Life at the 383

I don't like to complain, but

2009-05-06T17:51:00.004-06:00

one of my neighbors isn't happy with the Elks Lodge, and she can't understand why nobody wants to listen when she tells them why.

Friday she was complaining that the staff ignores her all complaints. She has problems with her breathing and the patrons of the bar downstairs have been smoking on the street under her window.

Yesterday she was complaining about the smells coming from the kitchen. The cooking bothers her. She doesn't like the metal door in the bathroom next to her room. She doesn't like the color of the curtains.

The man in the room next door snores too loudly, and he was farting in there Sunday morning.

The doors in the lobby aren't automatic. The washing machines are too loud. The elevator is too slow. The elevator walls are too red. The people she talks to are too rude.

And today she complains that someone wouldn't answer his door when she knocked.

Cops Rescued from Elks Rooftop

2009-04-23T14:37:00.002-06:00

Good times at the 383. A trespasser who was trapped on the roof urinated over the top showering the sidewalk and possibly a few of Missoula's Finest. Showing your johnson to the police is a sex crime. And one of the officers told me that what was originally a routine trespass was now going to get the boy some jail time.

But that isn't all. After the police scaled the roof cornering the trespasser, they could not get back down off the roof, because the ladder was now considered too dangerous. The fire department was called in, and the hydraulic boom was used to rescue them.

New Keys

2009-04-11T19:55:00.003-06:00

The Lodge locks the door to the lobby for the night. We use a key card to buzz ourselves in. Theoretically, only tenants are supposed to get key cards. But there is reason to believe they've been passed along to friends and strangers.

Because of this problem, the manager changes the code and gives out new cards every 6 months.

2 Days Off In A Row

2009-04-07T18:27:00.003-06:00

I've asked my boss not to do that again. Work makes it easier for me to get through the night.

I think I might see if there is another job out there for me. I need to do something with my time besides remembering how good it would feel to get drunk.

Why does my memory do this? Getting drunk doesn't feel good. Not when you are an alcoholic. The best I can say about taking a drink is that there is a sense of relief when you're an alcoholic. Drinking is what you do to get back up to that neutral line.

Imagine the underscore line is neutral normal feeling.

X (This is where I was as young man when I was drinking.)
_____________________

X (This is where I am now as an old man when I am not drinking.)

But my memory tells me I will feel better if I have a drink. I wonder if I will ever make it back to the neutral normal place sober.

I need to do more with my time so I can stay sober.

It's A Struggle Every Day

2009-03-27T15:24:00.001-06:00

I almost had a drink last night.

The Sugar Fairy

2009-03-26T13:31:00.004-06:00

I caught an old woman leaving chocolate bars. She was setting Hershey bars against the doors in my hall. She might be new here. I've never seen her before.

She was 4 feet tall. She was wearing pink slippers and a red dress that set off her wild ratty white hair quite becomingly. She presented me with a toothless smile, and she had a twinkle in her eyes that was on the Santa side.

I am enchanted.

911, Anyone?

2009-02-19T15:01:00.001-07:00

A woman was assaulted on the 3rd floor last week in broad daylight. I am learning about it today. A young man living in room 315, came out of the Ladies Room, and hit her when he realized she took his picture as evidence.

She reported that he rushed her, and pushed her very hard while trying to grab her camera. She reported this to the management. A man who lives a few doors down tells me that management convinced her not to call the police. That they would take care of it.

The man who assaulted this woman still lives here. Is that how management took care of it?

Another Necessary Eviction

2009-03-21T15:02:00.005-06:00

The gentleman (and I use the term sarcastically) is to be evicted next week. A judge found in favor of Elk's Lodge, and gave him 7 days to move his belongings. He bullied other residents and two of the Elk's Lodge volunteers. He vandalised his room, and rigged the southside stairwell doors to admit a violent non-resident who then attacked a resident.

An hour after His Honor's judgement this bully was at the Poverello Center telling his friends exactly how he intends to retaliate. He purchased Shellac and means to pour it down the toilets on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Fortunately, one of my neighbors was there and heard every word. I don't know if this means he will be escorted from the premises today, but it at least means he is on notice from the police, and should anything happen he will be the primary suspect.

Glass on Glass on Glass

2009-03-11T15:29:00.003-06:00

Back On The Clock

2009-03-10T11:49:00.003-06:00

I went back to work last night was very happy to be doing something purposeful again.

I hit the rack when I came home but after 4 hours of sleep I just can't stay down. My clock is all messed up after sleeping nights at the hospital.

I'd take a walk but it's colder than a witch's rounded parts out there. Maybe I'll make do with a cup of coffee at Bernice's. I can take bus 6 over the bridge and I'll be 1 block from warm and toasty.

Creeping Crud

2009-03-04T17:24:00.002-07:00

Three days and two nights at the Community Medical Center have left me exhausted. I got the flu, but I was too sick to realize how sick I had become.

A chest x-ray showed pneumonia. I am still coughing up some very ugly crud, but I am okay. They put an I. V. in my arm and poured antibiotics in me and yellow colored liquid from a plastic bag.

This morning I ate scrambled eggs and ham. It was very good for hospital food.

I lost 10 pounds. And I haven't shaved since last week. Now I look like a wizened old man.

I don't have any scuttlebutt on the 383. I'm still employed though. I talked to my boss yesterday and he said not to worry.

Reinforcements

2009-02-21T11:52:00.003-07:00

The windows and the door to the balcony have been bolted shut. Meth addicts will not find their way onto our floor. The management has also hired security to patrol our hallways at night. They will make a walk through every hour.

And that low life that assaulted one of the ladies is put on notice. He will be evicted with the very next complaint from anyone for any reason. I read the notice on his door.

