Refuge

This morning, preparing to leave for work, I brought down some food for Bailey the Rabbit down the back stairs (that bunny gets more spoiled by the day) and was startled to discover there was a huge crowd of people in the alley behind my house. The crowd spilled into my driveway, and a half-dozen people stood right next to my house, chain-smoking all around my car. So, I hesitated approaching my car and stood right behind the hedge surrounding my yard - a refuge from the madding crowd - and listened to the conversation.

The folks were in the alley because of a fire alarm in the large DMV building nearby. They had filed out of the building and sought refuge in the alley right behind my house. A woman mentioned she had seen a black cat flee from under my car as she approached the driveway. So, conversation revolved around a Halloween theme: black cats and black spiders, and the like.

All of sudden, the all-clear signal was given, and the crowd evaporated as fast as it had formed.