The Month in Review: July 2008

Last month, I purchased a couple of empty lots behind my house. I have been busy clearing out trees, and trash there and also building a large storage shed. I have been taking photos of my work, and I must say that it really comes in handy to have a camera in hand around here. I’ll include some pictures of my back yard project at the end of this post. First, though, I’ll get back to the story at hand.

No Trespassing Means No Trespassing!

Thursday, July 3 Fred had been holding a position on the corner for a couple of hours in the early afternoon. He would frequently come and go, but it was obvious he wasn’t just waiting on the bus. He was alone most of the time, he wasn’t making any noise, and he wasn’t on my property, so I just ignored him - as the FWPD has requested of me. I went out back to do some work and a few minutes later and one of my neighbors called me to the front of my house. He pointed to a t-shirt that was lying in my front yard (most likely left by Fred or one of his friends. I took the t-shirt inside and put it with the other items I have found here.

I went back to work and soon Fred returned to the corner. I checked on him periodically, and after a while he was joined by his friend, Gus, who decided it would be okay to set on my retainer wall, which is clearly marked with five no-trespassing signs. I had the camera in hand, so I snapped a photo. I kept snapping pictures as I walked towards the pair who quickly ducked behind the tree. Gus quickly left the area, but Fred remained and started demanding that I quit taking his picture.

Sorry, Fred, but the law is clear on this matter. I have as much right to take pictures of the public sidewalk (especially right in front of my own home!) as you do to stand there. Granted, my rapid clicking as I was walking towards them might have seemed a bit provocative, but no more so than these drug dealers trespassing on my property. I told Fred that I wasn’t really aiming my camera at him, because he was on the sidewalk, but at Gus who was setting only a few feet from my no-trespassing sign. I told Fred that if Gus is in my yard again, I’ll turn the photos over to FWPD and ask them to speak with him.

These Guys are Connected

I think I may have mentioned this incident on one of my previous posts, but it is worth telling again. This was later in the day on July 3. I was still working out back and periodically checking on the group of 4-6 guys who had been on the corner for the last couple of hours. No one was setting on my wall, nothing was placed in my yard, and they were being relatively quiet, so I did not concern myself too much with them. At about 6:30 in the evening, an unmarked police car headed north past my house. I checked the corner and it was now completely empty. A few minutes later, this same car came back again, and still the corner was empty. About five minutes after the police left, all of these guys returned to the corner.

I suppose that these guys probably saw the cop as soon as he turned the corner, and were probably out of sight before he even got to my house. That’s great, now he can radio in “Suttenfield/Warsaw clear”, and we can all relax. Especially the drug dealers who are listening to the scanner and know that this signifies that it will probably be quite some time before the police return to this area (because it’s been cleared!)

About an hour later, these guys were still standing on the corner when Max ran towards them shouting that they have to get out of here. His friends ignored him at first, but then he held up his cell phone and shouted “We got to go, now!” They entire corner cleared out and about five minutes later, a patrol car passed through the area. Most likely someone had called the police about these guys and they (FWPD) were smart enough to announce this over the scanner so that the drug dealers would know they were coming.

It is amazing how many times I have seen this type of thing occur here, and some things are far more suspicious than this. There is no doubt these guys are listening to the police scanner. They carry cell-phones and walkie-talkies to communicate with each other and warn about the police activities. You would think the police would realize that when they announce “There’s a suspicious person at Suttenfield/Warsaw”, the suspicious person is often listening to them and knows to leave (for a few minutes). It’s difficult to imagine that not a single person in the entire department is intelligent enough to realize this is what is happening, so I am operating under the assumption that it is done intentionally.

I have also seen and heard some things that lead me to suspect that certain officers are actually feeding direct tips to some of these guys, but my evidence for this is far more speculative. Either way, I still believe it is fair to say that FWPD is not really trying to shut down the drug trafficking here. This decision might be based on what they feel are practical considerations, such as realizing that the problem is beyond their limited resources, or it might just be good old-fashioned corruption where some cop is lining his pockets with drug money.

Regardless, the behavior of FWPD here can best be described as trying to manage the drug problem (less noise and violence), rather than to eliminate it. This factors greatly into my own decisions here. After all, if the police are going to allow drugs, and the dealers know it, then I really would be putting myself at tremendous risk if I were to actually try and stop this. But simply asking people to quiet down and stay off my property seems to be something that the drug dealers and the police will tolerate from me.

This Corner is Shut Down!

