Jacquelyn Burns
Dr. Armstrong
Humanities 2
26 March 26, 2015
The Disappearance of the Fog A short old man went to lunch at his usual time on a very usual day but never returned to his apartment. Pete the geek, stubborn and fickle his favorite meal was a sandwich with extra pickle. No one in Pete's whole apartment building remembers Pete's family or if he even has a family. The rumors is he was a retired doctor from Boston who spent most of his fifty five year career analyzing government defense projects. Pete's story is hardly told due to the circumstances of his untimely disappearance. Some say his disappearance was no accident, one neighbor believes the government had something to do with his disappearance. While others say it was a group disgruntled cooperate executives looking to get even after one of their potential projects got axed. Although his friends knew him as Pete the Geek his business associates knew him as Hammerhead. He had a gift for cutting company fat. Pete never missed a day of work and always did everything by the book. This reputation may have haunted Pete until the last day anyone ever saw him again. The other tenants in the apartment building adored Pete because he was always fixing something because something was always going on the fritz. One summer the elevator went out on the hottest day of the year and ole' Pete got his tools and went to work. Two house later the elevator was back running and never broke down again. His neighbors became his biggest fans and from that day forward they all brought Pete food and gifts. Especially Ms. Willis who that day did some shopping for a local church event. When she found out Pete was the reason she didn't have to climb nine floors to her apartment she began to cook him two meals a day breakfast and dinner. Often sending one of her six grandchildren to give Pete a plate. Ms. Willis said, "A man like that is a blessing to all." Not because he did a good thing but why he did it. Besides this circumstance no one really talked to Pete for an extended period of time just the occasional bother for a tool. Neighbors would often try to peep inside his apartment when the door wad ajar just to try and get a glimpse into his world. Pete for the most part lived in his own world especially since he retired and only occasionally spoke with unfamiliar people. Although he didn't speak for any long period of time rumors did arise about his history, where he came from and why he was so quite. Mr. and Mrs. Burcken have known Pete for over thirty years about the same amount of time his was a resident in the apartment building. They say he used to work on top secret defense projects analyzing "efficiency and reason." The Burcken's say that was Pete's view of the world efficiency and reason. The original apartment application states his occupation was a technical contractor. So besides being a little strange Pete was a pretty normal guy living a quiet life. Two days before Pete's disappearance his next door neighbor, a young lady named Lisa, over heard him arguing for the first time in her four years in the apartment building. She could not tell whether or not he was on the phone but the conversation was intense. Lisa never thought twice a about the usual phone call since Pete did not get many phones calls. Two days later on a foggy Tuesday spring morning Pete left his apartment headed for his favorite Chinese restaurant at approximately eleven fifteen. Lisa watched Pete through her kitchen window as she sipped her favorite tea. Lisa waited for hours glancing out of the window from time to time anticipating his return. Since Lisa moved away from home she became attached to the old man although the two hardly spoke for more than ten minutes at a time. Their entire relationship was hinged on these ten minute interactions, randomly occurring in one of the building common areas. As she waited as the hours gingerly rolled by, it wasn't until the onset of three afternoon that Lisa
