlekin Tales chapter to chapter…after all, he’s already read chapters one and two! I was hoping I could splice each one, and upload it to my Youtube channel every Sunday. Now, it looks like I’m gonna have to record the chapters myself, which is far less preferable. Not just because I don’t have the quality audio setup he does, but having another voice read my tales adds diversity and color to my channel. At any rate, it should nonetheless be a good experience for me.
- Zeke
Subject: URGENT! Deek now wants the doggies back!
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 25, 2021 9:50 PM
No sooner does one problem begin to subside, than another pops up. Deek came by about 10 minutes ago, and is still outside, sitting in a recess by the corner. When I came out, he told me he wants the dogs back, that I stole them from him. I reminded him we made a verbal agreement, and it’s recorded. I told him I’m taking care of them for him, they’ll die on the streets. I did NOT accuse him of animal abuse, although that’s quite true.
He said he’s missed them, couldn’t be with them for his birthday, and he thought I was his friend. I told him to stop feeling sorry for yourself, I’m doing you a BIG favor…I’m holding the dogs FOR you, not stealing them. (Of course I didn’t add that he was ABUSING them, so I’m protecting them from HIM as well.) But, as usual, no matter how good a friend I am, he somehow manages to find fault and insult and threaten me.
He said the dogs are registered in his name at the SPCA, and he can get the police involved, but he doesn’t want to do that, because I could go to jail. He also said he’s told over fifty street people I’ve stolen them, and they told him to call the police. And he can get these vagrants to beat me up. I just told him to bring it on, I’m not afraid, but I don’t want to stand here any longer and listen to his crap. And if he makes a scene by my building, I WILL call the police. I repeated more than once, that he needs to focus on taking better care of himself, and to trust me that I’m not taking them away from him, permanently.
I know he’s making this all up (about dogs registered in his name, and about how he has many friends ready to attack me), but I’m concerned he’ll start a ruckus near my home. Well, I think I may have friends on my side at this point…including Adisa and his mom. And possibly, the manager. He’s not being noisy, I’m not even sure if he’s still outside near the building. At any rate, I seem to never get a break. I tried to tell him he’s blowing this all out of proportion, that he needs to take care of himself while I care for the dogs.
Earlier today, a few homeless dudes were outside the front gate, they had paused by the curb as I stepped onto the sidewalk with the pups. They were not in any way here to confront me, I think it was more of just a coincidence. They were very friendly, and one of them said those are Deek’s dogs. So I said, well, they were, but he sold them to me, and I promised him I’ll take good care of them, and when my publishing takes off and the money comes rolling in, I’ll have a better home for them, and for Deek. Then I departed and wished them a good evening; they did too.
Oh, and I also mentioned they’re little doggies, they’d die out here in all this cold weather. One guy DID kinda sneer at me, saying that’s ridiculous, they’re perfectly fine out here. I did NOT mention that Deek has been abusing them, not just by allowing them to be totally exposed to the rain and cold, but yelling at them often, shoving them, and even kicking them (not hard, but not gently, either).
Hopefully, this is not a sign of things to come re. Deek poisoning the homeless against me! But I can handle that, too…I doubt any of them have it together enough to be a serious problem. What I DON’T need is for him or any of his “friends” to start making a big scene around my building! What I DO need is for Boulevard Joe to see my video, as he is an important arbitrator for me, to the houseless crowd. In fact, he’s the only one, and leaves a lot to be desired; nonetheless, he’s better than most out there.
Now how long is THIS gonna drag on?
- Zeke
Re: URGENT! Deek now wants the doggies back!
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 25, 2021 1:07 AM
You‘ll prevail, I have no doubt.
Yes, of course. A couple of dudes are hangin’ out with Deek, they’re not noisy, but almost loud enough to disturb my semi-fascist neighbor. This sucks donkey balls. However, they seem pretty darn friendly, and have indicated no sign of any kind of hostility. Deek’s probably gonna stick around into the morning, when I’ll have to take the dogs out again. And I really can’t go out back in the morning, unless I stay close to the back gate again. And there’s a camera overlooking it, so the manager will see me jam the door with a bottle and get upset…so I’ll have to explain about Deek, and he’ll get even MORE upset!
