Heard In Passing

So I'm sitting at a red light at Pleasant Valley and York Road in Parma when suddenly I hear:

"KIRK!"

Now, where did that come from? I quickly looked around. Cars were turning from York onto Pleasant Valley as I sat waiting for the light to change, so it probably came from a passing vehicle. But who was in that vehicle? Obviously someone who recognized me. But, again, who?

It was a male voice. I think. It was boyishly male, and there are girls who sound like boys, so it could have been female. I'm just not sure.

Someone I knew from high school? That was almost thirty years ago. Voices would have deepened in that time. I can't imagine anyone still sounding boyish. Well, I did know a few squeaky-voiced boys back then. In middle-age they may sound like...boys without squeaky voices. And, a girl's voice can deepen as well. Just enough so she sounds like a boy.

Someone I used to work with? A strong possibility. But I never worked in Parma. Not that that really matters. It's the West Side, and one nice thing about Greater Cleveland, it's an easy area to get around. You can go from Strongsville to North Royalton to Parma in a matter of minutes if the traffic's not too bad. Quite a few people at my last job commuted from Parma. And, of course, if I'm in that part of town, why can't they be also?

My brother, maybe? His voice is booth announcer deep. He hasn't sounded boyish in decades. And, besides, he lives in Lakewood. It's a little harder for him to get to Parma.

My sisters both sound like girls. So it's not them. Especially not the one in California.

Some other relative? I don't keep in touch as well as I should. I doubt if they would even recognise me.

I've been to a couple of job interviews lately. Somebody I met on one of those? It's kind of an odd way for a human resource manager to get in contact with you, yelling from a passing car. I gave them my phone number!

The more I think of it, the more certain, the more positive, I am that, maybe, possibly, conceivably, it was female. But who? Some girl secretly in love with me? And she's following (or stalking) me.

I hope she's good looking. And not allergic to cats.

Maybe it was some detective on my tail. I don't know why a detective would be on my tail. He sure blew his cover by yelling out my name.

I sometimes get political on this blog. Could it be a government agent, thinking I'm some sort of subversive? Yes, there's a liberal Democrat in the White House, but we all know a shadow government composed of leading members of the military-industrial complex actually runs this country.

If the military-industrial complex really wants to shut me up, they could always offer me a job. I wonder if they got dental?

Maybe it was Destiny calling out to me. When Destiny calls, you should follow.

But how the hell was I supposed to follow Destiny sitting at a red light on Pleasant Valley and there's all these cars turning onto it from York? If I had tried to make a U-turn, I would have caused an accident!

Maybe it was God.

Or the Devil!

Oh, the mysteries of life! Of fate! Why must I be kept in such suspense? Why must my emotions be toyed with? Why must my hopes be unnecessarily raised? Why must my fears be unreasonably stoked? Must I be taunted this way?

WHO WAS IT?

I may never know.

Oh, well. I didn't feel much like talking to him or her anyway.