Across the 'cement' pond

Some folks may recall the swimming pool in the Beverly Hillbillies television show from the 60's was called the 'cement pond'.  My place is two sets of haphazardly constructed duplexes with my front door the only 'real' door to the street.  Everyone else has to go through one of the two chain link gates to get into their homes.  The lifeguard who lives other side of my place in a studio sized place has a variety of folks who all have keys.  Enough said?  He's in his late 40's living like his 20's with a joyful smile having been a lifeguard all of his adult life. 

There is a swimming pool in the middle of the area and the other duplex has two unites each with one bedroom one bath.  They aren't apartments but more like I said duplex homes.  The folks who've rented those places have tended to be a tad off the norm. 

Two and a half months ago one couple stopped paying rent because the man had lost his job of 17 years.  To compound the issue the woman had been told she had thick cataracts and needed to be operated on before she could work anywhere.  She grew progressively worse and I would watch her stumble around their living room to the kitchen literally by touch.  Add into the mess they both drank severely and fought constantly.  Not quiet little tiffs but full out screaming matches.  Cops showed up regularly but they always seemed to sense the cops and shut up minutes before they pounded on the doors.  Two weeks or so ago they finally left after the power was shut off twice by the electric company for non-payment and the guy kept getting out his bolt cutters and removing the wire cap the utilities company had installed over the meter after they managed to turn it back on a few times.

They didn't go 'silently' into night but kicking and screaming at each other.  The man had money to drive home to Wisconsin or Michigan...somewhere cold...and he's been operating on a bum liver for over a year since he went to the ER and found out he had shut down his liver twice nearly dying.  Needless to say that didn't stop him from drinking but rather seemed to fuel his anger.  Hence his losing his job.  The woman didn't go with him.  She camped out on the bed of the other neighbor.  She's a nice lady but has her own issues (remember my missing neighbor who'd checked herself into rehab last year this time?  that one...yeah...and she's still drinking too).  You all getting the cement pond reference now right?

Just found out last night that the gal does NOT have cataracts like she'd been told.  Oh, noes...get this...(think old movies and books from the turn of century)...she's got hysterical blindness!!! Yeppers, also known as conversion disorder.  I still can't believe it.  She's been in rehab a week now.  And she just got told this diagnosis.  From what I googled I discovered it should be fully treatable.  Cement pond folks ....what can I say?