Openthedoor-man

Doorman Poetry Slam

I am a Doorman.

My appearance is key for all to see, greeting everyone who enters or exits my building with a sense of style and a joyous jolt of hospitality, because I am a doorman.

As I stand at my post, there’s a feeling of respectability, for anyone that visits, or does work in an apartment, whatever the case may be, you see...

Once they enter they have to stop at my desk, firstly see and speak to me.

As another October rolls in, there is one day that truly breaks the monotony of working the door: Halloween.

For some doormen, the change of scenery is a welcome challenge, from dealing with the many costumed children that may come and visit, to sorting out the residents from the guests.

Two kinds of individuals live in the co-op building where I work: The kind who own and the kind who rent from those who own. You might think that the staff extends the same service to both. You would be wrong.

September marks the run-up to the greatest month of all in the doorman calendar. (If you don’t know what month I’m talking about, you haven’t been paying attention.)

But it’s also got its share of annoyances, such as:

Back to school

I once wrote a post about building gossip and how staff guys sometimes talk to each other about certain residents.

But the gossip doesn’t always stay in the building.

It’s common for supers, handymen, porters and doormen to be friendly with their counterparts from across the street, next door and even down the block.

These types of friendships throughout the years help out in many ways.

When you’re confined to a small place for eight hours a day and your job consists of interacting with all kinds of individuals, you’re going to have to engage in conversation.

But for every worthwhile exchange of words and sentences, doormen also have to deal with the banal chatter that churns out of other people’s mouths. Making matters worse, there’s no way for us to escape.