Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Knock Knock

I think I've mentioned that since my children are grown and gone, I usually don't answer the door when the bell rings, except when I'm expecting someone. Years of magazine salesmen, Jehovah's Witnesses and people asking me if I'd sell them my house have taught me it's a waste of time to jump up and open the door unless I can actually hear the Good Humor man going by.

In this day and age of cell phones I figure if you know me you'll do the courteous thing and call to see if I'm home -- most likely from the comfort of your car in my driveway. Especially if you've just been out driving around and want to raid my fridge or use the toilet.

Then I can do one of three things -- pretend I'm somewhere else, tell you to go away or, if Law and Order is over, invite you in. Once I tried to pretend I was somewhere else and the person in my driveway pointed out that they'd called my land line. I still tried to pretend I was somewhere else.

This morning the doorbell rang at 9:00 AM. Twice. Then there was the follow up knock at the door. Two more times. Like their impatience is going to make me move faster. Or move at all.

Do these people think I'm in my house just waiting for them to stop by?  For crissakes I was in the bathroom on the throne stark naked. So, I said, hmmmm, I wonder who that could be?  The Prize Patrol with a check for ten million dollars?  Probably a meter reader.

That was three hours ago. I've been working ever since and haven't even checked to see if Ed McMahon is still waiting outside.

There was a time when I would have stopped in the middle of my naked pee, jumped into the nearest pair of anything that would cover my body and run like mad to answer the door. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. And often, damp.

One time the whole doorbell ringing, knock-knock-knocking thing happened on a Saturday morning when I was still in bed. Naked.  Do you see a pattern here?  It took me a good ten to fifteen minutes to finally get myself to the door. Whoever it was wasn't going away. I peeked out through the window and saw a squad car idling out front. When I finally opened the door, the cop actually wanted to know what took me so long. Like I was flushing things down the toilet.

"I was indisposed, officer."  He looked at me funny. I guess "indisposed" isn't in the handbook. "I was still in bed and I didn't have any clothes on." I was this close to saying, "Asshole."  Sorry, I didn't know you would be pounding on my door at the crack of dawn or I would have had the coffee on, handcuff breath. Considering recent wellness check events I wonder if that little encounter didn't put a black mark on my permanent record.

Somebody had left a bike on my parkway and Officer Friendly wanted to know if it belonged to us. Sounds like an emergency to me.

No. That bike is not ours. I thought that whatever neighborhood kid owned it would realize he was walking, not riding and come back for it. But thanks for being so vigilant. This early in the morning.

Okay, it's noon. Time to get dressed.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was probably just John Edwards on his "Two America's" campaign. Don't give him money - it only encourages him.

I rarely answer the door. I have one of those huge peep-scopes on the door that they use on bank security doors. I can even see what kind of shoes you are wearing. Or how big your boobs are.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you guys
if someone knocks on our front door
dead giveaway they don't know us
we have a side door by the way
how many times
do they have to show on
"America's Most Wanted"
innocent people being murdered
just because they answered
the door to strangers?
too many :(

Anonymous said...

Tell him you were riding it naked & came in to get a lemonade! Geez! Like you have to answer your door? I didn't know that was a law! Tell him you while men have to "stop" immediately when you tell them to...women on the other hand don't always say stop for a doorbell! HA! Then you can also just happen to have something start to buzz in your terra cloth robe pocket! HA! You know when you need them you can never find them but then....Sorry just in one of my moods I guess. I do love them really...ok well most of them.

Anonymous said...

Every time I answer the door (and I mean EVERY time), it's someone who wants to share their religion with me.  I swear I have only answered the door like five times this decade, and that's what it has been, every time.

Anonymous said...

I hate answering the door, and will avoid it if at all possible.  I am not the "lady of the house";  I don't need a Bible or rug cleaner, GO AWAY.

However, Audrey is hard to catch, and quick to peek out of the blinds.  Don't even get me started on the dogs.  lol
Anna