Strangers in the night

Over the last few weeks we've noticed a lot of alien folk walking up and down in front of the place. Oh, I know they are just out for a walk in the manner in which people, myself included, are inclined to do. But, they appear to be strangers, and this evokes in me an impulse to think "We don't cotton much to strangers in these here, parts, stranger, so climb on yer horse and git!"

Well, no, I'm not quite that xenophobic, but it does evoke a basic human impulse to be wary about someone or something that hasn't been part of the scene for a long time. You see, when you live in a place for eight years you get used to the passing parade. A parade of normal people, and even a few weirdos. But, they are 'our' weirdos. There is a little old lady who goes through the trash container at the park across the street, every morning, come rain, come shine, come sleet or snow. But, she is a resident weirdo, so she is acceptable. In that she's not unlike the trio pictured at right -- weird but kind of lovable.

But recently the scene has changed. There is a real estate boom and houses are being sold, flipped and bought at a rapid pace. The house next door was on the market for a scant week before it sported a 'sold' sticker on the For Sale sign. More strangers. Housing here, while rising rapidly in cost (which is a good thing if you own one, which I do), but it is cheaper than the big city by far. And, the climate here is benevolent, so rich folk from the frigid Canadian hinterland (namely Alberta) are moving here in droves, bringing their foreign ways with them. Not sure what foreign ways Albertans have, but we can be sure they are, well, foreign. So, you see, that is why we get erstwhile non-residents having taken up residence and finding their way about 'our' neighborhood.

Xenophobia is defined by the dictionary as being a "morbid dislike of foreigners." Well, I can't then go so far as to say I am truly xenophobic, just wary enough to look out the front window and to see a couple walking by -- a couple whom residents of their former community regarded as a benevolent middle-aged couple, you know, pillars of their former community and church, and not given to child molestation, Klan membership, or homicidal instincts -- and to mutter to myself, "Who the hell are those people, and what are they doing walking down the street in front of the house? Why are they looking at our house? Are they crack-heads sizing up the places they plan to break into?" Like I say, 'wary'.

Such distaste alien elements in a community isn't even just a human trait, it's a basic animal instinct. Introduce a new hen to an established flock, and at the first the members of the flock will shy away. They will then cautiously approach the new hen, and finally they will beat the crap out of it, just to see what it's all about. Dogs are like that with strange dogs, and cats are even more ferocious with an introduced feline. At the human level, what kid at school is the most likely to get beat up? Why, the new kid, of course. Many of you will have seen the classic James Dean flick Rebel Without a Cause. Jim Stark (Dean) is the new kid. What happens on his first day at his school. Why, he is challenged by the school's resident hood to a switchblade fight. Later that evening he goes on a "chickie run", wherein the hood drives over the cliff and is killed. More mayhem ensues, and despite the fact he gets to make it with Natalie Wood later, it's still a pretty event filled first day, all based on the fact he is the new kid.

So, I won't challenge any of the new people in the neighborhood to a switchblade fight, but I will tread warily with them, and should they ever invite us to a barbecue, my only hope is they won't be serving those fricaseed prairie-dogs what I'm told Albertans crave.