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I had been given several addresses within a single deep inside a disadvantaged urban area. The notes from the previous interviewers all indicated that the doorman was refusing them entry, and with frustration and fear from the nature of the slum in which this building was in. I drove there in the late morning of a bright sunny day to get a look at the situation.

Of course, despite the heat and early day there were many people idling about doing what people do in poor areas. I parked my car and approached the building which had a wrought iron fence surrounding a small yard paved in concrete and asphalt. There was only one entry was through a gate and up some stairs. Then I noticed that there was an old woman—who appeared to be at least 80 was pulling weeds inside this enclosed yard. She was, strangely enough, of my race, as opposed to all of the other individuals I saw in that neighborhood. She noticed me and asked what I was doing there in heavily accented English. So I told her.

She nodded, opened the gate and said 'Follow me.” She charged up the stairs and went into the building with me following. Inside I saw the manned security desk that had stopped the other interviewers and at least 6 people loitering in the lobby waiting for something or other. My new guide charged through this security point without stopping and I simply followed.

The hallways were kind of dark and cool, with a faint odor of marijuana and a symphony of television and radio sound snippets. We went up a flight of worn stairs and down stinky hallways to the door I needed to visit. I knocked on the door while she waited patiently, but no one answered. She muttered something and reached for a big ring of keys. “Do you want me to see if he's there?” She asked. I refused and told her that I had it under control and could do the rest of my visits without her help.

I ended up working several apartments in that building and returned multiple times, including some evening visits. I never saw that woman again but from then on when I walked in the lobby I was immediately granted access.

(Title is from an unpublished poem and has no  actual reference to a specific location)