About the Old Ladies

The demography of Steinstrasse 1A is such:
20-30 year olds, 3 to 5 apartments
30-60 year old professionals about half of the rest
Old women, retired or divorced longer than most of my readers have been alive are the bulk of the remainder.
It's a big building.  I only know a few handfuls of people well enough to actually have a conversation.  The rest are either nodders, or good day types.

I wonder about the old women.  I know of only one who spends the majority of her day in the city.  She's in her 80s, rides a bicycle, gets all dolled up every day, and sits inside or outside of cafes, often alone, or with other women her age.  The rest are cleaning their kitchens with cigarettes dangling from their lips, or maybe reading the bible or looking at photo albums.  The only one with frequent visitors is the one with the confidence and energy to ride a bicycle and visit cafes.  Our front door is not very busy.

Old people smoke, because in their day, it was considered attractive, sophisticated, and only a rumored health hazard.  When you've survived some of your children, and most of your friends, there's not much reason to quit smoking.  I'm still not old enough not to give a damn, so I quit often.....