I think I’ll just take them out back for some days to come, then step out by myself through the front, to get my groceries. And if I see Deek, I’ll tell him the pups are staying at a friend’s place where they have a backyard to freely (and safely) romp around. If only that were true!
He DID call to the dogs earlier, but not loudly. Just some whistles, then called “Lucky! Lucky!” several times. Well guess what, Wattson: neither dog paid him any mind. I think they KNOW to keep silent.
Lucky threw up his entire dinner tonight…it was clear fluid mixed in with the food. I think perhaps the duck jerky treats I crumble up into his kibble are too rich in the long run. But I need to find SOMEthing extra to put in it, to keep their appetite up. He didn’t eat anything last night again…this morning he ate a full meal, and late afternoon he did, likewise; but that’s what he threw up later on.
Maybe he’s sensitive to prolonged cold weather, as last night he just wanted to curl up on the bed…and you could really feel the temperature drop, as I leave one window wide open, usually. Flaco, too, curled up early, even though she ate her meal. Their little bodies seek to preserve heat, so eating is not always a priority. Once I shut the window, the whole room warmed up nicely. Still, it’s not SO cold they really need to do that…more like instinct. They love fluffing up the comforters, and I love tucking them in.
I took my brindlekin out the back way tonight, told them “shh” keep quiet, and they did: silent as can be, as we made our way down the rickety old stairs (where they stepped very cautiously, as it was new to them), then through the basement, then up a concrete stairway and out the gated door. Lucky threw up some more, outside, also plopped diarrhea…Flaco didn’t need to poop. They’ve both been having solid, firm poops for quite some time now, so I’m disappointed and a bit worried about Lucky’s change. Anyway:
I swear, this is like living in Nazi Germany. In this day and age I have to sneak around like this! I could say now I know how Anne Frank felt, but that’s over the top.
- Zeke
Subject: Is your crisis still surging, or beginning to subside?
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 25, 2021 10:54 AM
Referring to your email of Nov. 7, when you said:
I’m under huge pressure on several different fronts. My survival is at stake, and that’s not an exaggeration.
I am hoping with all my heart, that things are on the upswing by now. I do NOT like to think of you going through such a terrible ordeal. You are SUCH a good person, and so important to many, including myself of course.
Anyway, got up this morning, stepped out w/o the doggies first thing, to see if Deek were still around and, much to my relief, he was not. So resumed our regular walk up and down Noe Street for three blocks. Lucky was in cheerful spirits, growling and playfully gripping his teeth about the heel of one or the other of my sneakers (and sometimes the shoelaces), as I carefully but clumsily guided them down the stairs and out the front gate. What a muttley crew we make!
- Zeke
Re: Is your crisis still surging, or beginning to subside?
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 25, 2021 1:00 PM
Things are a little better. I still have to solve the same problems, but the main one, completing a piece of work I’m being paid to do and meet my deadline, seems to be moving along pretty well. Finishing that, and doing a first-rate job of it, will quite possibly lead to solutions to the gang of problems that follow me around like tin cans tied to a dog’s tail.
EXCELLENT news, Wattson! That is EXACTLY what will happen. I look immensely forward to reading your latest masterpiece. HOPING it will fast become a bestseller as well.
Very glad Deek moved on.
Well, just for today…he could return at any time and cause trouble. Keeping my fingers crossed he does NOT. I have this fantasy of him starting to holler and strike out at me, when just like that, Arwyn appears out of the blue and knocks him to the ground and orders him to leave immediately, or he’ll see worse. I then thank him profusely, and begin to tell him about my situation with the doggies…but he stops me, says “I already know!” Meaning that he reads my Brindlekin Tales, or more likely, his roommate, Zachary, does, then describes each chapter to him in capsule form. What soon follows is a small cadre of the Blue Rose Militia organized and run by Arwyn, occupying my part of the Castro 24/7, in order to protect me and my brindlekin from any further harassment. This would then lead to many OTHER incredible scenarios, like the blossoming of a rose…and a blue one at that.
Some nerve–he collects $300 from you, then says you “stole” them. So fucking childish.
