Meter (wo)man

Yesterday, the ConEd woman (for me, it's always a woman) came to check the meter. It's always the first week of the month and usually around 8:15am; I haven't registered whether it's always the same day. I was barely awake. She knocked, I let her in, she flashed a light at the meter, thanked me, and left.

In Connecticut, the meter man (there, it seemed always to be a man) used to surprise me. I'd hear the car drive up and then see a man circling the house, rooting in the bushes. I don't know when I came to realize what he was doing; at first he scared me.

It's interesting that in New York, checking the meter is so personal. Maybe it's just the age of the building in which I live, but once a month, I see the ConEd woman and she sees me (usually in my pajamas due to the early hour in which she appears). I wonder what she thinks of the various people on her route—the state of their apartments, their states of (un)dress. I wonder what stories she could tell.
Posted by eku at October 3, 2007 10:02 AM