No Nosey Noses 8/23/10

The house is airless, hot from lack of ventilation. Mom keeps the blinds drawn and the windows closed except for one window in the kitchen which stays slightly open, "I need air!" she cries out as she takes a deep breath and inhales the fumes from the street and her cigarette. Despite the gate I recently installed for security, and the two foot tall gladiolas I've planted in a window box in front of the livingroom window for privacy, Mom is still ill at ease, "I don't need these people sticking their noses in my business!" "What business goes on in the living room?" I ask. "No one uses it but me and the only thing I'm doing is reading." "People can see in when they walk by," Mom insists. I had to verify it, took myself outside to peep in, and behind those tall gladiolas and tightly drawn blinds, absolutely nothing could be seen, not even the people in the apartment gasping for air!