The Other Side of the Tracks

In this large city I call home, we live close to downtown in an historic neighborhood, characterized by old houses which have been restored, rentals (some kept up and some not), houses in disrepair, and, like ours, houses not exactly in disrepair, but houses that need work to keep them updated. We have lived here many years and know most of our neighbors, it is comfortable and home to us.  Many of our acquaintances, however, would not feel safe here - and don't get me wrong, I don't throw caution to the wind and leave things unlocked, but neither do I fear going outside, walking in my neighborhood (during the day anyway), or sitting on my screened in porch anytime of the day or night.

A couple of evenings ago, I had the occasion to be in a home in the "Oaklawn" neighborhood.  This area is located in the southeast part of my city, and was built shortly after WWII in answer to the aircraft companies needing cheap, fast, affordable housing for its workers.   According to an internet source -

The homes weren't fancy, being built on concrete pads, and followed the same simple design throughout. Some were two bedroom, others were three bedrooms, and a few were small cottage types. The housing was only temporary until the city's economy caught up with Boeing and more homes could be built and sold. The long term plan was to demolish the structures and return the area to its original condition.

However, nothing was demolished, and Oaklawn today, particularly on the south side is cheap, rundown rentals, couches in yards, peeling paint, dogs on chains in the front yards, abandoned vehicles, and about everything you wouldn't want in a neighborhood, particularly in the mid section of this area.  There are homes that have been kept up, but these are not in the majority.  There is a small park for kids which looks like it has recently been built, and there are people who take pride in ownership of their homes, but they are few.

After I left my friend's house, I drove through Oaklawn looking for an address of someone I've known (but I've only been to her house twice).  I normally am not on high alert as I drive through neighborhoods, but this was different.  I saw two guys in a fist fight on the street, and as I kept going, turned down a road that ended up being a circular drive with people out in their yards watching me as I passed by.  Junk piled on curbs, people standing in the street, dogs barking - these things contributed to an extremely uneasy feeling I had and I got out of there, thankfully finding a street which dumped out on 47th street.

I have been thinking about this a lot - what it must be like to be afraid to live in your own home?  What it must be like to not be able to be comfortable in your own environment?  What kids are like who grow up there in poverty and to the sounds of gunfire and the smells of unpicked up trash?  It would be difficult to live each day on "high alert", and very taxing to the body and mind - but people do it every day.  Oaklawn needs help.  I know there is a neighborhood association, and there's a school, and there's a church or two, but somehow I get the feeling that like an ugly boil on your backside, our city leaders would rather not think about it.  I dunno.  I have no answers, only a sudden awareness that in the southeast part of town, families are really struggling.

Late Ramblings

Yep, it's late for me, after 11:00pm.  I'm finding it difficult to unwind and relax so I thought I'd post - in rereading some of my earlier writings, the yawning has already started  :)

The porch renovation is coming along nicely.  The reno team, which includes some unpaid volunteer help is wonderful - however, lest they think they're done, they're going to tackle a new kitchen floor and a repaint in there for me.  That may involve less time but it will be chaotic inside where I live.  I don't do well with chaos, but many times, it's unavoidable in order to reach a goal.

Health issues are looming large for me these days.  They are complicated and frustrating, and I'm not a very patient patient.  My family physician has been my health care provider for 35 years now and knows me well - and knows that I am struggling.  He's taken good care of me all these years and I know he knows what he's doing, but...  it's hard for me to continue to follow the regimen when results are not what we were expecting.

This next week I'm meeting with a nutritionist who I'm hoping will help.  She talked about 103 miles a minute on the phone, so she may be too high energy for me but we'll see.  I've also started back to the Y, and, I'm keeping track of these small steps on my goal sheet.  On August 12, I want to see what I've accomplished.

Life These Days

Good morning.  I've now completed my 9th year working as a school psychologist.  School is out and I've spent the last week decompressing and getting my "summer vacation legs" underneath me.  Because I tend to procrastinate, and because I tend to want to be lazy, and because I need a visual reminder, I have set some goals for summer and am documenting each step I complete so that I can note progress made.  This "progress" is sometimes noted as incremental tiny steps, so this documentation helps me see that hopefully, it really will make a difference.  There are seven major things I want to accomplish during this two months that I'm off so I'm hoping this chart will help.

However, even on summer "vacation", there are students I think about almost every day.  I wonder how life is for them, and if they are safe at home.  As a mandated reporter, I've had my share of calls to DCF (and I'm not going to rant about those issues here), and those kids always are in my heart.  I wish I knew (or maybe I don't) how they are.  Other students I think about bring happy memories - the one second grader who told me he wanted to be a chemist when he grew up - and proceeded to instruct me on protons, neutrons, and electrons.  The little girl who drew me a picture and wrote on it:  "To Mrs. XXXX - the best teacher I ever had!"  The precocious first grader with her hair piled up on top of her head who took my hand as we walked down the hall.  The student from another country just learning English who tried tried tried so hard to get it right.  A 5th grader leaving my school this year who I've watched carefully since 2nd grade- he now is struggling with lots of issues.  O God, bless them and keep them!

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Today is cool and cloudy, not quite what you might expect in Kansas on June 1.  The gardens are planted but there's been lots and lots of rain (the second wettest May on record just happened) so some things are not thriving as they should, however, lest anyone think I'm complaining, this rain has been an answer to prayer as far as the drought goes.  It's made a big difference.

We're getting ready to tackle two more remodeling projects - thanks to my very talented sister-in-law - we will be redoing our porch and putting new flooring in and painting our kitchen.   Our old house is a challenge, but there are things about it that we like.  I think we'll probably stay here until we can't stay here anymore, then we'll pass it on to our kids and it will be their problem  :) ,

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To close -

"When all is said and done, more is said than done."
-Lou Holtz