Monday, July 7 The entire neighborhood seemed to be quiet for most of the day. I left the house around 5:30 in the evening and returned an hour later. Access to the road in front of my house was blocked now by four police vehicles. There were several officers standing on the sidewalk and in the front yard of one of my neighbors. Since this day, I have been parking on the side of my house. It is far less likely that I will get blocked in by a swarm of police cars there.
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I really have no idea what had prompted this event, but I had surmised that it because of the guys selling on the corners for two reasons. First of all, there did not appear to be any civilians stand there with the officers, so that means they probably weren’t called out for an incident inside someone’s home. Also, the officers remained there for quite a while even though it seemed like there was nothing happening. This fits their typical M.O. for interacting with the drug dealers.
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If there is a routine traffic stop, or they are called to respond to someone’s home, they usually leave pretty quickly after the event has ended. But when they chase the guys off the corner, they frequently stand around talking for five to ten minutes. Obviously, they are doing this to send a message to the dealers - “This area belongs to us, not you.” And this message is quiet effective as the dealers usually don’t return for at least ten minutes after the officers have left the area.
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I guess that if this is all it takes, then the solution to my problem is quite simple. I need to take a few photos of some police officers, blow them up to life size and past them onto sheets of plywood. I’ll lay these throughout my yard, and whenever things get too noisy, I’ll simply prop up the pictures and scare away the drug dealers.

The Crackfields & the McCoys

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Thursday, July 10 It was about 4:00 in the afternoon, and I was heading out my back door. I saw Max, being chased through the alley by Fred, and running in through the back door of his house. Fred got back in his car and drove slowly past the front of Max’s house. Max came running out the front and began shouting as Fred quickly drove away. Max was daring Fred to come back, and threatening to shoot him. I did not see a gun in Fred’s hands, but he had an oversized t-shirt on, so it is hard to tell what he might have been carrying. Then again, he was standing right in front of his house, so he might have been bluffing.
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I did not hear any gun shots before this, but I was inside with air-conditioner, fans and TV running, so I might not have heard it. I assume there were shots fired though, judging by the police reaction. Within just a few minutes of the melee, there were six to eight patrol cars here. Three of them parked to speak with Max, and the rest were slowly driving around the neighborhood. The police cleared out after five to ten minutes, but one of them made frequent passes through the area during the next couple of hours. After the police left, some kids were searching through the bushes along the side of Fred’s house. I guess they were looking for the bullet casings as souvenirs.

July 10, 2008, 16:00

Friday, July 11 Around 1:00 in the afternoon, several shots were fired behind my house. I looked out my back door and saw Max run in through the back of his house again. He came out front and jumped in a waiting car and sped away. Because he was in such a hurry to get out of here, I assume that Max was the one with the gun, but I actually didn’t see it. A few minutes later, Fred walked out of the alley while talking to someone on his cell phone. I heard him say that he was going to kill Max, Sheldon & Ike if they didn’t cut out their bullshit.
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A few minutes after this, a couple patrol cars arrived and went inside Max’s house. I later found out that it was actually someone inside this house who called the police. The police stayed inside the house for about ten minutes. While they were there, the car that Max had fled in came back by. I couldn’t see if Max was still in the car. This car started to turn down the street to Max’s house, but changed direction when it saw the police were still there. I will say that every officer who regularly patrols this neighborhood should be familiar with that car, and know that Max is frequently driving or riding in it. There was at least on officer inside one of the patrol cars at this time, and I find it pretty comical that this car passed right in front of them unnoticed.
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I almost waved to them (police) to point them to this car, but it would have probably only caused more confusion. So I just sat and watched this car (which had just whisked away the person who had probably been doing the shooting) circle the block right under the noses of the police. I guess I am just one of those unconcerned citizens who refuses to tell the police what they saw. Actually, I will talk, but usually only if they ask questions now. I’ve found it works a lot better this way.
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I was setting on the front of my truck watching the show when the police began leaving. One of them actually pulled over and asked me if I had seen anything. I had a strong urge to say “I didn’t see nuthin” just for laughs. Instead, I told the officer what I had witnessed, this day as well as yesterday. I gave the names of those involved, as well as what I had heard Fred saying on his telephone. I didn’t mention Max’s car passing by because it was already gone by that time.