Well, it was actually $400, if you include the $100 I gave him in the morning of that same day (and $400 WAS the amount he’s been saying all along, is his asking price for the pooches…which set me off in a panic, because I didn’t HAVE that sum, and Deek refused to accept monthly lumps of a hundred dollars). But this is EXACTLY why I demanded to video record the transaction…because I know his devious nature: that he planned to collect the moolah, then turn around some time later and accuse me of stealing his pups. However, let us not stop at such a dark level of summation, but move to higher ground, like so:
Deek, like Arwyn, is one of my guardian angels (or “bodhisattvas,” to put a Buddhist spin on it) acting out a scripted scenario, wherein I am the main character and HERO of this amazing play. It makes perfect sense, then, that almost immediately after my conflict with the occupants of apartment 208 (that mother-and-son duo) begins to peacefully resolve itself, Deek would show up from stage right and begin the NEXT act, the NEXT challenge. Though it may be sufficient just to threaten yet another debacle, without it ever really manifesting. Whether true or not doesn’t really matter, because it’s already been writ that I shall beat all odds, no matter how unlikely that seems.
Change of subject:
Disappointing that the Duboce Quadrangle Newsletter has skipped their January issue, as that is the one that was supposed to print my New Year’s satire. Which would’ve drummed up at least a handful of locals who’d visit my Brindlekin page, and see my homeless doggy appeal with those links to my wish list and GoFundMe project. MAYBE my tale will come out in February, but I’m certainly not holding my breath. What a painful slog this has been these past few months, albeit with many a miracle tossed my way…so how can I really complain?
I forgot to inform you, when I uploaded that brief tour of my hovel to Youtube, that, as the camera pans from left to right, you get a glimpse of your book “Twilight in Somalia” atop the storage bin next to my closet. Nice touch, eh? Here it is, again:
And I wonder if there will be further repercussions with the building manager and Ablahblah Realty, over the maskless intruders. If that attorney I appealed to DOES finally get in touch with me, I hope he’s actually qualified to decide whether or not I have a good case at this point. I’m sure I will, if my neighbors across the hallway provide solid witness to my complaint. The likelihood that Kevin Bond (our manager) AGREED with 208 that these teenagers were free to hang out in our building, maskless or no–without even asking or informing residents in that same hallway–does not look good for either him OR Ablahblah. But, due to the added, and most egregious, offense of their refusal to wear a mask, I’m kinda sure they’d prefer an out-of-court settlement. But a girl can only conjecture, can’t she? Seeing as obviously, they, too, are actors in this “Zeke the Hero” play, a very different scenario could play out…one which, nonetheless, works in my favor. I’m SURE that the realtors have finally received my remailed letter of complaint by now. Oh, what an interesting world this is!
I have also changed pseudonym “Moohammud” to “Adisa,” in order to avoid any accusation of Islamophobia…a phobia which, I firmly believe, does NOT exist. Nevertheless, it could weaken my case, due to pin-headed droids that populate the legal system (and more generally, society at large). So I went ahead and redacted all chapters relevant to this name change.
As for the next stimulus payment–which will probably be $2,000–I’m sure Deek will show up again, to demand his half. But I reFUSE to give it to him, as ALL that money will be transferred into my GoFundMe project as soon as it shows up. Furthermore, I consider the chapter of “The Book of Zeke & Deek” where I help him with an allowance and half of all my stimulus boons, to be finally CLOSED, now that I have the responsibility of caring for the doggos, which of course includes veterinarian expenses. This sum will allow me to get them ALL the recommended shots, health checkup, chipping and rabies tag. I’m guessing the whole enchilada will come to around $300 at most. (Maybe less if I prove my low income by providing them with the required papers.) But I need the additional money from this stimulus, as an emergency reserve for Lucky & Flaco.
Whew! That’s it for now.
- Zeke
Subject: Around 4:35 PM today…
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 25, 6:21 PM
…upon returning from my afternoon stroll with the brindlemutts, I bumped into Dieter right outside our building. So I told him all about my conflict with the Bonnie & Clyde duo in 208, how the manager posted a letter to my door about one of my dogs supposedly biting her son and drawing blood, and a whole bunch of other stuff, but in quick, outline form. I ended with explaining my Buddhist solution for the most compassionate resolution as possible, and if it goes to court I will demand a decent apartment for them, with all the amenities I laid out.
