International intrigue...

...right here in River City!

Ok, so all the excitement was probably just for a parking ticket. But, ya never know...

A couple of Peoria's finest came knocking at my door last night. Well...they buzzed first...we have a 'secure' building. Believe it or not, that's a pretty rare occurence in this particular area. In fact, in the three years we've lived here, I've seen the police here exactly three times. Once because our 97 year old neighbor accidently set her Lifeline thingy off. Once because I called 'em to report someone stealing...uh...'borrowing'...our Netflix version of Midnight Cowboy. And last night.

So it was unusual, to say the least. What made it even more unusual, was the fact that it was at midnight.

Oh, they weren't here for me or Ziggy. Thankfully. They were looking for someone who lives upstairs.

Now, I won't bore you by telling you how much we like where we live again...I've mentioned it several times before. We do. The small complex has an extremely diverse group of people that live here. I like that. But our building, in particular, consisted of mostly elderly women...until about a year or so ago.

In the last year or so, I've noticed that this particular complex has become home to many of those from middle-eastern countries. It's not the least bit unusual to see women in birkas watching their little tykes on Big Wheels or tricycles in the parking lot. Or women in brilliant saris going to and fro. They all seem to be friendly, though quiet.

But they sure seem to have a lot of...visitors. Rich visitors, evidently. When we first moved here, there was more than enough parking. Now it's not unusual to leave and return, only to find your parking spot occupied by a BMW or a Jag. Frankly, they stick out like a sore thumb amongst the Fords, Chevys and Buicks that are de rigeur for this area.

Other than the parking situation, there's rarely much to complain about. Well, except that one day. I saw a bright yellow sari flopping around from the patio directly above ours...like someone was shaking it. I walked out onto our patio, only to find little black hairs scattered ALL OVER our patio. Ewwwww! In our tomato plants...all over the floor...on our grilling table and grill. ACK!

Mrs. Middle-east evidently gave Mr. Middle-east a haircut.

Aaaanywho, back to last night. The nice, young policemen said they were looking for someone upstairs, not mentioning any names. I said that I didn't know any of the people that lived up there now, except for one elderly lady...the rest were fairly new and I couldn't pronounce any of their names, anyway.

They started up the stairs, one drawing his nightstick and one drawing his gun. Ooooo.. So, I hear the nightstick go bangbangbanging on the door a couple times. Nothing. They banged some more. Nothing. The cops come walking back down the stairs. Just at that moment, I hear a key in the foyer door, and this guy walks in, starts up the stairs and comes face to face with the cops. He looks startled, but doesn't try to run or anything.

They ask him his name, he replies something unpronouncable and one of the cops says, "Ok. You're the one we're looking for"....and immediately grabs the guy and puts handcuffs on him, ushering him, post haste, out the door.

Now, I've seen this particular guy before. But I don't think he lives here. Oh, he might be living with someone upstairs, but I don't think he's...well...'legal', if ya know what I mean. I don't think he's a 'legitimate' renter. I've noticed him, in particular, because he just acts...well...shifty. Of course, it might just be because he's a foreigner in a foreign land, so to speak. And he's...well...to paraphrase one of my favorite movies, "He's the funny-lookin one, yah." He's light-complected...almost pasty looking, really...with a full beard and kind of unruly, snarly-lookin hair. For some reason, he sort of reminds me of an Hassidic Jew...without the curly sideburn thingies.

I know that Caterpillar brings others to this country for employment...when he first moved in, the guy above us (the haircut guy) told us that he'd just come here from India to work for Cat. And I know that Bradley attracts a diverse crowd, teachers as well as students.

But I can't help but wonder...why now? I mean, it seems like there's an inordinate number of middle-easterners moving in...just in the last year. What's the attraction here...this particular complex...all of a sudden? Maybe it's just coincidence. Maybe it's the fact that like seeks out like...they know that they'll find some commonality here. I mean, if I were to move to another country, I'd probably seek out other Americans to live amongst, as well. Is it a 'comfort' thing?

I dunno. Like I said, I do like the diversity...I like having other cultures around and wish I could communicate with them better so I could learn a little more about 'em. Most of the women speak very little English, if any. And I try really hard to be open-minded and non-judgmental...not to have any pre-conceived ideas about who these people are and why they're here.

But frankly, when the cops drag off a middle-eastern guy in handcuffs in the middle of the night...hell, I can't help but wonder.