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August 26, 2005In the ghetto...
So, as the police helicopter circles the 7-11 a half-block from my apartment for the umpteenth time in 45 minutes with its spotlight, I'm reminded of a moment I shared with my late father over half a lifetime ago.
I was visiting my dad in the apartment he'd rented after my folks split up. He had chosen a pretty rough part of town to live in, for reasons nobody could quite fathom.
He'd bought a police scanner with which to pass the time, so I asked him where the crime in Riverside was taking place.
"Right here," he grinned, gesturing with his arms as to indicate his immediate surroundings.
We could have the same conversation right now.
I need to move out of this apartment.
I don’t know why tonight's circling helicopter annoys me any more than the other situations I've encountered living here--the parking area that refuses to drain and becomes an ankle-deep pond in anything more than a light rain; the neighbor kids that run wild under our complex's unspoken system of shared-parenting/neglect; the music blaring out of the open windows for everyone's "enjoyment"; the mandatory replacing of non-leaking faucets with new, leaky ones; the painting over of mailboxes, peep-holes, and windows with the complex's new salmon-and-turquoise color scheme...there's no end to it.
My apartment in Riverside was a dream--woodsy and large, with central A/C and (with the exception of the folks living over me the last few months before I left) quiet, considerate neighbors. Unfortunately, what I paid for said Riverside apartment would get me a studio the size of a Scrabble square here in North Hollywood.
They're still circling out there--and making a tight, low enough circle of it that I'm sort of wondering when they're going to send in the patrol cars and just nab that goober already. Either s/he's right where they think, or they're focused on the wrong spot entirely and the person is long gone.
Posted by patrick at August 26, 2005 04:35 AM
Comments"Full of drama like a soap opera, on the curb. Watchin the ghetto bird helicopters, I observe"
Tupac
Posted by: Joshua Davis at August 27, 2005 09:58 PM
The criminals? They're actually UNDER YOUR BED...!
Posted by: UNO WHO at August 27, 2005 10:11 PM
I feel for you man. My neighborhood may not look like the ghetto, but two people have already been shot dead in our neighborhhod in the past 7 months. Gang violence. I heard both incidents myself. They were both within two blocks. Were heard the killers run past our window during the second one. It's really fun knowing that you've just heard someone die.
Posted by: James at August 28, 2005 02:57 AM
Damn it all....
It's kind of odd to think you went from this wooded Canyon Crest hideaway to a dangerous pit in LA, and I went from a dangerous pit in Riverside to this wooded Canyon Crest hideway.
I know all too well the sound of the police helicopter, the all-to-often, all-too-nearby gunshots, the sight of transients urnating on my front porch, and the smell of a meth-anphetamine lab.
I can say I truly feel for you, Pat.
Posted by: Mad Monarch Voards at August 28, 2005 11:56 AM
Damn, man. You're not more than two miles from me, and I have no feeling at all of living in da ghetto. Sure, we have the occassional helicopter pass overhead here, but they're always on the way to somewhere else.
Then again, that's probably why one bedrooms in this neighborhood are ridiculously expensive. And why I lucked out by getting into a rent-controlled building six years ago so that I'm only paying $950 for a two bedroom now.
But... I know your neighborhood, I can't believe it's that bad. It's not like there are bullets flying in the street at night, is it?
Oops. Just heard a helicopter go by. Must be heading for your place...
Posted by: Teotwawki23 at August 30, 2005 12:29 AM
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