and the con-men...

Yesterday a dumpy white dude in jeans knocked on the door.

"Hi! Are you the owner of the house?" He was holding a can of Glade.

"Nope, I'm just house sitting."

"Oh, cuz if you were the owner of the house I could shampoo your carpets!"

I looked at him with puzzlement, wondering how he'd do that exactly with a can of Glade, but I just smiled and shook my head.

"Ok, thanks! Have a good day!"

Later at dusk a young good-looking Zuni knocked on the door. He had tattoos and a CD in his hand. He spoke nervously.

"Hi, I was...I'm wondering if you would like to...I'm selling my paintings."

"You know, I'm house sitting for this family and I don't have any cash."

"Oh. Ok. Can I have a drink of water?"

I wasn't going to deny him a drink of water and, while I was aware of the disparity in that the white family I'm sitting for has thousands of dollars worth of electronics and hundreds of dollars worth of liquor while the local youth go door to door for a little cash, I still wasn't going to let him in the house.

I made an excuse as I shut the screen door behind me. "There's a dog."

I came back out with a glass of water which he finished quickly.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Thanks. You too." He didn't hear what I said and was already walking away.