The PoPo

About 9 this morning I'm drifting in and out of awake-ness when I here a pounding on the door. Michelle has insomnia and doesn't fall asleep till 3 or 4 a.m.. And I'm still on Arizona time so I'm not falling asleep till 3 as well. So this urgent pounding is an alarming way to wake up. Not at all like Dolittle's purring.

I hear Michelle race down the stairs, open the door and talk to someone. I hear her explaining that her husbands away and that she has a friend staying with her. I'm thinking that she is giving way too much information to whoever she is talking to!

So I decide to go downstairs to see what's going on and am met halfway down the stairs by a Belgium police officer!  He goes back downstairs without going any farther upstairs.

They got a report from the embassy that Michelle has moved and isn't supposed to be living here.

In Belgium, you have to report to your commune (neighborhood) when you move in and when you move out. This "commune" files the information with the police department.

Well, these two police officers took this report very seriously. They wanted to see all of Michelle's identifications. (They didn't ask for mine and declined interest when I offered to get my passport)

It was so strange! This report that they would not tell her who filed it and this whole idea of commune law.

The one police officer who spoke English made what seemed a rather judgey comparison about how Americans don't know their neighbors.

Being diplomatic, I refrained from telling him that their "commune " law doesn't seem to be about concern for your neighbors as much as it is about control of its citizens.

I'm not sure what's going to happen next. Think I'll keep my bag packed for an impromptu eviction. But then they didn't care about my identifications, so maybe I'll get to stay and have Michelle as my guest?

On a happy note. Dolittle wasn't adversely affected by the whole incident.