A Strange Day in the Neighborhood

Maybe it’s the weather. We are, after all, getting the winds from the former Hurricane Ernesto, and it’s definitely blustery and odd-feeling out there today.

Or maybe not.

As the dog and I came back from the mill pond this afternoon, we heard what at first I thought was a parrot. (No, that’s not the weird part: the guy down the street who repairs Macs owns a big green parrot, and takes it for regular walks.) Then as we got closer, we could tell that the sound was coming from a parked car, and that it was someone laughing — laughing really hard, as though they were being tickled. The sound had that half-hysterical edge to it, that not-quite-in-control note. That person was sitting in the passenger seat, alone, apparently without cellphone. In the driver’s seat was a bored-looking black Lab.

I have no idea, and no, it wasn’t that funny.

So we walked by really fast, and heard shouting coming from the big apartment building next to the house. (The building is elderly and handicapped housing.) The shouts resolved into words: “Thank you, Bob! Thank you, Bob! Thank you, Bob!” Over and over again, with varying inflection — sarcastic, wildly grateful, angry, no meaning at all — and then he started changing the emphasis: “Thank you, Bob! Thank you Bob! Thank you, Bob!”

Even the dog thought it was weird.

I figure, best case, it was an actor practicing lines. Worst case.... Let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to be Bob.