Well, right when I finished up out comes Kevin, and Flaco starts barking…though not loudly, but more like a “hey, there’s that nice guy from the lobby” kind of greeting. This was around 4:35 PM. So Kevin crouched down a bit to extend his hand, at which point Flaco grew quiet and started sniffing…then backed up and barked her little yelps all over again. This entire time, Lucky remained silent, as if he were actually bored.
So then I pointed to each dog, and said: “This is Flaco, and this is Lucky, the stars of my Youtube channel and my WordPress blog; and soon to be the stars of the Castro. Have a great evening, gentlemen!”
Funny thing is that Adisa (Myrtle’s son who accused one of my pups of biting him) and a friend were near the front gate, hanging around, when I approached with my key already in hand. As I worked the lock, the doggies kept barking at him, and I told the mutts: “C’mon, you’re not the big shots around here, calm down!” Finally, the gate opened and we arrived once more at my hovel, a.k.a. “Doggie Rescue Sanctuary.”
So now Dieter knows all, and he loves the dogs. At first five or so encounters they barked at him, but after several more times they grew friendly, till now they love greeting him, and they’re not wary of his wheelchair any more, whether he’s sitting on it, or walking it along in its folded state. Best of all:
He is now a WITNESS to their peaceful nature, as they did not bite, or even nip at, Kevin’s hand.
Now, here is how I’m gonna deal with Deek’s probable returns to my building…who thinks I’ll have to step out eventually, to walk the pooches. He may come to realize that perhaps I use the back gate, and station someone there.
THEY SHALL RELIEVE THEMSELVES IN THE BASEMENT!
I’ll have a bottle of “Woolite Advanced Pet Stain & Odor Remover + Sanitizer” handy, some rags and newspaper, and latex gloves. There will be absolutely NO odor remaining, when I’m done. Easy to clean, as the floor’s cement. And NOBODY HARDLY EVER GOES DOWN THERE, it’s quiet as a church on Monday morning. A big plus is the utility sink. The basement has a back gate where air flow constantly cools and airs everything out. IOW it’s not a real door that shuts off the outside. There is a camera down there, as well as over the back stairs. And if Deek stations someone by that gate, his face will show up on the camera. Plus he won’t hear us down there, as the steps leading to it from the gate are about fifteen feet to the far end of the basement, and the dogs are really quiet.
Of course, the manager will eventually notice my activity via the security videos, at which time I’ll explain the situation: that I’ve led Deek to believe the dogs are now staying at a friend’s home with a nice backyard so they get plenty of exercise. And probably, this situation won’t go on for long…and besides it’s only at night, and probably won’t be very often. Deek will come to believe the dogs now live elsewhere, so no point in continuing with his little spy game. And if one of his “detectives” sees me walking the mutts, I’ll just convey to Deek that I visit them every day and take them for their daily strolls, as well as feed them and play with them in the backyard. And that two COPS live there. Ha, ha.
This afternoon, for the first time, the doggies went wild in my hovel! They dashed around the room like ricocheting nerf bullets, bouncing on and off the bed and into the walls, chasing and wrestling each other down. They are really happy! Of course, that totally obliterates the orderly way I have newspaper sheets laid down, to give them a clean floor to lie down on, when they want. And in case either dog pukes, or has an accident. Oh, well, still no biggie to thoroughly clean up. My room has absolutely no doggie stink, because I am so prompt with wiping up and disinfecting and deodorizing. Even if it’s 4:30 AM or some other wee hour, I’m on top of it.
Oh, and I found a new technique to get them to eat their entire meal…seeing as they’ve gotten better at pick the little pieces of treats I so carefully broke up with either my fingers, or a heavy utility scissors. The answer is to GRATE the damned turkey jerky, so it’s totally diffused into the rest of the food, thanks to the wet canned vittles I mix in with the kibble. But the cheap grater I now have takes a hell of a lot of work to grind down three pieces of jerky, which average two square inches each, and are rather tough. Time to look up what quality graters are available on Amazon, and purchase one with my GoFundMe account! I COULD put it on the wish list, but I don’t want to wait very long, as it IS a tedious chore that gets my goat, and I’d like to put an end to that ASAP.
So there’s my day for ya…other than working on my tales, videos and recordings.
