Dear Roger: The Strange Parade

Soo...Batman went strolling by my front porch yesterday. It was late afternoon, he was wearing his full cape and mask and utility belt, but it looked like he had gone to seed a bit because he had a rather sizable pot gut. I dont know who he was after and I didn't ask.I just watched him walk on up the sidewalk, headed towards the center of town.

Its a constant parade of strangeness around here. A few days ago it was a short but cute guy in a ball cap and dark glasses with cowboy boots that went wandering by. He caught my attention because you rarely see anyone other than myself or Werewolf boy wearing cowboy boots around here. It mostly chucks or skater shoes. I was intrigued, so I watched him for a bit as he stood at the crosswalk and then meandered on his merry way. We have our usual guy who looks like Santa Clause on the horse,(heroin for those who dont know the parlance), he does his jittery, nervous, animated shuffle up the sidewalk, dressed for winter every day, headed to the church that hands out the free meals and showers in the mornings, and then back the opposite direction in the afternoon.

The really unusual ones make me wish I still had my Pentax camera with the telephoto lenses. The day the large, large, girl in the skin tight spandex dress with the Domme straps and boots with the wolf tail with the mohawk walked up the sidewalk leading the tall skinny boy in the shorts with the monkey head hat on...I would have like to have captured a picture of that. I dont know if they were headed to a munch or what, but props to them for being very OUT. The lady who rides the beach cruiser bicycle with the basket on it that carries the two small dogs wearing dresses while she herself wears a long flowing gown, also gets my attention because I have to wonder how the hell she rides a bike in that dress?

Its never dull on the sidewalk in front of my house. Most of the time its wandering street bums and people on their way home from work or school or the occasional lost tourist, but every now and then it looks like a scene from Portlandia.

Im sure my family just ads to the entertainment. Yesterday daughter was out front attempting to turn cartwheels and then performing her version of Tai chi, until one of her brothers came out in his boxers and started harassing her and they ended up in a brawl on the front lawn. I quickly broke it up and ushered them into the house, but that wasn't an unusual occurrence. My eldest son sits out on the porch and plays his guitar for hours on end, and the other kids either blow bubbles or perform skits that daughter has written.

I am hoping what was going on last night was a skit. She came walking through the living room leading Sticky on a leash telling him he had been a,'Bad Boy" and calling him,"Mr Snuffles". I just went back to writing and let it go because some days you just cant fight the weird.