All Quiet On the Southside Front...
As obnoxious as the locals were down here this past weekend, there are those (very) few times when SOLACE may be called the word of the day. Well, it's AS CLOSE to solace as one can get down here, and by that I mean less noise and fewer of life's 2-legged or 4-wheeled interruptions.
There were a couple items on the police radio worth noting.
~One black male was observed attempting a break in some blocks over from us, and the police responding were notified he might be armed. One officer who saw him running into an alley called to the other officers: "Oh, yeah...he's definitely *62* (armed)". A few minutes later, he was apprehended.
Nice job, people!
~Another call was for a puddle under a man's vehicle in his driveway. Seems we had a gas theft, and the perp just poked a hole in the victim's fuel tank, drained what he wanted and then plugged the hole with some quick-patch agent, leaving a puddle of fuel underneath. Nice way to cause a fire or explosion should that patch leak. Cripes...too damn lazy to buy (read steal) a siphon pump and some tubing at a local store and do it the right way.
Only on the SOUTH side, folks.
~I've also been noticing the typical behavior from our "new neighbors" down the block that has been demonstrated by most everyone else that has moved to this area over the past several years.

And without exception, it follows a specific pattern of behavior.

The order in which it occurs might differ, but all the items mentioned DO happen sooner or later

It goes something like this:
1) Single mom moves into the house with two loads of stuff in some friend's pickup, & brings her 3 (or more)"Bebe's kids".
2) Act like someone who will "appear" responsible to others in the area.
3) After several weeks, begin to have friends stop over...a LOT of friends.
4) Tell those friends to bring THEIR friends as well.
5) Start to play your music louder and louder.
6) See how long it takes for the FWPD to respond to complaints against you.
7) Have rental furniture delivered (and that big screen TV).
8) Break something in the house that requires the landlord to upgrade it for free.
9) Have cable or Fios installed with all the bells and whistles.
10) Start parking cars all over the block.
11) Begin to have loud parties/cookouts every weekend, all weekend.
12) Let the kids run rampant in the neighborhood.
13) Buy a police scanner, so you can go quiet & scatter when they're called to your house.
14) Let your scrapper friends know which houses are unoccupied on the block.
15) Collect welfare check every month.
16) Under no circumstances bother to look for a job (and that goes for whatever boyfriend you have this month).
17) See how well the drug trade is thriving in the area,
18) Move more people into the house in violation of the lease agreement.
19) Never mow your lawn, and never put your trash bin back.
20) Move away in the middle of the night before the rent is due and trash the place in the process.
~Yeah, that about sums it all up.
This is called the GHETTO LIFESTYLE. I know it because I SEE it...but will NEVER practice it.
And THIS is what our part of the city must endure, thanks to city and community leaders that can't see past THEIR OWN billfolds and agendas. They promise the moon, but deliver nothing. Like I said...typical.
So they "toss us a bone" to shut us up, such as Menards or Wal-mart. And we're supposed to act like Scooby-Doo when he gets a treat from Shaggy...rolling over in quasi-erotic ecstasy. Gimme a break.
Now while I grant you that Menards is a blessing, Wal-mart...not so much. As I stated here before, I much prefer K-Mart. Our Menards down here is actually LARGER than the one out on Rt 37 north.
We never have gotten anyone to buy that vacant TARGET building, but there is a VERY good reason...it's RIGHT NEAR one of the worst crime areas in the city. That would be the 7900 block of (get this) SERENITY DRIVE. Ironic, right?
The new Mc'Ds is right near there as well. The Long John Silvers pulled out and moved to Bluffton Rd last year due to crime. The Hardees that is now the Mc'Ds closed as well. And anyone who lives down here KNOWS that the CRIME brought about the demise of Southtown Mall.
Over the past ten years, we have LOST over FIFTY businesses, and recouped about 25% of them. Not a very good showing, is it? We're still operating in a "retail deficit". And that goes hand-in-hand with our "housing deficit". Yeah, I know we have over 400 houses sitting vacant, and that isn't a deficit. Putting quality people who act with civility INTO all those houses is the problem, and that's why this Renaissance Pointe project was shoved in our faces. Changing the AREA is ONE thing; changing the PEOPLE (and their mindset) in order for them to fully APPRECIATE it is quite the other.
The city and their developers could get a LOT MORE "bang for their buck" by renovating existing houses and getting DECENT people back into them. We lost so many due to jobs going away, and that basically left the older residents. And as THEY are passing away, they're being replaced by even more "tenants" with NO vested interest in ownership, responsibility, or respect.
The city also smiles all the way to the bank as the federal monies pour in to "support" these tenants with all the freebie programs designed to ASSIST them in life. And if you can keep them ALL in ONE part of the city (to keep an eye on them)...all the better.
But I better not open THAT can of worms...not today anyway.

And just as Scarlett O'Hara once noted:

"Tomorrow is another day".