Baby Bush is president for another 4 years. Democrats. Republicans. They’re all the same to me – power-hungry assholes.

Yesterday I never heard from mom and daughter, but I saw the neighbor next door. I never got a good look at her face to judge her age or whether or not she has harsh or soft features, but she’s no old, feeble thing. Her movements were rather robust, suggesting she may be a bit high-strung. She’s tall, wide and blond. I don’t know if it’s a dye job or not, but what is someone her age doing at home all the time? As quiet as she is, I still wish she’d go somewhere during the daytime so I could feel even more alone at that time, but you know the always-home people have to go next to me. Today all I heard indoors was the vacuum running for a few minutes, plus a utility door cabinet. Nothing that would’ve woken me even if the bedroom were by her wall.

I first heard her when I got up and weighed myself just after 9:00. The scale’s in the utility area by the back door which is by her back door. I could hear her sweeping her patio. I wonder why she’d bother since all the leaves are going to do is blow right back. I hope she isn’t gearing up to entertain guests out back with that grill she’s got.

Anyway, I heard her cough a few times and make these weird sounds that were sort of a cross between a sigh and a moan. I don’t know if she was trying to clear her throat or what.

From my bedroom, which runs along the side of the patio, I heard her go back inside as I was sipping my coffee. Then a little while later I saw her come back out and hang up clothes on the clothesline, and I was like, in this cold? Although it is supposed to warm up a bit. Even I must admit that it’s been a rather mild winter so far compared to New England. Anyway, I’m surprised I never heard her washer.

Later…

Well, I just met the neighbor, Beverly. I was curious, so I went out to do something I’ve been wanting to do anyway and that was to knock down all the yucky webs that were stuck up in the patio rafters, knowing she’d come out to get more of the clothes I noticed she started bringing in.

I called out “hello” as she came out. She said “hi” back and went to fetch some more clothes. On the way back she commented about how busy I must be setting up house. I agreed, then we shook hands and introduced ourselves to each other.

Up close I’d say she’s closer to average height. Her face doesn’t look mean or soft. Her face is just a face. Plain looking. She does appear to be in her late 40s and says she’s home all the time. As if I didn’t know just by seeing her car always parked out front. After all, I figured that Pam’s saying “she stays home a lot” really meant, “she stays home all the time.”

She says she rarely has company. Just a few friends over for an occasional barbecue, plus her newly married son who has two kids from his wife’s previous marriage, plus one in the oven. I almost slipped and said, “Aw, too bad he’s not your average anti-child man.”

According to her, if I’ve got the story straight, the last people that lived here were here for 6 months. She said they just about drove her crazy and was so happy when they finally left. It was a couple with 4 kids. Two teenagers and two babies. She would work while he would stay home all day drinking and blasting music. Meanwhile, the kids were screaming up a storm constantly. They left the driveway full of trash on their way out and there were dirty diapers everywhere. The reason they put new carpet in here, she said, was because they left soiled diapers all over it.

She said she herself has been here a year and a half, and before the last people that were in here, there was someone here for 5 years that said the carpet made them ill so they tore it out and replaced it. This was when I told her of the attack I had on the first night.

She too, likes the duplexes with the garages in the middle, though she said she couldn’t hear us at all when I asked if we were quiet enough for her. I told her I sing, but always have headphones on when I do and that the stereo’s in the bedroom. She said she keeps her music in her bedroom too, and that all we may hear is her TV because she has hearing issues. I told her I was partially deaf myself. She said to let her know if she was a bother to us in any way or if we needed anything, but I assured her she was very quiet.

I had brought out the wind chimes and asked if the loudest one would bother her. She said she didn’t think so and I told her to let me know if it did and that I’d gladly take it down. That’d be a reasonable compromise. We’re not going to rent forever, and when we do own, we’re not going to be so close to others like this unless we’re in a retirement community, so I can live without that chime if I have to. The others are prettier anyway. She pointed out how she has wind chimes too, and again I almost slipped and said, “Yeah, but yours are wimps compared to some of mine.”

The only other thing I told her was that we lived in Arizona and I was originally from Massachusetts.

I asked her if the clothesline was her own personal line or a shared line, and she said it was a shared line.

She also pointed out the cherry trees and said that if only the birds didn’t get to the cherries first so she could bake cherry pies with them. Now that’d be way better than apple pies.

She said that when the owner stopped paying the last people’s water bill, they stopped watering the yard, so she does it herself from time to time.

She mentioned that we get deer for visitors, and I told her I was aware of that. It really amazes me to have seen 3 of them after being here for less than a week, yet during the 3 months we were up on the mountain, we never saw one. Just tracks.

Also, the back gate in the corner by the outer side of her place won’t latch properly either, so I said I’d ask Tom to look at it.

Anyway, she said she likes living alone and being by herself, and I told her that we pretty much keep to ourselves too, and that during the daytime while he’s working I just hang out with my computer. I almost added the rat but caught myself in time.

The only thing she said that I didn’t like was that an older teenager lives with either the mother or the daughter and he and a couple of his buddies sometimes throw knives at a board they’ve got set up against the back wall. She said it freaked her out the first time she heard it. Oh well. At least it’s easier to get out of rentals than to get out of something you own, though I hope it stays quiet. It’d be just our shit luck to have a quiet 6 months, then just as we renew the lease, in comes trouble.

I thought that other backyards met up with ours, but nope. There’s an alley back there. I saw a utility truck of some kind cruising back there.

Later…

So much for having any privacy. I went to crack the bathroom window when showering to let out some steam, and there was the daughter cooking away in her kitchen just a few feet away in her wide-open window. I heard her out doing her little cat call earlier.

I miss shower doors big time. These damn shower curtains just blow all around!

Anyway, the bad news is that Tom’s got another cold setting in. I’ve lost confidence in myself as a psychic since arriving in this state, but I tried to put a spell on him anyway. Now all we can do is hope for the best. After all, I warded off a cold that had started to set in me the last time we were at the Arab’s place.