my neighborhood is screwed up. so what? March 14th, 2008
that’s a shot i took of the five-oh taking this dude DOWN at 45th and 9th. he was being a real ass, walking in to traffic and such, so when the cop tried to get a hold of him, i guess he decided that the dude needed to be picked up and slammed down on the sidewalk on his face (on a metal sewer cover). i’m not writing about that incident, though.
what i am writing about is a night that i went out to the safeway on 50th & Brooklyn, a few nights ago. i had to go there because TJ’s was closed, and i really wanted to make sure that i had eggs for breakfast the next day. i do love me some eggs.
so, i get there and am shuffling through the store, looking for some sweet deals. i did find some cool twisty crayon things for jaya, so that was good.
anyway, i get to the check out line, and there are these two guys behind me who are OBVIOUSLY tweaking. if you’ve never seen somebody on meth, just imagine yourself, after drinking like 14 pots of coffee, only you’ve been doing that every day for the last six years. they were all over the place.
i leaned in to the cashier, and said “i guess it’s not boring here at night”. “no way” he replied, “that’s when all the good stuff happens.” by good stuff i guess he means crazy people, drunk people, and some lady poo-ing in the aisle, as these are all things that have happened when i’ve been at this great U.D. landmark.
after this, i get my eggs and crayons and go outside, and of course there is somebody asking for something. usually there is the “real change” guy, but this wasn’t him. this guy looked like he was about to die.
i am not exaggerating. i don’t know how he was physically able to keep himself upright (he was on his knees) he looked so weak. it looked like he hadn’t eaten in months. his face was all stretched thin, and his eyes were sunk way in to his skull. his skin had a lavender tint to it, amplified by the obnoxious yellow florescent bulbs and streetlights. he looked like death.
he asked me if i could spare some change. i said no, but asked him if he wanted an apple. he said “sure- why not?”
i looked in his eyes, and he looked in mine.
i walked to my car, and on the way there, another guy asked me for change. he was “trying to get a sandwich”. i offered him a banana. he said no, and that he was trying to get a sandwich.
i pulled out of the parking lot, and the two tweakers ran across the street in my headlights on 50th. they were heading for an alley that a guy had told me was a meth house. he told me that his friend had died there. he told me that he had just gotten out of jail, and that his parents didn’t know where he was, and didn’t care.
it was weird being out on the street at night. i haven’t done that much lately, as i’ve been painting, blogging, producing music, reading or watching TV/movies instead. it was unsettling.
it was sad.
i don’t know what these guys need at all. i just know that i live in a house that’s been broken in to while my family and i slept, and had our things stolen. i’ve had drunks on my porch, asking for help, addicts asking for former tenants, and a DUI assault perpetrator stumbling around my living room.
the kids next door have parties almost every week. people get drunk (not “ooh, i had too much to drink”, i mean DRUNK). they pee and vomit outside our dining room windows. they pass out in the yard. they yell a lot. i guess it’s “fun” or something…?
what words for this city? what solution do you suggest?
