Wishing Upon A Star

July 15 -- Man on the Balcony

I think the headache is coming on due to lack of sleep. I had all sorts of nightmares last night, and ultimately got out of bed at about 5 a.m. There was no point in staying there any longer, especially because I knew I’d be getting up in an hour anyways.

I couldn’t even drink coffee this morning; it upset my system too much.

Bad day all around.

I think the man on the balcony incident has ruined my sleep for the rest of my life.

Back on Memorial Day weekend I was awakened at three a.m. by a noise…a crash…on the balcony off my bedroom. I think I had originally heard metal clunking, which must have been the ladder of the fire escape. Suddenly more sounds of crashing and I lept out of bed to find a man standing on the other side of the screen.

I started screaming like a lunatic and he said something about going to see his mother and took off back down. I called the cops, but they barely even drove by. I live on the third floor and have a balcony that goes the length of the bedroom. I thought I had all access pretty well blocked, but he just knocked over seven planters and two small tables to climb over the side. I've always slept with that door open during the nice weather, as there is no other ventilation in the room, so to close it up means that the air conditioning has to be on.

I've now placed a huge flower box filled with geraniums at the top of the fire escape, so no one will be able to get over the top now. It adds a good eight inches that have to be climbed over without benefit of ladder. I'm thinking of winding barbed wire around the bottom of the balcony. I’ve talked to the property manager about securing the ladder so it's not on the ground all the time, but still no progress there. My neighbors and I tried to get it back in place but couldn't manage it.

Of course, if there's ever a fire, I'm doomed!

I've never felt unsafe here before, even when I had a wacko with the loud music and the alcohol living in the apartment below me. This really has unnerved me and I had thought it would have passed by now.

I'm still pissed off that the cops didn't even bother to get in touch with me or drive around to the back of the building where the fire escape is located. My screaming did wake all of the neighbors, and they all came to check on me the next afternoon. Of course I could have been dead and rotting by then, too.

Well a heat wave is predicted so I’ll be closing and locking the place up in order to survive. At least I’ll get some sleep.
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