oh man....

Peter escaped for the second time in two days down in Gamlitz. He called me yesterday from the post office.

'What the hell are you doing out of the house?'

'I wanted to call you.' (I had his phone capped for outgoing calls because it costs him money he doesn't have just to ring me up every forty minutes and ask when I am coming to visit, and at what time. )

'Did you TELL anyone you were going out?'

'Yeah.'

'Is someone WITH you?'

'No...'

'Get your ass back to your room, and I'll call you.'

'Ok...'

So I called this morning and landed in Admin, he didn't pick up. Was still breakfasting. Waited a half hour, tried again, just to keep him calm. No answer.

Ten minutes later, the phone rang... with traffic in the background. He snuck out to the post office again. To get there, he has to wheel down a steep street to a crosswalk at highway B67, and get across to the post office and a telephone booth. Same discussion, but this time I was really angry, whereupon he started crying and saying he didn't want to live any more. I told him to get his arse back UP there, and I would call. And to avoid the patch of grasses I found so 'pretty' yesterday. Annti told me it is pampas grass, and razor sharp. And of course, not native here. (Annti always knows such things... and thanks to her.)

Yesterday I was sure he was lying about telling anyone he was leaving the building. But let it go, for the time being. But today it pissed me off. You've never seen the two-lane B-67... well a few of you have, the road through the vinyard country... but there is so much heavy traffic through there, HUGE trucks, the largest tractors you can ever imagine... (it's a wonder they don't have THEM as NASCAR races here...). And he rolling around unattended. Yeah, I am pissed off.

But he's sneaky. So I called Admin, steamed. 'Did you KNOW that Herr P. left the building unattended and is down at the POST OFFICE???'

'Yes, Mayor Wratschko just called us, and we sent a nurse down to get him.'

(More on him in a second...)

'Did you KNOW that he left to go there yesterday without saying anything?'

'Yes. But we found out too late.'

(Clenching teeth...) 'Listen, he is very depressed and says he doesn't want to live any more. Don't let him out of the HOUSE unattended!'

'He just wanted to talk to you.'

Oh, good try!

'I called twice already this morning and he wasn't in his room and slinking about.'

There is NO way I am gonna get blamed for him being out of sorts, and he has this fixed idea of running away. Oh man!... That takes the cake. It wasn't from Admin, just a nurse.

Finally got him in his room, and he was happy as a clam, tee-vee running.

'What the HELL did you think you were doing? You can't just go out unattended, and rattle around the place.'

'The air was good, and I wanted to call you.'

'I CALLED you twice this morning, but you weren't in your room! The mayor found you and sounded the alarm.'

'The mayor should mind his own business, I was just calling.'

'Yes, and if I know you... hardly dressed.'

'I had my tee shirt and shorts on...'

'Shorts... in the middle of November. Good going, Bear... You KNOW that would draw attention.'

'So what's it to him?'

'STAY HOME.... OR ASK SOMEONE TO TAKE YOU THERE, BUT YOU DON'T GO ALONE, KRUZIFIX NOCHMAL.'

Hmmm... Just another Sunday.

I'll say one thing for Mayor Wratschko (The W is pronounced as a V, btw) he's GOOD. He really has his realm tight in his reigns. His 'realm' isn't all that large. The main drag is about three and a half blocks long. He owns a restaurant/inn and a mess of other things there. And there is a bit of spread up into the hills around the core of the village.

But he is present. Over the course of the year since March, his little Smart is all over the place, and he visits the nursing home seemingly regularly. And I am STILL impressed that when I complained about no handicapped accesses to most of the shops, he began very quickly to remedy it... like within weeks. He's always around like a cop walking a beat, but he is busy listening to people, their gripes, their interests, and he gets things done.

As far as I know, he isn't of the party I would ever vote for, so I see him as an anamoly. But from my former work, am fairly quick at sizing up a person. And I've seen pols who make me want to barf. The mayor seems very genuine. I've encountered him shortly twice, on a personal level, and you can't fake it... he's really into taking care of 'HIS' people. And seems to represent their interests. I would say his heart is in the right place, which is a superficial analysis.

Just the fact that he sensed something wrong and called the home.... well, his antennae are working....

Well--if I were a resident there, and elections were coming up... I'd probably vote for him. He seems to get good things done.

And Peter is going to drive me to distraction one of these days. Oh yeah... he already has on so many levels. But you never know when it can escalate...

Just another Sunday... Found nothing 'amusing'.