Vandalism, Lesbians, Birds and Police

My day started with the little boy doing a belly flop across my chest. Got out of bed, got dressed, did the breakfast thing. As I walked outside, I was met by Leslie, my tenant in #4 telling me that she saw someone lurking and acting suspiciously in the parking area and that the car parked next to her car had been vandalized.

I checked it out and discovered that yes it had been vandalized. Nothing was stolen, it was just wrecked. The miscreant had broken the ignition switch, scratched all the paint, broken of the mirrors, broken the locks, slashed the tires and the upholstery. It was a mess. I talked to the owner of the car, my tenant in #7. to let her know about it. She was very upset.

A few minutes later a third tenant, the one from #20 came to my office to let me know she had seen different suspicious activity that might be related to the vandalism. Then she went to get ito her car to go to work. But she came back to me very upset. She discovered that her car had been vandalized, too.

I set up a meeting with the police and all three women. That was at 8 this morning.

Then I had to deal with contractors all day to get units ready for move-in on Saturday. Ordered blinds for some units we are remodeling. Went to home depot and bought a birdbath to hang from the camphor tree. I also picked up some bird seed. The little boy goes with me on errands like this. He likes hardware stores.

We installed the birdbath and hung a second feeder full of sunflower seeds from the camphor tree. (The tree is about 45 feet high and 40 in diameter.) It was fun. I showed the little boy how to drive nails and pull them out. I also taught him how to use a screwdriver today, he's more adept with the screwdriver than I thought he would be. I caught him taking apart his mother's adirondack chair.

My tenants who are moving in on Saturday are lesbians, but they pass for straight. They are super paranoid that their bosses will find out. I had to assure them several times that all I ask employers for is date of hire, job-title, and income; that I don't give any information to employers. I was kind of surprised by their secrecy - this is California. I think they will be good tenants. But I have not had good experiences with lesbians. In my very limted experience (we tend not to run in the same crowds) they tend to be a little psycho.

Back in the mid-nineties, when I was working at SF Weekly, it came out that I was a Christian. (And all because of a pizza. But that is another story.) This one woman, a very out and political lesbian in my department couldn't stand that a Christian was working with her and started harrassing me. She would come to my desk and say the most amazing things - "So you must think I'm going to Hell." "If you think breeders are normal what do you think of me?" "How long have you hated women?" "You probably think Melissa Etheridge is a bad musician." It was nuts! Finally, our boss told her to leave me alone. She didn't. She was fired. All of my experiences with (known) lesbians have been similarly unpleasant. Let's hope my new tenants wil buck the trend.

About 5pm the little boy and I went swimming. He has been able to swim up from the bottom of the pool for a long time. As well he can swim the length of the pool. But this week he finally figured out how to swim down to the bottom. He is very proud of himself. I'm proud of him, too.

The police arrived about 8 p.m. tonight to talk with the three women, my lovely and gracious tenants, Leslie, Julie, and Angelica about what was damaged and who saw what. After that the policeman, the little boy and I walked around the property to see what I might be able to do to prevent crime. He had some suggestions but they boild down to: build a fence with automatic gates and hope for the best. I couldn't figure out how to explain police to the little boy. Finally, I just said "They are like guardian angels. They keep the bad guys away." He accepted that.

I just put the little boy to bed. He was exhausted. But I read him a book before he fell asleeep. His mother bought him a little book published by the Ukranian Catholics called "The Guardian Angel Book". It's a pretty good book. The bottom crossbars are not tilted correctly, but other than that it is a good walk through of the Divine Litrgy. I also had to explain that some churches have pews but ours doesn't. And he didn't understand why the priest in the pictures was beardless. But he likes the book and insisted on sleeping with it and an Icon of St. Herman tonight.

It is late. I am tired. Goodnight.

Alcohol units: 0
tobacco units:0
caffine units: 6
pills for neck: 2