Walking in the suburban neighborhood finds most people quick with a smile & a hello, though not as fast to stay the fcuk away from me & keep their breath to themselves. There's no rule that says one HAS to stay on the [maternal fornicating] sidewalks - it's totally possible to make way & space for others by veering into the right-of-way.
However, I've noticed a lot more beater cars / mini pickup trucks, most with poorly performing exhaust systems, orbiting the area, & our street. It seems these are folks who are hustling for handyman or landscape work. There was a fella with a mid-80's Camry driving around last week, with a 16' ladder strapped to the roof. I'm not sure if I was more surprised at the redneck way in which the ladder was secured, or that the car seemed to be showroom new. Anyhow, the entirety of the inside was filled with what seemed to be his worldly possessions. I don't believe he was sleeping in his car, for there was no room, but he certainly seemed to be living out of it.
Whilst walking with the Mrs., we witnessed him pull up to a construction site for a new home, & use their porta-john. Seemed a bit sketchy, given there's a park with heated facilities but a 1/3 of a mile away. We saw him an hour later settling a mailbox post in concrete directly across our street. It turns out the trunk of said Camry was filled with sacks of Quickcrete and various tools.
I certainly admire folks who'll hustle, though my usual rule of thumb is to never hire a contractor who can't afford a full-sized truck. In any case, instances like these have increased from zero, to reasonably prevalent, in the past 3 weeks. I'm not alarmed, but I'm mindful. The J-frame is always with me: it's the clutch purse of pistolas. Leaving the local area, however, finds me with a full-frame Sig + 2 spare magazines. I'll keep the honest guys honest, and make things a quite unpleasant for the dishonest ones.
Kindsness & mindfulness.
FC