- Zeke
Re: Around 4:35 PM today…
From: Zeke Krahlin
To: My Dear Wattson
Date: January 26, 2021 2:56 PM
You’re a fine Doggie Daddy. The basement plan sounds good. You could maybe train them to “go” directly on newspapers. But it sounds ideal.
That’s the plan. Once, when I ignored Lucky’s pleas to take him for a walk, because I didn’t know that’s what he needed, he finally trotted over to some sheets of newspaper near the window, and pooped! So, no training necessary, just lay the paper on the concrete, and they’re good to go (pun intended). In fact, they prefer to lay on the floor instead of the cot, when the room is not chilly. But the floor is dirty, and impossible to keep clean, due to its exposed, softwood condition. They’ll lie down on the floor anyway, but the moment I lay down some newspaper, they’ll move to THAT spot. But I now keep most of the floor covered with newspaper anyway, so they’ll have a clean area on which to rest, no matter where in the room.
Just FYI–another friend in SF, also 70 and not exactly rolling in $$, reported to me that she got a COVID vax yesterday. An appointment, no waiting in line, free. First she called this number: 682-1900. They asked a few questions, set up the appt., and she got the shot at SF General.
Like I really want to go all the way to SF General with the doggies. That’s not gonna work, but thanks. I’m not about to ride a crowded bus with dogs that have never been on one, so their reaction is totally unpredictable…besides, I avoid public transit for obvious reasons, even w/o the pups. And I’m not gonna hoof it on over there, going through the sketchy Mission District, and Artemis knows how many lunatics I’ll have to deal with. And then do it all over, to get back hovel. I’m guessing your friend had a vehicle, or took a cab. Also, that hospital is rife with filthy, crazy, addicted (and often quite scary) vagrants who have nowhere else to go for emergency care. I do NOT care to mingle in that trash…and I can’t imagine how the dogs would deal with it. In fact, I don’t see WHY everyone doesn’t just AVOID that hospital like the plague (pun also intended)! Slapping Zuckerberg’s name to it should’ve been a wake-up call.
I’ll just wait till the vaccines are available closer to home, such as Walgreens or a pop-up clinic. It’s not like I go to, or through, any high or moderate exposure areas…not even supermarkets. So I’m not worried at all. Besides which, my destiny has grown crystal clear these past few months, and catching COVID or any OTHER illness is NOT in the cards. Not that I foolishly abandon all the safety measures because of that, I just know I’ll be perfectly fine through anything, any more. What’s happening in my life these days is astounding, and definitely NOT normal. Now, for some doggie updates:
I LOVE my Alvarado Street sprouted whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread, but it’s a five-block journey to Molden Produce Health Food Store, so I have to take the pooches with me. I know no other place closer that sells it, except perhaps Whole Foods and Safeway…both within the same walking distance as Molden Produce. But, as I said, I avoid supermarkets entirely. I don’t care to take my brindlekin inside ANY shops, but it worked out fine, two weeks ago, when we went to the health food store. They were calm, silent and stayed close to me without any urging on my part! Between my favorite raisin bread replenishments, I go for five or six days on organic oatmeal breakfast, which is great, too, because I add to it chia seeds, hemp hearts and flax seed meal. Anyway, today I returned again for another loaf of raisin bread, with the dogs.
It is run by a Cambodian family that is typically Asian when it comes to keeping shop. IOW: they feign friendliness, up to a point. They actually NEVER treat long-term customers any different than sporadic (or even one-time) customers. Today was a perfect example. Soon as I stepped in with the pups, the woman who works there immediately pointed at them and started blabbing about how sometimes dogs run around in the wine section and break bottles. This IS a store that allows pets to enter. In fact, one day a man stepped in while I was there, with a large dog UNLEASHED! And I remarked to that same woman, that I find it alarming you allow dogs to come in here without a leash. Anyway:
She was not there the first time I appeared with the doggos; instead, her brother was…and he saw how well behaved they are. (Nonetheless, he did not say a THING about my doggies, even though it was the first time after shopping there all these years, that I’ve walked in with a pet, let alone two.) But SHE treated me like this was the first time I brought them in because it was the first time SHE saw them. Instead of remarking how lovely the dogs are, or something else of a friendly nature, she literally BARKED at me! And I’ve never seen her act that way towards anyone else accompanied by a canine. So I just cut her off:
“They’ve been here before, and no problem, they’re perfectly fine and I keep them on a leash!”
