A day after my Big Block Watch Meeting I’m in Queen Anne, experiencing the awkward feeling of approaching my last few hours at the preschool, when I am approached by a man. He is a rough around the edges type of man, terrible teeth, scraggly hair, bleery eyed with a piece of lettuce stuck to his lip. He immediately launches in as if we’ve been having a conversation all morning, “My friend has lived at this house for YEARS and never had a single problem!” I said, “Well, that’s Queen Anne for you…I live in the south end and I wish I could say that.” His eyes brightened, “I lived there when I was a little boy! You’ll never believe me but I used to walk to school, down Rainier Avenue when I was in kindergarten.” I was amused, “Wow…that’s young.” He looked me over and said, “Are those your real teeth?” I smiled instinctively, “Yes.”
“They’re just beautiful,” he admired.