Barefoot in the Park

One of the best movies ever made is Barefoot in the Park. If you haven't seen it, it is about a newlywed couple (played by the amazing Jane Fonda and the oh so attractive Robert Redford) who have just moved into a small, shabby apartment on the top floor of a building that has no elevator. The wife has a hilarious mother (played by Mildred Natwick), and they have an exotic neighbor that lives in the attic and uses their bedroom window to get to his flat. It is a great movie that will keep you laughing the entire time. However, the point of this post is not to give a movie review.

While taking my dog out this morning, I was reminded of Barefoot in the Park. There is a part in the movie where they describe all of their very odd neighbors. For example, there is one apartment that seems vacant because no one is ever seen going in or out, but there are always several empty cans of cat food that appear outside the door every day. Today I started to realize that I have some pretty odd neighbors myself. None of them have cans of cat food outside their doors, but they still are interesting.

I have one neighbor that lives across the hall from me. I met them once on the day they moved in, but I have never seen them since. I am starting to wonder if they are actually invisible. At first I just thought it was strange that I never seemed to see them. I mean, I see all of my other neighbors pretty regularly. So every now and then I will go and look out my peep hole in the door when I hear them leave their apartment. No matter how quickly I get to the door, there is never anyone in sight. I will even look out into the parking lot to see if someone is going to their car. But there never is. My invisible neighbors have an invisible car too. Or maybe Im just going crazy?

Then there's the long-boarders. It is a group of guys that live in the next building over. They each have a long board and they will just skate in circles around the buildings. I have almost clipped a couple with my car several times. Then every once in awhile they do the most entertaining thing. Two of them own big german shepherds. So they put them on their leashes and go zooming up and down the parking lot with their dogs pulling them. It's like Alaskan sled races, but the Georgia version.

There are a few other interesting people who live around here, but the strangest and my favorite is the little old man who takes walks. Sometimes he is with his tiny dog, but he is always wearing extremely short shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves and sides cut out. He has a big pot belly, too. All he ever does is walk all around the complex. That doesn't sound so strange does it? Well it is because he is constantly having conversations with himself. At first I thought he was using one of those bluetooth phones, but then he asked himself a question and answered it too. When you put everything together, he is a very old man that wears very little clothing and talks with himself while taking walks. Definitely an interesting character.

One of the best parts about living alone is finding your Barefoot in the Park neighbors. Mine are not too extreme or crazy, but they do make living here much more fun. One of my very favorite hobbies is people watching, but not in the creepy way. You can learn so much about the people around you just by sitting on the porch with a cup of tea and watching. And in no way do I mean to insult these people for their oddities. When you see the weirdness in someone else, it makes it more fun to be weird yourself! So the next time you are bored and have nothing to do, brew yourself a cup of tea, go onto the porch, and find your Barefoot in the Park neighbors.

-Emily