July 11, 2008, 13:00

Saturday, July 12 A little before 3:00 in the afternoon, I looked out front and saw Fred, Earl & Gus standing on the corner. A few minutes later I looked again and they were all gone. I looked out back and saw two patrol cars parked in the street beside my house, so I assume they stopped because of the guys on the corner.. I did not see anyone walking around, and the officers remained inside their cars. The two cars were parked beside each other for about ten minutes as passing cars squeezed past them. They finally left when a bus needed to get through.

July 12, 2008, 15:00

Monday, July 14 I heard shouting outside and looked out to see Max, Fred and a couple other guys standing on the corner. Sarah (Max’s mom) was the one making the noise. She was chewing out both Max and Fred for their recent behavior because she was afraid her own house was going to get shot up. Fred told her to relax, saying that if he wanted somebody dead, it would be done by now.
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Fred’s words to Sarah prompted someone from her house to walk over and join the group. This guy and Fred stepped out into the street and circled each other for a few minutes, but without actually breaking into a fight. Sarah’s mother then walked over and began telling all of them to settle down. I think this was what finally prompted everyone to walk away. When the grandmothers come out to the streets, it’s really time to quiet down. Max and Fred came back a few minutes later and were quietly standing there together as if nothing had happened.
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I still can’t get over how comical this was. Fred and Max are both known drug dealers here, and they have been shooting back and forth at each other for the past few days. Then, this argument erupts over their dispute, prompting someone to cal the police. And what do the cops do? They turn to the drug dealers and ask if they know what’s going on. Then Max lies to them by telling them there was no one shouting and by claiming to be living in my house. I really can’t imagine by this point that any cops in this area do not know that my house is not a drug house. Whether these cops were truly as ignorant as they seemed, or they were just going through the motions so they had something to write in their report, I’ll never know. Regardless, this is the kind of thing that makes me realize the futility of trying to communicate with FWPD at all.
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Friday, July 18 A little after noon, I looked out to see a patrol car (facing the wrong direction) pulled over in front of Max’s house. I checked periodically during the next ten minutes, but I never did see where the officer was at or if he had even gotten out of his car. There was a road crew filling pot holes in front of my house at this time also. The police officer left right after the road crew did. Because they were in front of Max’s house, I had at first assumed there was more drama unfolding there. But then again, maybe they were just providing cover for the road crew because of the recent shootings going on here.
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Fred and Max seem to be getting along fine now, and to my knowledge no one was actually shot. I had assumed that the fight was over drugs - who is allowed to sell, when and where. But I heard from a neighbor that the dispute was actually over a car. It always amazes me how quickly these disputes turn into fights or near fights. And it is equally amazing how quickly people who are arguing or fighting seem to get back to being friends again. But what amazes me the most is that they appear to be baffled about why other people seem to want to get in their business when these fights erupt. They don’t seem to understand why bullets sailing through the air will cause people to get upset.
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I think that if I was a drug dealer in a very competitive area such as this, I would try to set up a system where all the players meet together once a month. They could gather out in an empty field somewhere and settle any disputes they have. Once the dust settles, they (the ones who survive) can come back to the corner and quietly conduct their business. If anyone tries to fight on the streets, then the whole group could come down on them. This would be a sort of United Nations of drug dealers where war is still allowed, but it is only sanctioned at certain times and places. I guess I have a hard time understanding why so many of these guys can’t see that making noise here is bad for their business.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Monday, July 21 I was walking to my truck when Jesse passed by. Jesse used to be one of the most frequent and most aggressive dealers here, but I have only seen him once since I got in an argument with him last month. (I had told him to get off my property, he responded by threatening to “take my house down”, and I then responded by reporting this to the police as a threat against my life.) Jesse began by complimenting me on the shed I was building, then added that he respected me for my hard work and my tenacity for staying here.
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Jesse then mentioned all the noise that has been going on here lately. He said “They don’t mean nothing by it. We try tell them to keep quiet so they don’t bother people.” I saw this as a diplomatic overture of sorts. Obviously, someone had been calling the police here several times recently. Although it wasn’t me, the dealers probably didn’t know that. And given that at least one of these noisy incidents was right beside my house, and I have shown myself willing to speak with the police in the past, it would be natural for them to assume that I was the person responsible for bringing on the heat.
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They could have responded by threatening me (or worse), as they have done in the past. Instead, one of them greets me with a quasi-apology. Well, you take what you can get, and I was taking this as a good sign. After listening to Jesse for a few minutes he had basically acknowledged that I (and others here) had a right to be upset, rather than blaming us for calling the police. This was a concession so, like any good diplomat, I responded with my own concession.
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I would say that one of the most important assets for these guys is their ego. And I don’t mean this in some vain or trivial way. What I mean is that if someone offends them, and they don’t defend against this, then even their own friends will turn on them. They value their egos so highly because they have to. I have made them lose money before on many occasions, and they seem willing to simply write that off as a necessary business cost. But if I offend their pride, especially if it is intentional and if it leaves them no way to save face, the reaction is usually pretty harsh.
