Cute Kid

I often talk about the tenants I would like to slap around, but I think you deserve to hear about some good ones too. For example, the other day a tenant asked to have the locking door knob on his bedroom replaced as the old one didn't lock anymore. Now, it is not very cost effective to have me do much manual stuff, so normally one of the maintenance guys would just go take care of it. But the guy I had lined up ended up having a family emergency and had to leave early. I had promised the tenant that it would be taken care of on Friday, so I just went to do it myself.

When I showed up at his apartment, the tenant expressed his surprise at the fact that I was the one doing it. "I didn't know you could do fix-it stuff," he said. "Yeah, no one is supposed to know, so keep it to yourself, " I replied with a smile.

The knob was on his son's door, and his son was in his room playing video games. He is a cute kid who must be around 4 or 5, but it's hard to tell because I think he is small for his age. He knows me well because he often stops by my office to raid the candy dish I have set out. He's at that stage where his speech is sometimes hard to understand, but it sure isn't for lack of trying.

As soon as I enter his room he starts in, "I'm payin' games, Mista Boss!" I'm not sure where he gets the Mr. Boss thing, but it makes me smile.

"I see that, what are you playing?"

"It's the snow scate... the board snow, scate game. I'm gooood 'cause I pactice. Watch this move, watch me do this one, Mista Boss. Can you watch?"

I lean over so that I can see his TV while I'm unscrewing the lock. "Very nice, you are good."

"You want to try? You try this game? Can you stay in my house, Mista Boss?"

"No, if I stayed much later you might have to serve me dinner. You just keep practicing."

It never ceases to amaze me how something so small can make even a crap day smell better.