Mornings with Al

As some of the regular contributors to this blog may know, my commute consists of walking seven blocks to and from my office. With increasing regularity, a neighborhood homeless guy, Al, finds shelter at night by lying directly across the front door of my building. As I must be the first guy to leave by that door (sometimes before 5:30am), the responsibility of Al's wake-up falls to me.

Now I could exit the building another way, but that would mean walking downstairs, crossing the garage, activating the door, and walking up the ramp, --a hassle. What usually happens is that I tap rather softly on the glass near his head while simultaneously pushing gently on the door. This used to get him to scramble to his feet and thank me for allowing him access to the building. After several unsuccessful tries at this, he then took to rolling over just enough for me to squeeze out the door and step over him. This is harder than it sounds when carrying a tennis racquet and a backpack.

Now that the weather has turned much cooler, waking him up becomes harder. He has increased the number of blankets that surround him to the point where he resembles a giant, rather fragrant cocoon with feet.

Other tenants have taken to leaving the building by the garage method, but I hope Al appreciates the friendly voice and the gentle nudge that greets his day.