The All-Knowing E.

We moved into our neighborhood about six years ago. It was mostly retirees, but it is slowly changing. One retiree that lives here is E. He is a very familiar fixture. Weather permitting, he walks up and down the road all day. He always wears the same uniform - brown pants and flannel shirt. Sometimes he is smoking a cigar.

I like E. He is a good source of information too as he knows just about everything that goes on in the neighborhood.

The only problem is you had better set aside some time if you are going to talk to him. He likes to talk. If I'm getting ready to go put some mail in the box, and see him there, sometimes I wait.

One time we left town for the weekend and accidentally left the garage door open. We didn't get robbed! I believe this is because E. is on the job. He lives just across the street.

Here is an example of E. missing nothing. We just got new next door neighbors. Our old neighbors had one of those dogs that barked incessantly. The squirrels climbed trees, someone walked down the street, the wind blew...all worth barking at. She had a really annoying pattern too. "Yap, yap, yap...yap, yap, yap...yap, yap, yap...you get the picture. My husband hated that dog. He would open our bedroom window and yell at it. I was talking to E. one day and he commented, "Yeah we hear the dog bark - then we hear your husband yell." I laughed my butt off. (the bit that hasn't slid down my legs.)

Sometimes I see E. standing with other neighbors on the street and they have a trapped look on their face - the one that says, "I'd chew off my own leg to get out of here if I could."

Maybe he can be a bit of a pain, but can't we all? I enjoy seeing him around and hope that he doesn't move anytime soon.