I like this apartment complex, but in my hand I'm holding the walklist from hell:
everything, that could possibly have gone wrong with it, seems to have done so
The complex is thoughtfully laid out, and the buildings are sensibly indicated by the letters A through Y, in order. But in my haste I forget a cardinal rule of canvassing and start walking the compound without first double-checking my list
... apartment A5 ... apartment A8 ... apartment B10 ... apartment B13 ...
Somewhere around building P, I make the inevitable discovery: near page 20, the ABC building numbers start all over again, so I'm going to have to walk most of the complex a second time. I am entirely unable to discover the rule according to which the computer demons have somehow divided up the list: there's no obvious partitioning here, like even and odd apartment numbers
I sigh and spend time studying the problem. It's actually worse than I first thought. There's some sloppy data entry, too
Many of the apartments in building O have been coded with leading zeroes -- so O12 (say) appears in the list as the nonexistent apartment 012 and hence doesn't appear between the Ns and the Ps. A number of apartments in building G, I, or S have been similarly coded with leading nines, ones, or fives -- so G12, I1, or S8 (say) appear as the nonexistent apartments 912, 11, or 58
On top of that, the street address is wrong for several apartments, indicating they're across the street, where there are no apartments -- so I must also search for those apartments also on the wrong pages of the list
With constant paper-shuffling, I mostly figure this all out, though now and then I quietly enjoy some colorful conversation with myself, as I backtrack and backtrack again, to hit the apartments I've missed on the first or second pass
Unfortunately, it's also a highly transitional complex, and many of the people seem to have moved on. Sometimes, I can tell an apartment is vacant, but usually I don't know unless a neighbor volunteers the information
Today, the kids are friendly: Nobody lives there!
I take the kids seriously and respond: Oh, did they move?
No, they didn't move! They got thrown out!
Since many of my knocks go unanswered, I become pushier with folk who aren't on my list: people I pass on the street or people who moved into the apartment, after the people I'm seeking moved out
And I like this apartment complex because, despite the walklist from hell and despite the high vacancy rate, I'm really making headway: I talk to plenty of folk, and I almost always get an ear for a few minutes, some intelligent questions, a smile, and finally a thank you. A few invite me in
But you always play it as it lays
Walking between buildings as the evening grows, I ask a fellow if he knows about early voting
I already voted, he says. I point out voting hasn't started yet
I voted at the community center, he tells me
You can't vote there until November 6, I reply
Then I voted at the library, he says
Voting doesn't start there until next week, I tell him
I'm good, he says. So I abandon this pointless conversation with a cheery admonishment to have a good evening
A few minutes later, after I've knocked a few more doors, it goes better. I approach a woman in the parking lot. She gets the early voting schedule with a short discussion, then asks how much longer I'll be out. I tell her I'll knock off at dark
Well, thank you, she says. You made my day
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