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So, I began by telling Jesse that I understand why he does this. I told him that if I was his age and this opportunity to make easy money was there, I might be tempted to do the same thing. I even mentioned some of the stupid and reckless stuff I did when I was younger to add credence to my statement. But I added that when you get old like me, you’ll find out that you want things to be a little slower and quieter. I told him I understood that he and his friends have a lot of energy and they make a lot of noise - because that’s what young people do. But I also told him that it’s not fair for them to make us (old folks) suffer from it.
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I focused on the issues of the noise, trash, and other problems that these guys often throw at me and my neighbors. I told Jesse that I really didn’t care whether they are selling crack cocaine or ice-cream. If they are standing in my yard, making a lot of noise, and dropping trash where I have to pick it up, then I am going to be offended In other words, I was focusing on the effects of the drug dealing, not the drug dealing itself. Of course, this does not necessarily imply that I am an advocate for drug dealing (even the quiet and respectful type), it simply means that I am choosing to focus on that which I am more likely to be able to affect.
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I could have responded to him by saying “You’re a drug dealer. Drugs are bad. Therefore you are a bad person. Leave me alone, or you’ll be sorry. Now of course, this provocative remark would have left him little choice but to get angry. Instead, I not only avoided a personal confirmation, but I actually stoked his ego a bit by somewhat validating him. I also portrayed the plight of myself and my neighbors in a manner designed to elicit sympathy. I wasn’t out to harass the drug dealers, I was simply asking them to quit harassing me. Rather than telling him to give up selling drugs, I simply asked him to modify his approach a bit.
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Imagine that I had said to Jesse “Look, you shouldn’t sell drugs. How would you like it if I was a drug dealer?” Jesse would likely laugh and say he really didn’t care what I did. But instead, what I said was “Look, you shouldn’t disrespect me. How would you like it if I disrespected you?” And now, I was talking his language. Diplomacy of any type has certain universal standards. These include mutual respect and a lack of hypocrisy. Granted, these rules are often over-ridden by naked aggression, but at that point it ceases to be diplomacy.
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In my opinion, the fundamental underpinning of all diplomacy is that which holds any civil society together. The Golden Rule, Do unto others…, is all about mutual respect, whether at the neighborhood or the international level of operation. I don’t attack you, because I wouldn’t want you to attack me. But even the Golden Rule can not deny that there are often circumstances which will likely keep two different people from always acting exactly in the same manner. Take the “Do not steal” rule. It’s so simple that everyone gets it. I shouldn’t steal from you because I don’t want you to steal from me.
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But like most philosophical truisms, theory does not always match reality completely. Let’s say that both you and I truly believe in the Golden Rule, and both of us think it is bad to steal. But suppose that I am a billionaire, while you are destitute. And suppose you have children that will starve if you don’t bring them food. Even if you think stealing is wrong, you might do it if that is the only way you are able to keep your kids alive. Any philosophy that does not attempt to understand the unique circumstances of individuals is pretty worthless in my opinion.
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Any astute person will certainly try to keep another from acting aggressively towards him. He might use the carrot, the stick, or both to convince the other that being his friend is more valuable than being his enemy. But a good diplomat will go further than this. He will actually try to understand why the other wants to attack him in the first place. Does the other consider this to be an offensive or defensive move on his part? Is it being done out of a perceived necessity or simply to exploit an opportunity? The world is not black and white, and most people who base their actions upon the faulty notion that it is will usually suffer for it.
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So, if I had chosen to level my anti-drug statement at him, what would Jesse’s thought process be on the matter? Well, you have to begin with the realization that all things are not equal for Jesse and I. You could postulate whether it is due to racism, economic circumstances, or a host of other issues, but the fact of the matter is that Jesse’s world and mine are not the same. For one thing, while I currently live in a drug neighborhood, he grew up in one. He grew up in an area where one could make a strong argument that society has condoned this type of behavior to some degree. So, if I want to engage Jesse in a discussion over whether dealing drugs is bad, I would have to be willing to cover a wide range of issues that relate to this subject, especially where the circumstances (age, race, money, etc.) of Jesse and I differ.
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Suppose Jesse says “You were born rich, white and were raised by both of your parents, while I was born poor, black and never knew my father. If you were in my circumstances you’d do the same thing.” Now I’m stuck because I can never really know for sure how different my life would be today if certain circumstances were different. It is impossible for me to prove Jesse wrong on this, so I have effectively lost the argument of trying to convince him that he shouldn’t deal drugs. (I don’t know that much about Jesse personally, and I certainly was not born rich. I am simply using this extreme contrast as an example to make a point).
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But the issue of respect is far less complicated. Jesse demands respect from the people he associates with, and he knows that they expect the same from him. Basic respect for others is more universal because it is less contingent on an individuals unique circumstances. It’s also probably a lot easier for Jesse to give me respect than it is for him to quit selling drugs. So I drop the argument against drugs. It’s too complex and even if I could win it would take far too much effort. Then, as soon as I convinced one guy that dealing drugs is wrong, he would leave, then be replaced by another. It is far less complicated and far more lasting to convince someone that they should just respect me.
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I have heard many of my neighbors here utter a common phrase over the years: It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. And here, they are talking about respect. It is possible to sell drugs or to engage in a host of other activities while still being respectful to others around you. I try to focus on the respect part, and leave the drug issue to the police. It has certainly been tough getting this simple message through to some of the guys here, but for the most part they seem to understand and respect what I am saying.

