BANGING

I awoke this morning to banging on my front door.  Half asleep, and not expecting any visitors, I just thought it had something to do with the construction on the unit next door;  Therefore, I didn't respond immediately.


I drifted back to sleep.... But, a few minutes later - there it was again.  Banging.  Louder.  This time, there was no doubt that it was my door.  Banging, like "OPEN UP ! IT'S THE POLICE !!" type banging.  So, being curious - I went downstairs and looked through the window.  Sure enough - there was a strange man banging at my front door.  When he realized that wasn't working, he tried the doorknob, then began tapping on the window, insistently.


Now, I should back up and say that I have a checkered past with my landlord, and maintenance crew.  Despite my repeated requests for them to give me advanced notice when they send strange men / subcontractors to my house - they repeatedly ignore me, and send them anyway.


I didn't make that request lightly.  15 years ago, while living here in Rockville, at Fireside Park Apartments, I had attended a pool party, where I was drugged by a maintenance man, and later raped by him.  The way it happened was - I got sick at the pool party - suddenly feeling very dizzy, and excused myself to return to my apartment to rest.  Less than a half-hour later, he knocked on my door.  Looking through my peephole, I recognized him as the maintenance man, and saw that he was holding a CD in his hand, one that I had apparently left at the party.  Thinking he was just simply returning it, I opened the door.  He handed me the CD, and then forced himself into my apartment.  You can kinda figure out the rest from there....


Though it's painful to relive this memory, and somewhat shameful to have to repeat it as justification for my request to my current landlord - as I said - they've consistently ignored me, and disregarded my fears.


They routinely send strange men to my house - un-escorted subcontractors who probably harbor no ill-will at all.  But, I'm unwilling to take that chance, anymore.  According to my lease - I'm entitled to receive - in writing - 24-hour advance notice of any workers or other people my landlord deems necessary to work in my unit.  After they do that, I'm supposed to allow them access to my unit.  And, for the most part - I've been totally compliant in that regard over the years....:


In the past, I've reluctantly allowed painters, landscapers, HVAC cleaners, electricians, plumbers, cabinet makers, exterminators, tile workers, roofers.... etc... into my home un-escorted by maintenance, and with little or no prior notice (trying to be cooperative).  One of the workers even admitted to me he was a convicted felon.  Yet, the parade of strange men continues, unabated.  It's like this isn't even MY house, and I have NO rights....


To me, this illustrates how inconsiderate, rude, disrespectful and mean my landlord and maintenance crew are - to be so insensitive as to continually traumatize me despite my repeated requests for them to STOP.  But, there's also a clause in my lease which says they can evict me if I DON'T allow their sub-contractors into "my" home, so it's a catch-22.


I guess that's why today - workers from Rockville Window and Door Co. continued to bang on my door from 9:00am to 1:00 pm - until I finally put a note up on my window telling them that if they continued to bang on my door, I was going to call the Police.  That stopped them.


Why my landlord continues to treat me with such total and utter lack of respect, I don't know.  Maybe they get some kind of cheap, sadistic thrill from it.. ??  Someone once said: 'You can only give the level of respect you have for yourself';  Maybe they have no respect for themselves... ??  Maybe they've never been raped.  I hate to wish ill-will on someone else, but.......