The Ghetto

I've got at least three posts saved up and fixing the pictures, like how our house flooded today or how our plumbing is screwed up and how my dad fixed it today or how we are going to get new windows like NOW.

Instead, I'm going to talk about the neighborhood. Every time we pull into the neighborhood CJ starts singing Elvis's "In The Ghetto"

We are going to start a photo project documenting the "characters" of the neighborhood. There is the short white guy, who I think is Latino, and just walks around all day long. ALL DAY LONG. Or the woman, who we think is a prostitute, who hangs out in her car talking on the cell phone. Or the guy who is constantly zipping by on his wheel chair (sometimes he lets his friends borrow it too.)

We live across from Fatina Foods. Actually it is Casablanca foods. It's under new management, but they haven't changed the signs. It is an awesome place with two pay phones, cigarettes, and 3.2 beer (if you aren't from Minnesota you may not know 3.2 beer, check here for more details). In other words, ghetto.

Across the street the other way is Juanita's House of Furniture. In front of that is a bus shelter. People just kinda hang out there too. I've called the cops on people just hanging out there.

We sit outside and watch the ghetto go by all the time. It is really quite fun.

The other day, we saw a kid get arrested by a bike cop. That is, you assumed correctly, a cop on a mountain bike. The kid was pretty young, maybe fifteen years old. Of course, when they brought in a squad car to take him away.

All the little hoodlums in the neighborhood were in a uproar. They got Kenny (or whatever his name was, I can't remember) everyone was telling each other. As the bike cop road by we cheered him on. He said something about one down...

Then the bike cop came back. This is when I was finally smart enough to get my camera. He decided he was kicking this guy out of the neighborhood. The guy argued, saying he just lived down the street. The cop made it clear he should stay there then.




Then the squad showed back up:



We've heard the neighborhood is much better than it was. It is the greatest neighborhood for convenience, food, entertainment, just not safety. We've got a security system. We may get an attack cat in the coming weeks (though our hope is to attack the mice.) We will get a big old dog.

We do just love watching the ghetto go by.

I promise pics of the "characters" as we get them.