Editor,
They come once a month or once a week. They are mostly male but once a female came. It is usually in the afternoon. I never see a vehicle. They walk boldly up to the front door, ring the bell and knock on the door. They look clean but not OC hip. They could be a bagger at the market, or a busboy at a restaurant, but probably not my neighbor.
“Hi, how are you today sir” is delivered with volume, enthusiasm, and eye contact. After that it starts getting fuzzy. Sometimes their story is that they are my new neighbor, sometimes they express joy in the beauty of the day, sometimes they just want to know how my day is going.
My “what can I do for you?” is side stepped; “what are you selling?” is met with “oh, I am not here to sell anything”. They keep it positive and polite but, they never give any information. Pointed questions like “show me some ID” and “where do you go to school” are never answered.
Yesterday I took his picture with my cell phone. The mood changed quickly after the picture. He start retreating up the driveway, and I dialed the police department to report the incident. In the twenty or so times this little drama has repeated, I have never heard back if they contacted the suspicious person.
Who are these people, and what do they want.
My dark side says they are looking for an easy mark, somebody old, fragile, needy, and weak to take advantage of. Or could they just be out of work and in a training program that sends them out to neighborhoods with million dollar houses to make new friends.
Who are these guys?
Arthur Bode, Laguna Beach
