Hello, Mr. Dealer

We figured out that the man & I are definitely the only white couple in the neighborhood. Which is fine by us, but so far about 1/2 the people don't know how to react to us... they just blankly stare when we say hello while we're walking Duke, or they ignore us and act like we're invisible. The other half are very nice and always say hello and how are you and stuff like that. You know, normal neighborly pleasantries. Our immediate neighbors are really nice. Bobby and Bernice to our right are cool. They take care of their grandkids during the day and sometimes they come over when I'm outside to play with Duke. Cute kids. Bobby is a singer and he works at the Hard Rock Cafe with his band. He wears this purple 70s getup, it's awesome. The guy across the street is really nice, too. He always says hi and makes small talk. The thing is... I'm convinced he's a drug dealer. Big time dealer, too. He's outside every night on the phone for hours. Hours, dudes, hours. He assumes one of two posts - the lawn chair at the end of the driveway or pacing at the edge of the yard. He calls me "Miss" sometimes, even though we're about the same age, I'd say. Cars come by and stay for a few minutes, then drive away. Telltale dealer activities. He's really sweet, though. Loves Duke. Duke barks at him like crazy. He's turned into this fierce "guard dog". Little does anyone know that if they would actually come into the yard as he's barking his head off at them, they'd just get a good slobbering. It's a good front, though.

Man, this neighborhood needs a Starbucks. This neighborhood needs a lot of things. We're basically in Little Haiti, so we have a lot of roti shops and convenience stores that don't seem to be all that convenient if you're not Haitian. And here's the worst part... no Chipotle ANYWHERE in the greater Miami area. Gainesville has one. GAINESVILLE. Jesus. I emailed Chipotle yesterday to tell them that they're responsible for my withdrawal symptoms and that I cannot be held accountable for my own actions if they don't build a Chipotle in my back yard very soon. Lucky for everyone involved on the website's list of locations it now says "Miami (coming soon)". Whew! I wonder how soon "soon" actually is.