Mr. X, party guy...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Izzy Sommers, MD, retired

7-140 Elmview Street

Welland, ON L3C4K7

canadizzy@yahoo.ca

May 7, 2008

The Editor, The Welland Tribune

East Main and Riverside

Welland, ON L3B1Z1

tribune@wellandtribune.ca

Dear folks,

Two days ago, I arrived home about 9 pm and found my apartment house surrounded by police and EMT vehicles. It turns out my next door neighbour had died and lay dead for some 10-14 days before being found that evening. My other neighbours and I had discussed the slightly weird smell of fish for two days and the fact that a notice about new smoking rules was still under his door. Apparently, a relative had been called who entered the apartment and discovered the truth about my neighbour. I’ll call him Mr. X.

Mr. X. was not nice to me. When I first moved in about 5 years ago, he threatened me with a broom because I was feeding the birds in the winter. He claimed the birds brought their excrement and that brought vermin, an explanation he proffered at the top of his lungs while brandishing a whisk broom. His companion at the time was another one of my immediate neighbours and she screamed that I should go back to the swamp from which I’d come. Mr. X. was arrested the next night for fighting with yet another neighbour upstairs from me. About a week later, both the woman and Mr. X knocked on my door separately asking to borrow $5; I refused saying, truthfully, that I was always short myself.

Over the past 5 years, Mr. X and I have had a cool relationship, both of us mumbling hello if we passed in the hall and both of us offering no more that a comment about the weather. A parade of neighbours was always going in and out of his apartment. Moreover, there was a frequent party of which I could here the noise at all hours through my living room wall which was his living room wall.

For the past 2 weeks, looking back, it had been relatively quiet and in my mind I thought he was on vacation or visiting his many relatives who didn’t seem to come around much, as opposed to his neighbours who came around frequently. The story of his being undiscovered for possibly 2 weeks didn’t make sense until one of my other friendly neighbours told me she heard that he had had a “falling out” with his best buddy, and his neighbour friends, upstairs, and that the bad feelings from the disagreement had spread to others.

I was left to guess that Mr. X. had had a massive heart attack or stroke and had died quietly. No one reported hearing anything like a scream or a cry for help. In a sense, I’ll miss him. Despite our difficulties I admired his apparent charisma which seemed to attract many folks from upstairs and downstairs. It seemed to me that he had somehow converted the loneliness of living alone in a prison-like apartment to the friendliness of a summer resort. Perhaps when the new neighbour moves in, I should threaten him or her with a whisk broom and start the relationship off with a bang and then convert it to a whimper and a friendly association, like Mr. X seemed to operate.

Thanks for listening,

I remain

Sincerely yours,

Izzy Sommers, MD, retired.