Walk, Talk, Sit, Meet . . . Matter

Whenever I feel afraid
I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune
So no one will suspect

   I'm afraid. . .

                           -- Anna (from The King and I)

    

      I set out one evening at a brisk pace, warming up for a jog. I didn’t get far before my next-door neighbor called out from her front porch, where she was sitting with her husband.

     “What are you going to do?” she asked.

     “I’m going for a run,” I answered. She laughed, so I went over to see what this was about.

     “We thought you were going over there to calm things down,” she told me.

     I listened for a moment, and realized what she was talking about. A couple down the street was having a loud argument, well-peppered with vulgarities, and was sharing it via the open windows.

     This was a private neighborhood and I was the association president. There was reason for my neighbor’s curiosity – she thought I was out to exercise whatever authority I might have to restore peace, or at least quiet.

     That had not been my intent before I knew of the disruption, nor was it after she clued me in.