shootings, crooks, high water
things have been going pretty well down here. i don't remember if i wrote about the new americorps people and my new roommate but they are all really friendly and good people. so it is nice they are all here. so that part is all really good.
but there have been crazy ass things happening in the neighborhood. some of the things that have been happening lately are the rise in murders in the neighborhood. last week someone got killed on tuesday night, wednesday night and thursday night. and on friday during the day while we were working we heard like six gun shots around 2:30 a couple of blocks away. and we just had to ignore it. i believe there is some kind of gang battle type thing going on. what i have been hearing from the kids in our town is that a guy got out of jail on monday night (he was put in there because of something that he didn't do, apparently) so when he got out of jail the rival gang killed him because they were pissed he was out of jail and they wanted to get him back. so that started a big fight between both gangs. and then people got killed the other nights right down the street. also we met and saw the guy that got shot on thursday night. we saw him on wednesday and blake even talked to him, he was buying a four wheeler from the guy we knew (we we're working on his house) and on thursday night he got shot up 16 times. i don't know what for or what happened..but it sucks. and the guys house we were painting..that place is just sketchy and i always get bad vibes when i go there. but yea so lots of violence has been going on lately all over where we live. and i'm kind of scared about it. especially when i ride my bike alone to the gym at 6 am when it is still dark outside..but i trust that i will be okay.
only 7 more weeks or so. maybe 6 it depends if i get my hours done faster and if they will let me leave then.
this past week we were helping out this older woman, named ms. louisa, and we were putting siding on her house because it got all messed up over time and during the storm and a lot of the wood was rotted so that was a challenge. but while we were there she was telling us her story and what has been happening since the storm. since the storm she has had a contractor working on her house..but he only did so much and then he pretty much took her money and ran, and disappeared and never came back. and needless to say we see this at almost every house we work at in the neighborhood. like seriously? what the hell is that? what is soo wrong with people that they will steal from people that don't even have anything? ms. louisa saved up all of her social security and welfare checks for months to be able to pay for some of her house..and this guy steals it all. what an ass. people are fucked up and i am pissed about it. so we are trying to help her as best as we can.
and this is her story..i prolly won't tell it very well, but she sat on her porch the other day and told her. she speaks slow and quiet and her accent is at times difficult to understand..but this is what i heard. she was at her house in hollygrove and she new the storm was coming but she wanted to stay because she didn't think it would be too bad. and her family (her son and daughter) were still there too. well her daughter lives a mile away in an apartment complex so her apartment was raised and pretty high off the ground. so her son comes by and tells her that she has to leave her house because things are going to get bad so she gets her things and they go to her daughters apartment. they are hanging out and its just raining and real windy and after a little while water starts coming in the apartment and she is sitting in a chair and it comes up about 2 feet and then recedes. then about an hour or so later the water comes back into the apartment and goes higher to about her waist and it doesn't recede this time. so they figure they have to leave. so her son finds this big board of styrofoam that is sturdy enough to hold ms louisa. so they open the front door and all of the water rushes in and it goes up to about their necks and they leave. and the son puts ms louisa on the foam and the son and another man hold either side of the foam and they all try their best to get to higher ground, (the go back and get the daughter) the whole time there are small waves causing it to be a difficult task and they are passing dead people floating in the water and finally they get to higher ground and have to climb up on top of the highway over pass, in which they stay up there for two days because they are stranded. and then the rescue people find them and send them somewhere on a bus and they end up going to a few shelters. but the whole time ms louisa was really scared and she told us she was scream and crying and praying. and she said that her guardian angel wrapped his arms around her and saved her. but she is a tremendous woman and also told us other stories about the power of prayer. one of the things that hits me hard everytime is listening to the people of this neighborhood telling me their stories. they are crazy things that i could never imagine going through or dealing with. they are stronger and inspirational. i wish you could be here to experience this.
also we are in competition with another neighborhood to get a new school built. we hope we can get it here because it will help things and it will be beautiful and there still aren't some kids in school and with an education the kids will be empowered and can make better choices for their lives. and maybe it will make some of the crime in this neighborhood go away. we can only hope.
