Fall is supposed to be the time we, as a northern dwelling people, start to break out the sweaters, maybe put away the hawaiian shirts, watch the leaves change color, and carve some sort of scary face out of a pumpkin.
But, here in the olde District, it's also time for gangs to increase their shooting of each other. In the past month or so in wards 1 and 4, we've had five shootings, two during the day. One of them was at a funeral at 12:30 in the afternoon. Some of these have ended in deaths, some of them have just ended in a neighborhood being shook up at having their block turned into a shooting gallery. And, all of this is unacceptable, unless you're in a gang and are looking to move up in the ranks. Then, I guess this is how you do it. And then you're put in jail for murder.
What really makes this awful is the fact this summer was relatively peaceful here. The Velogirl and I were settling in to the neighborhood, the Wonderdog was beloved by adults and children wherever he walked, and I even managed to start this blog.
My hope is that this sort of thing is an ebb and flow deal. I mean, eventually the police have to say to themselves, "Hey, people seem to be shooting at each other in a 5 block radius. Let's send a few more foot patrols up there to discourage it from taking place." But, right now, there are areas of my own neighborhood I don't feel comfortable walking the Wonderdog during the day, and that's the first time that's happened. Ever.
There are a many great things that are wonderful about city life. And, things are moving forward. And times like these make the peaceful times even sweeter. But right now, city life is bumming me out.
I think you're right about the ebb-and-flow nature of this stuff. Lately, it's been really nice and quiet in Edgewater. I was especially surprised by the tranquility of a very warm August, which I think of as a powderkeg month.
ReplyDeleteHowever, our first year in Edgewater seemed really rough. This may have been the culmination of our "Did that REALLY happen?" moments: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/11/prosecutors-man-had-about-600000-in-heroin.html.
Oh jeez, Trevor, that's your block!
ReplyDeleteRationally, I know this stuff happens "anywhere" but when there's a local cloudburst, it's strange and scary. Since this post, things *may* have quieted down for now...fingers crossed anyway.