Mon AM Thoughts

"Mon AM?" It seems much later than that, since I've been up since 1 AM!

Driving through a neighborhood in the West Side of Detroit yesterday was just devastating to me. I've been thinking about it since. There were many abandoned homes, most boarded up. And this was a vibrant neighborhood--back when I was a kid. There were parks and school yards where we used to come and play. The homes were working class, small by comparison to what most people seem to be able to afford today, but well kept. There are still some homes that are well tended there, but some are not. What was just, well, devastating to me was how many of them had bars on the front doors and windows--all of them had bars! Poverty or even below average income shouldn't require one to turn his house into a fortress. People shouldn't have to live like that, barring their homes in fear of break-ins. What went wrong--and when? (I know better than to ask "why" because that affixes blame and blame is counterproductive. It's more important to move on. Of course, I'm being facetious--note all the vowels in alpha order in that word!--even sarcastic. Most certainly we should blame people when things go wrong, for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which, we should know who or whose ideas fouled up things so those people never get to make decisions again!) So, this is how people must live--or at least think they must live? What is wrong and why can't that be fixed? I refuse to accept that "poverty" or some other sociological term is responsible. I just wanted to cry, right there and in the open, out loud.

Why can't we just come out and say things we really mean or want to say? I know we can't, for many reasons, many of them good ones. But, it sure is frustrating at times. Sometimes we can hint, but must draw back when getting too close to the line. Is that more frustrating or not? Hmmm....