@kc: creepy. four years ago or so, i spent about six months trying to figure out why at a certain time in the morning i would always hear the same sound, which was a human voice articulating a specific sequence of words, only the words didn't make sense. i first thought about animals, television ditties, whatever - and then realized that in the house fronting mine there was an old man who would sit on his porch always at the same time in the morning and vocalize something mysterious. he certainly had some form of mental illness, even if i do not know which. i must admit that i am glad that i can't hear him anymore, since i moved.
@the calogero brigade: well, i'm not sure i want a secret admirer who is/was a greek monk, but the story was fun. and it was made quintessentially surreal by the fact that, of all things, a newbie popped up out of nowhere to break the flow.