“Oh,” she replied, then scooted away.
You know what? I BET they voted for Trump…most shop owners are Republican, after all. That is one reason I said to them more than once: “I don’t see WHY anyone would ever vote Republican, they’re such an evil party.” Each of the several times I’ve said that, or something like it, none of them made any remark in return.
Now, once I arrived hovel, I removed their leashes halfway up the stairs, because I heard not a peep from any activity in the hallways. Thus, they could romp about for a couple of minutes before stepping inside. But just when I unlatched their collars, I heard someone enter the front gate. So I quickly hooked a couple of fingers with each hand, around each dog’s collar. Because in such a situation, it is impossible to get the leashes back on, without letting go of one of them. I slowly began to drag them to my door, but the resident was too quick for me, and arrived right beside us.
So, of course, barking ensued…but this time from Flaco only; Lucky remained peaceful. But this fellow likes them both, and has no problem with any barking. In fact, he asked if he could watch them “zoom” up and down the corridor. I told him they don’t do that if someone else is here, because they’re not used to seeing ANYone else in the corridor or lobby, except me. (A dearth of residents passing through is one of the results of this pandemic.)
Anyway, he was quite friendly to the dogs, even though Flaco kept on barking, and I really wanted to take her into my room, but this guy’s a potential ally in a possible lawsuit against Ablahblah Realty. Wanna guess why? I’ll give you a moment.
[a moment’s pause]
Because HE is one of the couple that lives across from me, who was even MORE impacted by the maskless, teenage loiterers than I was! They would make the BEST witnesses in support of my grievance, than anyone else in the building. He then asked if I know Lucky’s history, and I said, well, I think I know some of it, but it could all be hearsay, so, yes, I’d like to hear it. BTW, my dear Wattson, he KNOWS who Deek is, and has seen him and the doggies many times…and KNOWS I now own them, that I purchased them from Deek, and recorded the verbal contract. (He did remark that time, that he hopes this won’t bring problems to the building; I just firmly said “Nope.”) But here is what he told me:
Lucky was STOLEN from that middle-aged fellow who owns another dog that is almost the spitting image of Lucky, except HIS has not been neutered. I’ve mentioned him to you before, that I see him around two or three times a week, strolling up and down Noe Street. But I haven’t seen him any time recently, at least four months I’d say…and even Morey brought that up to me just a couple days ago.
So I said that story IS different from what Deek told me, who claims he was gifted that dog, because the owner couldn’t handle or afford two of them. But I made it clear to my neighbor that this, too, could be hearsay, as Deek often makes things up, due to his bipolar nature.
At any rate, he was very cordial, not accusatory or upset in any other way. He just enjoyed sharing (I presume, though there could be a hidden motive). Besides which, Deek and Lucky were in the Castro almost every day, while the original owner was out and about, walking his OWN dog. You’d think if he wanted Lucky back, he could’ve easily achieved that, long before now.
But I’ve researched what my rights are and, at this point in time, ownership is legally mine. And he and Flaco are very dear friends to each other; so it would be a major heartbreak for both, were they separated. I just want to point out here, that one dilemma after another keeps being hurled at me, and I am SICK AND TIRED OF IT! I wouldn’t bother to step out any more, only that doesn’t seem to work either, as trouble comes to me no matter what. I could stay in my room 24/7 and still, it will hunt me down, and bang at my very door! This has LITERALLY happened to me more than once…in fact, quite a few times over the years…maybe as much as twenty or so.
So we ended our chat amicably, and I FINALLY got to bring the dogs inside. There was no Deek anywhere in sight last night, nor any confrontations with his “friends.” But who knows? This may just be the eye of the storm. This city is rife with people who just love to stir up shit, to whomever they decide to fuck with. It’s been like that, and keeps getting worse, ever since the Free Speech Movement died out. And THAT’S a long, long time, mon incroyable confidente. And my SRO situation, having lived in the same spot for many years–smack dab in the middle of Gossipville–makes me a sitting duck.
Quack, quack for now!
- Zeke
ZekeBlog 2.0 