Why the case of the missing light pole

It was one of those days when the outside parking lot out of my front window caught my eye. Just wait an hour or so and you'll see someone coming or going in their car. A tenant I know below me, whom lived her longer than I, was leaving in his truck on a typical afternoon I witnessed. At the time I was sorting through things on my living room table that faced the wall window. He drove off on his errand from his usual parking spot in front of the light pole.

Then about 15 minutes later I heard a big utility truck drive up as I looked out and workmen got out and attended to an old, worn light pole. They dismantled it by first removing the wiring, the bulb and then the pole itself was toppled down. It was a fixture in the parking lot for years but was too worn and old to be useful and safe anymore. These men worked fast and were done in 20 minutes or so while my downstairs neighbor was gone.

Then, about 15 minutes later my old neighbor returned to the same parking spot as usual but with only a short stump of the pole remaining in front of it. He then proceeded to pace back and forth in wonder in front of his truck by the stump not knowing how the old light pole disappeared when he was away for a short time only. You could see he was in disbelief after years of parking in his old parking spot with the light pole there.

It isn't unusual to upgrade lighting at my apartment complex with new. But, the timing is funny how the events unfolded within minutes of each other and my neighbor missing it happening. I had to chuckle to myself one typical day was not.