i just hope i am doing the right things. i haven't been listening as closely as i should be.
but there have been crazy ass things happening in the neighborhood. some of the things that have been happening lately are the rise in murders in the neighborhood. last week someone got killed on tuesday night, wednesday night and thursday night. and on friday during the day while we were working we heard like six gun shots around 2:30 a couple of blocks away. and we just had to ignore it. i believe there is some kind of gang battle type thing going on. what i have been hearing from the kids in our town is that a guy got out of jail on monday night (he was put in there because of something that he didn't do, apparently) so when he got out of jail the rival gang killed him because they were pissed he was out of jail and they wanted to get him back. so that started a big fight between both gangs. and then people got killed the other nights right down the street. also we met and saw the guy that got shot on thursday night. we saw him on wednesday and blake even talked to him, he was buying a four wheeler from the guy we knew (we we're working on his house) and on thursday night he got shot up 16 times. i don't know what for or what happened..but it sucks. and the guys house we were painting..that place is just sketchy and i always get bad vibes when i go there. but yea so lots of violence has been going on lately all over where we live. and i'm kind of scared about it. especially when i ride my bike alone to the gym at 6 am when it is still dark outside..but i trust that i will be okay.
only 7 more weeks or so. maybe 6 it depends if i get my hours done faster and if they will let me leave then.
this past week we were helping out this older woman, named ms. louisa, and we were putting siding on her house because it got all messed up over time and during the storm and a lot of the wood was rotted so that was a challenge. but while we were there she was telling us her story and what has been happening since the storm. since the storm she has had a contractor working on her house..but he only did so much and then he pretty much took her money and ran, and disappeared and never came back. and needless to say we see this at almost every house we work at in the neighborhood. like seriously? what the hell is that? what is soo wrong with people that they will steal from people that don't even have anything? ms. louisa saved up all of her social security and welfare checks for months to be able to pay for some of her house..and this guy steals it all. what an ass. people are fucked up and i am pissed about it. so we are trying to help her as best as we can.
and this is her story..i prolly won't tell it very well, but she sat on her porch the other day and told her. she speaks slow and quiet and her accent is at times difficult to understand..but this is what i heard. she was at her house in hollygrove and she new the storm was coming but she wanted to stay because she didn't think it would be too bad. and her family (her son and daughter) were still there too. well her daughter lives a mile away in an apartment complex so her apartment was raised and pretty high off the ground. so her son comes by and tells her that she has to leave her house because things are going to get bad so she gets her things and they go to her daughters apartment. they are hanging out and its just raining and real windy and after a little while water starts coming in the apartment and she is sitting in a chair and it comes up about 2 feet and then recedes. then about an hour or so later the water comes back into the apartment and goes higher to about her waist and it doesn't recede this time. so they figure they have to leave. so her son finds this big board of styrofoam that is sturdy enough to hold ms louisa. so they open the front door and all of the water rushes in and it goes up to about their necks and they leave. and the son puts ms louisa on the foam and the son and another man hold either side of the foam and they all try their best to get to higher ground, (the go back and get the daughter) the whole time there are small waves causing it to be a difficult task and they are passing dead people floating in the water and finally they get to higher ground and have to climb up on top of the highway over pass, in which they stay up there for two days because they are stranded. and then the rescue people find them and send them somewhere on a bus and they end up going to a few shelters. but the whole time ms louisa was really scared and she told us she was scream and crying and praying. and she said that her guardian angel wrapped his arms around her and saved her. but she is a tremendous woman and also told us other stories about the power of prayer. one of the things that hits me hard everytime is listening to the people of this neighborhood telling me their stories. they are crazy things that i could never imagine going through or dealing with. they are stronger and inspirational. i wish you could be here to experience this.
also we are in competition with another neighborhood to get a new school built. we hope we can get it here because it will help things and it will be beautiful and there still aren't some kids in school and with an education the kids will be empowered and can make better choices for their lives. and maybe it will make some of the crime in this neighborhood go away. we can only hope.
i just hope i am doing the right things. i haven't been listening as closely as i should be.