I am off duty tonight and my sponsor and I will be going out for tacos. El Cazador makes great tacos and enchiladas. He is trying to interest me in going back to school. He tells me it is never too late to learn.

Learning About Alcoholism

2009-02-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

I've been a drunk for years and I still don't know much about Alcoholism.

I'd like to share a link to some very good information concerning the disease of addiction.

http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/

Blue Socks

2009-02-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

I bought new jeans last week and washed them up today. I washed them with my other dirty clothes that were mostly T shirts, socks, and briefs.

The dress shirts are fine. They don't seem to be bluer than before. But all of the underwear and my towels are light blue.

It is by the Grace of God that blue jeans do not come red.

Like thieves in the night

2009-02-15T03:53:00.007-07:00

Two young men were caught sneaking in one of the windows in our hallway. This photograph was taken by one of my neighbors, a budding sleuth. She passed me 4, but this one says it all.

As she put it, "they are so busted."

She watched them use a key to enter room 316.

An Arrest is Likely

2009-02-13T15:20:00.001-07:00

We have a problem at the 383. There is a man living here who is a bully and a thug. He is disabling the locks on windows in the hallway so that his comrades can enter the building without walking through the front entryway so they can avoid the cameras.

They are waiting for him. They have filed eviction papers, but he intends to force a confrontation. In the meanwhile, he is behaving in a hostile manner towards some of the tenants here. He bangs on walls as he passes and he slams his door and the bathroom door whenever he enters and exits.

I am almost hoping for a confrontation. I wonder what he will do if I kick him in the nuts. I'm very good at kicking nuts. No one expects an old man to kick him in the nuts.

My shift starts soon. I'll miss any action tonight but I'm free tomorrow night. I hope the police aren't called until I can be here to watch them take him away in cuffs.

House Rules

2009-02-09T12:48:00.002-07:00

I believe the events of Saturday may have had a sobering effect on management. It is possible they might now enforce the rules stipulated in their lease agreements. I woke a minute ago to the sound of a scraping on my door. I wasn't sure if somone was about to knock. I got up, and took a look in the hallway to find this list taped on all the doors.

Moving off the streets

2009-01-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

I live in a flop house on the third floor. My next door neighbor is an artist. My other next door neighbor is a laundry room.

There are other veterans living here. One is an attractive woman with long brown hair and a red wool coat.

I saw ink on her hands. It might be she is another artist. A flop house should have more than one. Or maybe she keeps an octopus. Pets aren't allowed.

I have room key and an electronic card for the door downstairs. No roommates allowed, and no guests are to come up the elevator without an escort. They checked my credit and looked for a police record. No felons allowed either.

I got a ticket for speeding in 1964. I was drunk but it was a different world back then. I was picked up for public drunkeness in 2006, but they took me to the hospital instead of lockup.

Bloody Hell

2009-02-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

There were two drunks fighting in the hallway last night. They were bloodying each other's faces and the carpet while grunting, gurgling, and yelling profanities.

This went on for an hour before police officers broke it up. One man was taken to jail, and the other was taken to the hospital. They sprayed blood on the walls and the Ladies Room door.

I don't even know if either of them lives here or if they wandered up here from the bar on the first floor.

Fortunately for me I work nights. Last night was my night off but the excitement was enough to keep me awake. I will sleep well today and be rested for my shift.

It's foggy this morning. There is a brine on the power lines outside. It should be a quiet day.

A Key to the city

2009-02-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

I have a bus pass. It's orange with a magnetic strip that every bus in the fleet can read. I'm an old man so I get the Senior Discount.

For $12.50/month, I can ride any time, anywhere, as often as I like. I can tour Northside or even go to Bonner. I don't have to justify my reasons. I can sit and read a book or stare out the window.

Up all night

2009-01-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

So at midnight, a man decides to dismantle the dryer next door and bang on all the parts.

For me this is probably helpful. I will be working nights and sleeping days. But not tomorrow.

An honorable man.

2009-01-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

An honorable man was sworn in today. He will serve as President for the next 4 to 8 years.

He has been charged with the task of cleaning up after George W. Bush.

I offer my prayers and my loyalty to this great man.

Wakened in the dead of afternoon

2009-02-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Some manic young peroxide blonde woke me yesterday. I still had another hour before the alarm, but her yelling and screaming took that hour away.

She was beating on the door, begging someone named Brian to please let her in. She needed her stuff. It was on the microwave. She promised never to bother him again if he would just please let her have her stuff. She needed it bad.

It's only natural for me to wonder what she needed so badly she was willing to beat on a man's door for half an hour, screaming and begging. If she'd been beating at my door I wouldn't have opened it either.

Going the other way

2009-01-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

I was standing on the first floor waiting for the elevator to come down. And when the door opened that beautiful young veteran was standing in front of me. She was as close to me as she might have been if we were dancing.

She was on her way out. I told her good morning and she smiled and returned the greeting. What could I say at 5:30 in the morning that would make her stay and talk to me?

What a beautiful smile.

Estrangement

2009-01-30T00:49:00.000-07:00

My family wants as little to do with me as possible. And I don't blame them at all.

I am an alcoholic. I was drunk from 1960 till 2006. I've been sober for 2 years, 1 month, and 17 days.

I lost my wife to another man, and that didn't stop me drinking. Then my sons stopped speaking to me. And that didn't stop me drinking.

I didn't stop drinking till I was found passed out in the center lane on 24th Street in Billings.

Last Easter my sponsor helped me to affect a reconciliation with my sons. They accept my phone calls now, and we exchange niceties. But they haven't forgiven me and don't expect they will. I am not invited to their homes, and they won't accept my invitations to visit me here.

I hope time is on my side.