Miss Jenkins

 This year we moved into a new complex with six townhouse units. My wife has become the Miss Jenkins, or more accurately the Benita Butrell of the complex. For those who don't have a clue who this is, she was a character played by Kim Wayans on the ground breaking show In Living Color (look it up and check out you tube). She was the neighborhood gossip, known for her affection of Miss Jenkins (a black drama coach), who is usually the target of her most vicious gossip, and then endin  her stories with " I'm not one to gossip". My wife knows all the 411 that occurs in the complex, including people's comings and goings, the car parked out front, and who /why they are visiting. Why the people across the street haven't cut their grass, along with a multitude of information about all the various people that walk or take their dogs for a stroll in the park we use across the street.

It is amazing to me that she can just see a car coming down the street and know/feel that it is going to turn. And those people that allow their dogs to drop poop on the walking path are the worst people in the world. I sometimes call her captain obvious, since this is pointed out every day when it is seen, even after being squashed by bike riders. And speaking of bike riders, they too are so inconsiderate for passing without alerting the walkers like ourselves. Being somewhat paranoid also does help my Benita, as most things spotted are immediately identified as a problem. Why is that person down by the lake, are they feeding the alligators? Why is that car parked in the park so early in the morning and on several days in a row, it must be drug activity or clandestine meetings of some type. 

My time in the park and at home is to relax and enjoy the gifts of live. I've learned not to try to figure out everything or to judge. Usually when you do that you are looking at things through your perspective or how you would do things and without any idea of what is really going on with someone else. Sometimes when you see someone sitting on a bench they have not just had an argument with someone, looking for someone to mug, or homeless. They just want to exhale, breath some fresh air and enjoy the scenery.