Surf City Heat Wave

A different kind of a wave greeted Huntington Beach this week. Her name was Linda and entered without a green card from Mexico. The mountains of fluffy pillows in the sky told me it was a Monsoon with its stuffy humid winds. It blanketed Surf City until Sunday, the 14th of September -- and even though Linda left with us barely alive, heat still grips  Surf City.
   While during the heat wave, the manager of my apartment told me to use graphite on my lock. Thanks to my daughter and almost a trip to Kaiser, she relented and placed a new lock set on my door. Now I don't have to use graphite on my $1600 apartment. 
   Wal Mart,  and  sold out of hundreds of fans and Air conditioners. 
   I found myself at Wal Mart on Tuesday. I needed two cashier's checks, one for Verizon and the other Edison, since no longer do I trust our banks or our president  A lady in line seemed upset because the huge outfit ran out of fans and AC's. Of course I jumped in with my story about the my AC disaster at the Five Points Senior Center..
  Only in American will a landlord disconnect our air conditioner in the library. It had been turned off for a long time so almost all of the patrons no longer ventured into the now, 90 degree room. What a shame for people who were brought up on apple pie,  Ed Sullivan, and a visit to their local library.
   Why back in the day, Mom drove me every week to check out books. San Diego built a ten story one to get the homeless off the street and also to compete with Disneyland for guided tours. And of course all libraries have an   AC.
    The Five Points Senior Apartments showered me with the many extras the complex had to lure me in. I saw a AC inside the third floor library and assumed it worked, and why not?  I complained with a note to an-always-smiling and radiant manager Helen. She came to my door with an explanation. 
   "Mr. Garrett, the manager told me that that "too many residents had forgotten to turn-off the air-conditioning when not in use. You still have your air-conditioned apartments."  Today she warned me to eat my food in my apartment only. Was this Poland in World War two?
    Now even an old man of 76 can smell a lie. It was turned off to save money. The owners wished to not only save money, but hoped some tenants would move out so as they could increase the rents.
    The book of Exodus states that stealing is not only a crime, but is punishable by death. Not only that, but it stresses that our fathers should be respected and loved. What say you owner Mark?  
 Even the lock to my apartment got stuck, and I had trouble entering the apartment  a few days ago. The maintenance man, an old fart named Jerry,  told me to play with the lock and that the owners would soon change them. Its all about the bottom line, and as Joel Grey sang in a musical Cabaret, "Money makes the world go round."

On a brighter note, the Jewish New Year went off without a hitch. Luckily, the many drivers became Monday Jews and took the day off. The roads returning from San Diego at rush hour were no problem, but from the 55 Freeway on, it was stop-and-go..
   I turned on Beach and drove towards my apartment. The door opened without a hitch. of course I had unlocked it -- just in case.
  Just in case you are still wondering, Helen rules the roost. Why just the other day she warned me to only eat in my room, and not anywhere inside or around her apartments. Now all I wished for was a new postal box key and to find out if her rooms, like across the streets were treated for mold.
  All of a sudden, she screamed not to eat inside the building and a new key set would be only thirty five dollars since she lost her awhile back. I wondered if she had suffered with early dementia.