carol lewis

by nick nelson

carol lewis lived in unit 2336 of the 337 maxwell street condominium building. she did not see much of the other people in the building but when she did she always greeted them with a big smile and commented on what a nice day it was (even if it was raining but maybe not if it was snowing) and tried to engage them in conversation, usually about nothing much but sometimes about an event in the news or even about politics. some of the building inhabitants found carol’s comments and questions intrusive, and complained to the management company of the condominium building. the subject was brought up at one of the regular condominium association meetings, which, curiously enough, carol herself never attended. a few people vented. doesn’t the woman have an internet connection of some kind that she can babble away on all day long if she wants to? why does she always have to be bothering people? one person suggested that the association set aside some money to pay for a therapist or counselor who might teach carol to better respect other people’s space. but the proposal was quickly voted down. the representative of the management company pointed out that carol was not breaking any laws unless she actually laid hands on someone, or followed them into their own units, and that they were free to just ignore her and pass her by. some of the inhabitants found this hard to believe but were assured that it was indeed so. everyone was left to their own devices in dealing with carol, a conclusion that satisfied nobody except one woman who said, i think she is actually kind of nice. but this comment was not acknowledged by anyone present.