South Slope Lallygagging

I like it when my neighbors loiter about, I get the creeps when I see no one's around. Even seeing a happy jack-o-lantern cheers me considerably, especially so early in the season. It makes me wonder when the carver started sharpening her knives.

This time of year pumpkins loaf around on people's stoops and never get harassed by the police, like the down and out do. Today when I was shopping at Pumpkins on 8th and 13th for lollipops I couldn't resist asking the owner if she ever had trouble with homeless people commandeering the benches she graciously keeps out front, she said she really didn't have a problem like that, maybe one or twice a year. When she did, she'd just go and rearrange the seats, she said. It was more of a problem when two of her patrons got into a fight over the rights to a certain seat in the front. Someone who laid down plenty of cash at the store was outraged that the owner hadn't stood up for her over the seating dispute, and stopped shopping there. I guess she felt she had paid rent for the seat with her faithful shopping. That colonizer.

The owner plans to move one of her benches. It's near the curb, too far from the store so it doesn't feel claimed by it. This may be why it's been being used by people who she suspects are drug dealers. I wish her luck in seat redistribution. It's really such a nice thing when shops put seats or benches in front. Many places do... Parco, Crossroads Cafe, Lonelyville, Ladybird/Little Red Hen, Music Matters, Connecticut Muffin, the Laundry matt with broken seats. Even if people just go sit there and ignore each other, or get in fights, mess around on laptops, or sell drugs, it's still really nice.