Trim that bush

When I walk to work in the morning, I usually try to take the Louvre bridge through the main palace courtyard into the Jardins des Tuileries. No matter how gray the day is or how much I would rather be curled up in bed, knowing that my commute takes me past the Louvre makes me feel a little bit better somehow, a small reminder as to how privileged I am to live in such a beautiful and wonderful city.

Lately, though, I've been getting up early to hit the gym before work, and I've noticed that something weird takes place at the Louvre before 8:00 in the morning. There are these hedges off one of the pathways to the courtyard that probably stand about 5'6" or so. If you could see them from above, they probably form some sort of intricate pattern, but from the path they just look like a few rows of hedges. What I've noticed is that every morning these random dudes are just standing in the bushes. Occasionally I see someone go in or come out, but there are almost always a couple of guys hanging out or strolling around inside, and they're never together and they're always men. I'm not exactly sure what they're doing in there, but Pegs and I have a hunch that they're either drug dealers or male prostitutes. It's weird that they would use the hedges, though, because you can clearly see whoever is in there and I imagine that it would be relatively easy for the cops to block all the exits. I'm not curious enough to actually go in the hedges to find out what they're really up to, given that I'm not fashionable enough to be gay and I don't do drugs (cough), but one day I'd like to go to the Louvre really early and see if these guys actually are selling crack (either kind). Oh, and I guess I could see some art while I'm up there.