As had been mentioned in my previous post, moving home sounds like a great idea. It's a nice thing to think about until you realize that you're thinking about it while sitting at home in your centrally heated/cooled dwelling place, watching your HD programming on your 60" LED tv, browsing the internet on a 22 mb/sec data connection while not being chewed to pieces by a million plus Raid resistant fucking hell spawn mosquitoes........but I digress.
Move back where?
There are still things to be considered first. Last time I touched on a couple of those issues namely public service and the lack of the most basic principles of customer service. Well today I have a few more issues to discuss: crime, cleanliness and creature comforts, conduct on the roads all come to mind though I'll probably just touch on crime alone today.
Crime
Let's talk about crime shall we? Honestly people get affected by villainy and skullduggery everywhere. I myself, having never been robbed or burglarized, had my apartment in Atlanta broken into just earlier this year...........twice. But for the love of God, Trinbago is taking this crime thing to another level. You know something has to be wrong when you pack only your shittiest pairs of shoes while leaving all your jewelry safely in the USA.
Seriously, I didn't bring a single piece of jewelry home with me during my last trip just last month. I packed 3 pairs of sneakers that I didn't mind having stolen if it really came down to it and I brought two watches (from a 14-piece collection). My beloved Samsung Galaxy S phone and my Galaxy Tab 7 tablet never made it out of the carry-on bag after leaving the airport; both seeing the light of day only once we landed safely in Miami on the way back.
It's not really that bad is it? You're exaggerating a bit.
I used to make it my business to at least peruse the Express, Guardian and Newsday newspaper websites on a daily basis, but there is only so much stabbing, chopping, shooting, raping, kidnapping, "dead body found in cane field" type news stories a man can take in one lifetime. Not to mention the horrific car accident reports. Trinis don't seem to get into fender benders anymore, the general mantra seems to be that if the car isn't crushed, mangled, torn in two or have had the roof torn off, you're not doing it right. It appears to be crash hard or don't bother.
You think I'm exaggerating about how rough things are crime-wise? I wasn't even home a good 4 days before witnessing a young lady getting robbed on the corner of Park Street and Charlotte Street in town. Now to be fair to the robber, it was 4 in the morning............what exactly was the would-be victim doing on Charlotte Street (of all places) at that time of the night? Looking to get robbed apparently.
As we're driving down Charlotte Street, we noticed a middle-aged man and a what seemed like an older teen-aged girl (18 or 19 maybe) scuffling on the ground in the middle of the road.
Apparently the young lady was standing on the pavement talking on her phone and the asshole passed and snatched it from her, attempting to run off with it. The brave (or slightly wacko) girl grabs him and they fight. He eventually breaks free of her in an attempt to run away. Dummy runs after him (what is wrong with this girl?) and in response, he turns around and smashes the phone into her face before running off down Piccadilly Street.......WHAT THE FUCK?!
How's that for exaggerating?
I can ignore many things because after all, T&T is my home, but I must admit, the crime thing gives me pause. When I can't walk the street without wondering not if, but when someone is going to come snatch my laptop/phone/etc. When I can't even walk up St. Paul Street anymore or even lime too late at my grandparents' homes in Picton anymore, something is terribly wrong, and for that, I may as well park my ass right where it is and stay in Atlanta.
Now a question??? Would we find you at South of 5 Points at 4a.m.?? Ah jes saying Late night Urban core is generally Hard core!!!!! Buh lehwe bus a lime outside magic city nah
ReplyDeleteyeah dred, I know exactly what u mean cuz i go thru the same stress when i go home. I haven't been gone as long as u but when i left it wasn't no where nearly as bad as it is now, either that or i didn't notice till I left. Imagine I feel safer walking home in West Philly than I do in Trinidad...smh
ReplyDeleteWell lemme think about that for a sec........I'd have to say emphatically yes. I'm a product of the AUC and nothing was more hood or hard core than the West End surrounding Morehouse.
ReplyDeleteI cut my teeth early in the area south of Five Points a long time ago, I doh have any fears in that area after 4:00 am.
Magic City? No problem, but I normally prefer Pinups or Strokers.
and that's a pretty big statement Fitz, that video of them fellas shooting up the bus the other day still bothers me.....
ReplyDeleteBut at the end of the day, it's probably still safer than walking down Charlotte Street, Nelson Street or George Street around 4 in the morning.
Atlanta has it's rough spots too as do all cities but I never once though to leave my jewelry at home while in these areas.