All Quiet on the Warsaw Front

For the past week and a half or so, things have seemed to be extremely calm throughout the entire neighborhood. For this time of year, I am actually quite shocked at how few people I see standing around selling drugs here lately. They do not seem to be gathering in large groups like before, they do not stay in one place for long periods of time, they are not being noisy, and there are several regulars who I haven’t seen at all for a while. If my assessment of the current situation is correct (I‘ll explain this below), then it could be due to several different reasons.
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First of all, I do know that two of the most active dealers were locked up recently. Although I believe that both of them enjoyed only a short “vacation”, I think it might have had some effect. I think there is a popular belief that being arrested does nothing to deter the activities of drug dealers, but my observations here have convinced me otherwise. Sure, you get free food and television while you’re locked up. But who really wants to eat baloney sandwiches and pull your drawers down to take a crap in front of a group of sexually deprived men.
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Jail time might be a lot softer than it used to be, but I really doubt if there’s many people who really enjoy it. Going to jail is a bad thing, and most people will adjust their behavior to avoid something bad. The question is, exactly how much change are they willing to make. And this goes back to what I had said above. If you tell a guy who makes his living from selling drugs that the only way he can avoid jail is to stop selling drugs, then he probably won’t change his behavior at all. But if you tell him that in order to avoid jail time he must sell drugs with a little less intensity, it might have an impact. It’s basic economics: Jail is bad, so avoiding jail time is an economic good - something worth paying for. If you ask the dealer to stop selling drugs (giving up his entire income), then the cost is too high. But if you ask the dealer to just sell with less intensity (giving up only part of his income), an equilibrium price might be achieved.
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It is very likely that the police have been putting more pressure on these guys after the shootings a couple weeks ago. I know there are many people here who are getting fed up with all the drama, and I know there are several people besides myself who call the police. It could be that enough people are asking for help that FWPD is beginning to take a different approach to things here. Whether FWPD is actually running drugs here, or just being lax in enforcing the law, they certainly can’t stand back and do nothing when these guys are shooting at each other.
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I can’t help but wonder what impact (if any) my blog has had on the situation. I have spoken with three local news reporters in the past couple of months, and all of them became aware of my situation only after reading my blog. It also doesn’t hurt that several local blogs have linked to and posted about my blog. And I am certain that the recent story about my blog in the Fort Wayne Reader has brought in a few new readers. I have leveled some fairly serious charges against FWPD, and I would like to think that at least someone in our local media would be competent and courageous enough to investigate these claims. Perhaps this has happened, and this is responsible for a shift in FWPD’s policy here.
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I have stated for quite some time my belief that someone within the FWPD is reading my blog, but I had no idea who this might be or what they were doing (if anything) with the information provided here. It was just in the past couple of days that I received confirmation of this, as one FWPD officer mentioned reading my blog. If you recall, one of my reasons for starting this blog was because of what I feel is an extreme lack of communication with FWPD. It is not always prudent or feasible to stand around talking in great detail with the police here. At least I now know who is reading, so this opens the possibility for better communication.

