Because I Said So!!! Mom Knows Best!

Date: 11/27/2009


Stress Level: Mild


New Grey hairs added: 2






Okay, I have heard of Urban decay and
have driven through parts of Detroit that look
like a war has happened. In fact one day John
was messen around with Google Earth and
and looking through the ruins of New Orleans and
I joked that I wondered what Detroit looked like
in comparison and we looked up that too. The super
sad part of that was Detroit looked almost as bad as
New Orleans and there was no disaster there. Just
rampant crime, poor control and a city the has been
rife with corrupt leaders for the better part of 3
decades. Even when I was a child I remember my
Grandparents telling me to lock the doors as
we drove through and this was on the freeway.
              I really feel bad for John who was a
Fireman for the city for close to two decades and
watched it go from bad to worse over that same
time period. We drive down streets he grew up on
and there are blocks where only one or two houses
are left standing. The rest are in piles of rubble or
so far gone the Earth is trying to reclaim its space.
Seldom does the city have them removed the right
way and even less common is a total clean-up of a
collapsed house. Nature takes its coarse and I am
often reminded of that Discovery channel Show Earth
without people. They could have filmed parts a few
miles away.
          The city has been left to fend for itself and the
people who still live there are either out numbered by
or are people who no longer care about where they live.
The only thing the city of Detroit had to be proud of
in the last 30 years is the fact that for more then one
of them they held the title of "Murder Capitol" in the
USA. It is a shame that those grand ol' houses of an
era gone by are now left to looters and have degraded
into forgotten piles of rubble. I knew all this but it was still
down the road from where I lived.
        Until today I still resided in an area where people took
pride in their homes and loved their neighborhoods and
manicured their lawns and you could walk to the park
with your kids and enjoy the area. Over the last few years
I noticed the change.It was slow, but it was there. I walk my
dog everyday through the field of the school right next store
and about 2 years ago I noticed an area in the bushes where
someone ( kids I am sure, it is a Jr High) had made a little
party area and left their drug paraphernalia there. I walked into
the school and told the Principal and walked him to over
where it was and he remarked "Well I'll be!" A week later it
was still there. I informed them that after school hours a lot
of young children play there and he informed me that he didn't want
to risk injuring himself by touching it. That was the first time
I saw with my own eyes the lack of pride in our neighborhood.
Over the next 2 years, and even faster now with the
economy the way Michigan's is right now, I have seen it
get worse and worse. So bad, in fact, that John and I
plan on moving and soon. To tell you the truth I am afraid
to send my daughter to school here and it pains me my son
has to go here. Around the same time as I found the drug items
my son and his friend went to McDonald's and were confronted
by some boys demanding their bikes. My son is no shrinking
violet and has been about 6 feet and 250 pounds since the 7Th
grade and pretty much told them if you want my bike you are
going to have to take it from me. These boys said fine and walked
about 50 feet away where a lot more boys were and the whole
group started to make their way back to my sons location. Not
a fool my son rode home. I was in shock this happened in
our neighborhood and nobody even wondered what was
going on and I called the police. My son knew one of the boys
name from school so I told the police and there was a pause
before I was informed that these were gang kids and it was
in mine and my sons best interest not to get involved. I couldn't
believe my ears!


            The Police POLICE!!! told me that if I were to make
trouble it would just make it worse on my son and
I should keep my mouth shut until they touch
my son so I wouldn't upset them and make a bigger
problem. I was in shock and went to the school for
my bigger concern was my son was starting High
School that fall and would be going to school
with these "Gang" boys. How sad is it that our
tiny suburb's police department is now being
ran by the whims of Gang children.
            That was outrageous but today was the
icing on the cake. John and I had some errands
and on the way home he stopped at our corner
CVS, it is less then a block from our house and we
walk there almost daily. I stayed in the truck with
Rowan since she was sleeping and he ran in. As
he was walking back to the truck and not far either
since we were parked within 20 feet of the front door,
a woman crossed his path and leaned up against
the building. RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOOR! She proclaimed
loudly "Oh baby I gotta go, move on now!" to John and
proceeded to drop her pants right there and pee'd
against the side of the building.


             I was in shock and you could have tripped over my
tongue. What if my daughter was a little older and
watching? How would I have explained that to her?
I was an adult and I was disgusted and what do you
say to a child when they want to know if this is
"Normal?" What made that woman think that
was okay and who taught her right from wrong?
Is this the first step to crumbled houses and
destroyed neighborhoods? WOW, just WOW!
After that little vision anything else that could
have happened during the day would seem like
a dream. Too much and I am just about ready
to tell my kids to lock the door when we drive
down the block. History repeats. How sad!


Moral of the Day:When you gotta go you
gotta go!