My good friend/Neighbor, John
We have a bit of an odd neighborhood, John but, he is harmless. He’s a middle aged man who has no family & no friends. People either get annoyed by him or put off by him. I don’t. In fact, we get along quite well.
He came upstairs to ask if I can open his ketchup bottle for him. Sadly, he has the mind of a very young child but, I refuse to talk down to him. This afternoon touched my heart.
I was coming back from getting mail & on my way up the stairs, he was coming out of his apartment to get his newspaper. I said hi to him, as usual but, this time actually got a response from him. He said hi but, then asked if I wanted to see his trading cards. I smiled & obliged. We sat on the stoop & talked about the cards, what value they had, etc. for the first time, I saw him actually smile.
Last week was his birthday and I took the liberty of making him a card with some money for him to buy a proper meal with. First off, when I gave it to him, he looked at me with a cautious face but, when he saw that I genuinely meant it, his eyes widened & he gave me a hug out of nowhere. Due to the pandemic, I reminded him about the 6 feet apart rule & he let go.
Fast forward to today, I got home from a quick trip to the grocery store & found a bag of bagels by my front door. Inside the bag, there was a note, saying thank you for the gift. He has the delightful handwriting of a child but, I’m touched either way. This experience just goes to show not to judge anyone based on some odd behavior they might have. This guy is genuinely harmless & is just a little out of it. We now talk regularly every time we see each other.
He came upstairs to ask if I can open his ketchup bottle for him. Sadly, he has the mind of a very young child but, I refuse to talk down to him. This afternoon touched my heart.
I was coming back from getting mail & on my way up the stairs, he was coming out of his apartment to get his newspaper. I said hi to him, as usual but, this time actually got a response from him. He said hi but, then asked if I wanted to see his trading cards. I smiled & obliged. We sat on the stoop & talked about the cards, what value they had, etc. for the first time, I saw him actually smile.
Last week was his birthday and I took the liberty of making him a card with some money for him to buy a proper meal with. First off, when I gave it to him, he looked at me with a cautious face but, when he saw that I genuinely meant it, his eyes widened & he gave me a hug out of nowhere. Due to the pandemic, I reminded him about the 6 feet apart rule & he let go.
Fast forward to today, I got home from a quick trip to the grocery store & found a bag of bagels by my front door. Inside the bag, there was a note, saying thank you for the gift. He has the delightful handwriting of a child but, I’m touched either way. This experience just goes to show not to judge anyone based on some odd behavior they might have. This guy is genuinely harmless & is just a little out of it. We now talk regularly every time we see each other.