The Rest of The Story

You can probably tell from some of my posts that I see a lot of interesting things going on in this neighborhood. But there is a lot that I miss. I can tell this from the times I look out the window and see a large group of officers just parked or standing around. Something happened to prompt their presence, and if I had looked out the window just a few minutes earlier I might have had another interesting story to tell. Instead, all I can say is “I saw a bunch of cops here today.” Also, I get a lot of information through my neighbors.
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Take for example this past Saturday. It seemed like just another very quiet day. I had not seen any of the regular dealers walking around, and I had not seen the police here at all during the day. In the evening, I walked over to speak with a neighbor. A patrol car passed by which prompted me to comment to my neighbor about how quiet it has been lately. She did not agree with me, telling me about a police incident that occurred here earlier in the day. Also, I heard from a friend that just this morning, the police found an unattended shotgun lying in someone’s yard about a block from my house. This was very near Lloyd’s house, so perhaps the feud isn’t over yet. I would not have known about either of these incidents if I hadn’t heard it from others.
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I realize that my observations here are very incomplete. There are many drug and police activities that I am unaware of, and this has the potential to make my story biased. But on the other hand, most of my observations are pretty random. If you look at my previous posts, I am as likely to be writing about something that happened in the middle of the night or something that happened in the middle of the afternoon. So, I might miss a lot of the details, but from a macro-view my overall assessment is probably fairly accurate.
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That being said, I will stick with my earlier statement about the current state of affairs here. Things have changed substantially in the past week and a half. The drug dealers do not congregate in large groups and for long periods of time like they used to. And those who are present are remarkably quiet. Also, while there does seem to be less overall police presence here than before, it appears to be more focused. Rather than having a patrol car randomly drive through the neighborhood, it looks like they are more likely to actually go to the real sources of the problem now.

My Summer Projects

Here is what the front of my house looked like in 1996, shortly after I purchased it for a little less than $3,000.




Here’s what it looked like at the beginning of 2007.



And here is what it looks like today.


Here are some photos of the empty lots behind my house that I recently purchased. Notice that in the first photo, the brush is so thick that you can barely see my house or my neighbors yard. The second photo is after I began clearing things out. Notice here that the house to the left is barely visible because of the trees and brush. The third photo shows some of the clothing and empty alcohol containers I found while cleaning things up. The fourth photo shows my neighbors house, which is now visible after I cut out the trees. I was planning on building a shed in this corner, so I laid down some plastic sheets to kill the grass there.




Taking out this tree (below)was a lot of work, and a lot of fun. I think the other tree immediately expanded outward after I dropped the one in front of it. I worked alone the first day, but a friend helped the second day. He did a hell of a job, but was a bit reckless. I have three wires going to my house. All three were hit, and one of them snapped. Luckily the one that snapped was dead, as it was from my old Verizon service.
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My electrical line was sagging dangerously low, and the Comcast line was touching the sidewalk. I still can’t believe that neither of these lines snapped. If you look closely at the third photo below, you can see that I used rope to pull the lines up temporarily. I fixed the Comcast line myself, but I called for help with the electrical line. Like I said before, I may be crazy but I’m not stupid!




I finally decided to build the shed in the other corner of the yard. There is a good slope on the ground here, and I decided it would be easier to just build a raised wooden floor rather than leveling the ground for a cement pad. I looked around at Lowe’s and Menard’s to steal some design ideas from their own sheds. I figure this is okay since I bought my materials there. This first photo shows an 8’ x 12’ shed that they will build on your lot for a little under $2,000. My shed is 12’ x 16’, and it is taller than theirs. It has a few flaws, but this is the biggest single building project I’ve ever undertaken. I can live with the mistakes I made, and I’ll learn from them. I’m fairly confident that the structure is built strong, but I really can’t wait for the first big storm to come along and test it.

Finally, I thought I’d post a couple pictures of the inside of my house. For several reasons, I don’t want to put to much of this on-line. First of all, I don‘t necessarily want some people to know too much about the inside layout of my house. Also, because there is still a lot left undone and I am a very messy housekeeper. I have included some photos of my kitchen, which is probably the best room in the house. But even here, the sheets over the windows and the cheap carpet on the floor reveal that there is still much work to be done inside.

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I did this work years ago, and it shows that I have done a lot to the house before I recently started fixing up the exterior. The first three photos show how things used to be, and the last three show how it looks today. It should be obvious that I have put a good deal of time and money into turning this $3,000 abandoned HUD house into my home. Perhaps this will help others to understand why I don’t simply walk away from it.