The Man in my Thoughts...

I don't know if you'd call it a coincidence or not. I don't know exactly what to call it, so I'm going with minor event. That might be too strong of a term. Anyways, here's what happened.

Just like most 'mornings', which is average societies lunch hour, I was walking Toby downtown. This day was sunnier, thought not any warmer than the previous days had been. The sunniness gave me the desire to go a little bit further than the last day. This walk took us in front of Cascone's on 5th St. A few doors down I started recalling an article a few days back in the Star about a group of people who are trying to get Funkhouser out of office, or at least have a reelection. I thought about how many signatures they needed, and how many other nearby residents are not happy with how Funkhouser is running the city. I'm still new to the area, so I haven't paid attention to what he's done in '07, so I can't say either way if he should be booted out. I just know a lot of seemingly intelligent people don't like what he's doing.

Being a cautious woman, I always observe my surroundings. Especially when a man is around. I take note of general apperances of the men. Most men around this time of day are typically middle aged and in a physical line of work. You know this by the Carhart type clothes they wear, and their general bulky physique.

So, I'm just past Cascone's by this point. Toby has taken to smell all the grass in that lies between the parking lot and the sidewalk. Approaching in the direction of us, is a typical looking man for the time and area. Slightly behind me and off to my right standing at a pickup truck parked on 5th are 3 men, with similar physiques as the last. They are obviously on a break. I can hear them joke about faking a trip to the doctors to get time off. Not an unfamiliar joke to most of us.

Then there's another man walking from the West. I only see him out of the corner of my eye at first. He's different from most men around me. This man is dressed in all black. Full length trench coat, black slacks and black gloves. He was sporting one of those fur hats, with the ear things pulled up on the side. This man in black is much taller and thinner than the other 4 men. He's got a very pale face and white hair. Toby's done by now, so I turn for a better look. I had to do a double take. It was no other than mayor Funkhouser himself. He realizes I recognize him, and gives me a nod just like I always imagined a mayor would do if I ever saw one.

I still don't know what to call the 'event'. I like the term coincidence. I was on the opposite side of the street. Maybe he always walks down there for lunch. Maybe he goes to Cascone's and gets a payoff from the mob!

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