“Cast of Characters” continued

Saturn Man - One day last summer I noticed a Saturn SUV drive up to the back of the medical office across the street. An older guy got out of the vehicle, walked to the back door and returned with a bag in his hand. When he reached the end of the driveway, he stopped his vehicle, lifted up the lid of three different garbage cans, peered inside and then went on his merry way.

My curiosity was getting the best of me and I made a point to watch the following day. Sure enough he came back and has been coming back every Monday through Friday since. I’ve noticed Saturn Man’s routine varies from day to day. Sometimes he has a bag in his hand and sometimes he doesn’t. Some days he retrieves something from the garbage and other days he leaves empty handed.

Since the P.D. has suggested we report any suspicious activity, I thought I would do my civic duty and alert them about Saturn Man. A guy rifling through garbage cans at a medical complex, randomly leaving with ____ (who knows what) sure seems suspicious to me. The P.D. sent an officer to my house. After hearing the details, he asked me to get the Saturn’s tag number. I called it into their office and I’ve yet to hear back from the officer. Oh yeah, did I mention this happened last summer?   I no longer see the jewel-toned Saturn, but that doesn’t bring me comfort. In its place is a white pick up truck. Same driver, same habits. Hmmm...

The Mexicans - Mr. Man (A.K.A my husband) refers to them as “Chico and his Men.” Very friendly and nice, there are three generations living in this house on the corner. The older two generations seem to be quiet, but the younger generation is a lively bunch. The grand matriarch barely speaks English, but she said enough to convey the message that she just does not know what she is going to do with those boys! My guess is that they are still under the illusion that they are living across the border!

Emma - Through a casual conversation over a fence five years ago, I met M and we've been friends ever since. Some people are fair-weather friends, others come and go, but you keep friends like M. We bake Christmas cookies together, share recipes, garden together, shop together, swap left-overs, borrow what we need and talk a lot with each other. We look out for each other and for each other’s house. If I see someone or something suspicious going on, I call M and she does the same for me. I guess you could call us the “Street Keepers.”