Cruella DeVille

I'm beginning to suspect that the man who pressure washes the sidewalks in front of my building isnÂ’t actually employed by anyone; he just enjoys pressure washing. I just find it hard to believe that they would order the sidewalks to be washed every day. Do sidewalks really get that dirty, and more importantly, does anyone really care? I know full grown people, albeit stinky ones, that take less baths than the sidewalks in front of my building. And given my building's inability to keep an elevator functional or match the carpet and tile, I just don't buy it that they care that much about the sidewalks.

I know that after X weeks with no post, a post about sidewalks seems random, but I decided to lead with this story and follow it up with my feel good story about a fireman and a lawnmower.

There is a fire station about five blocks from my house. It sits on a corner lot with a big lawn, some trees and a flower bed. The firemen (I haven't seen any women) do all of the lawn maintenance themselves. I find it both adorable and kind of hot to see them out there in their matching shirts and slacks pulling weeds, watering flowers and mowing the lawn. Normally, it is a group project, with four or five guys out doing yardwork. Yesterday, though, it was just one very young looking fireman pushing the lawnmower at like 8AM (poor firehouse neighbors). I was watching him criss-cross the lawn and then, all of a sudden, he bolted off toward the firehouse, leaving the lawnmower running. Three minutes later, I heard the sirens and had to pull over to let the fire engine pass. I knew I could have a free lawnmower if I turned around right then.

Speaking of firehouses, we were discussing strange city/state laws that are still on the books, and apparently, Dalmatians do not have to be on a leash in San Francisco as a token of the city's appreciation of their service during the fire of 1906. That is why I chose the title Cruella DeVille for the rant, since I was going to be talking about Dalmatians. Plus, I wanted to take the time to mind or remind everyone that I almost ran over her and her daughter...in cold blood.

Since we are talking about fire stations, Dalmatians, and movie stars, I'm going to paste in a relevant passage from the movie State and Main.

Joseph Turner White: Ever wonder why the Dalmatian's the symbol of the firehouse?
Ann Black: First organized fire department was on the border of Dalmatia and Sardinia in the year 642.
Joseph Turner White: That's why the Dalmatian?
Ann Black: It was either that, or a sardine.