Well, I'm still alive...

It has been quite awhile since my last post. There may possibly have been a few who wondered where I've been all this while. As it turn out, right here and not much further.

Some may have even mistakenly believed that life was normal and sober and I have not hitting a pipe any longer. Whatever your views on that may be, that certainly has not been the case. One person did ask once, after a particularly weird remark on my part, if I had relapsed.

My reply was "No."

I felt justified in giving that answer for one reason. One must have had a period of "sobriety" or "recovery" or whatever the term one might use for not using. Having not had experienced any of those statuses, saying I had not relapsed was, for me, the truth.

Now that we have that cleared up, this is what has been happening over the past few months.

First and foremost in my mind is the fact that law enforcement has been a too frequent visitor to this building. Once in fact, knocking at my back door with a warrant. Not for me, thankfully, but a neighbor who lives in one of the front apartments. Apparently this persons entrepreneurial efforts are not approved of in Erie. I'm also guessing that a hearing was blown off, which resulted in deputies from the sheriff's office to mistakenly knock on my door.

Another incident a few days before Christmas still has me a bit more concerned.

My next door neighbor seemed to be allowing someone to use their apartment. My guess is they exchanged the use of their place to acquire a bit of rock or some other thing of value in exchange for use of the place. There are also strong suspicions on my part that the person renting the apartment was using it as their own little sales office.

The noise and traffic there were not near normal for with the tenant whose name is on the lease.

Things came to a head one fine morning. Loud knocks on the front door, with my neighbor running out the front shouting was followed by angry voices associated with police making a bust of some sort. Phrases like, "Don't move" and "Keep your hands where I can see them" are enough for anyone within earshot to pay attention.

A few days later I was told that my neighbor's temporary tenant had pointed a gun at a visitors head. Adding that to what might have happened had this fellow not complied with the cops had me pretty unsettled for awhile. Considering the thinness of the walls and the possible things that could have gone wrong, everything was resolved without any physical harm to anyone, including myself.

There was a short period of time that my buying a pistol was briefly considered. That would be a mistake for me though in so may ways.

Lastly, the dudes are running fast and loose with credit. With things happening this year, more for other people rather than myself, some tempering has to be done. Being constantly geeked and hopelessly broke financially will not allow me to enjoy some things.

And that is a fact, Jack.