Since I’m moving in a few days I don’t have any coffee or food in my home. I woke up feeling logy and had some serious tachycardia (heart beating at 130 per minute). I ached all over and could hardly bend my back was so stiff and painful. This is one of several possible scenarios I wake up to: I have fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis (seemingly every joint), stenosis of the cervical and lumbar spine, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. I can wake up feeling fine (rarely) or stiff as a board (mostly). I can have a racing heart and shortness of breath. I can be fatigued all day or gradually overcome it.
Yesterday morning I got dressed and headed out to HUB Roasters a few blocks away. As I left my apartment building I closed the gate behind me. About 25 feet down the alley there was an old man (older than me) slowly walking his dog. He turned around and shouted at me, “I wanted that gate open you stupid fuck!” I stood there shocked, but not surprised. Reno is full of these arrogant entitled cunts. After a few moments I looked straight at him and grabbed my crotch and gave it a few shakes. This infuriated him and he threatened me (again, not unusual for Reno). I walked off saying he could come and get some if he wanted. He was one of those bent over osteoporosis old dudes with a bad attitude; it wouldn’t have been much of a fight.
This encounter gnawed at me because they’re so frequent. I don’t do anything to intentionally piss off someone, but they end up angry at me. I closed the gate for security of the entire building. I’m not a mind reader. If that old fucker wanted to keep it open he should’ve stood there and protected it. I’m not here to serve him, or anyone for that matter.
I started another post a while back about an encounter with a crazy fucker on the bus (where else?). Briefly, this old arthritic dude (his hands were all bent and twisted) gets on the bus and makes himself the center of attention by switching seats every 30 seconds, singing The Kinks “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” (I’m probably the only one to recognize it), talking to himself and trying to engage others. I was on my way to a doctor appointment (as usual) and just wanted some quiet. I turned around toward him and asked, “Can you please keep it down?” He gave me the double bird. Okay, I said, “I asked you politely.” He started in on me, another threat. He pointed at me and ran his finger across his throat. He jumped out of his seat so I stood up, 6’3” and 220 pounds, and said, “I will kick your balls repeatedly until they pop out of your mouth. What are you going to do with those arthritic hands of yours? You can’t even hold a knife.” He sat back down. All of this happened before the second stop!
He went off to the front of the bus and the driver told him he was going to eject him at the next stop (my stop, unfortunately). The crazy old dude put his head in his hands and said, “This isn’t the world I’m used to!” This was confirmation of something I’ve noticed about Reno…people here don’t act like people anywhere else. They try to enter elevators before the other people have exited, they don’t understand how to pay at Walmart, they don’t understand how to ride the bus. They don’t act like normal adults who have experienced 50, 60, 70 years of life. They act like they came across from another universe and all of this is brand new.
THIS ISN’T THE WORLD I’M USED TO. Amen brother.