maybe some artists should move in

I've lived in one ghetto or another since moving out of my parents' house. Some of them were, in fact, decent places to live; I use the word ghetto in its traditional sense to refer to neighborhoods populated by minorities and plagued by crime. I've always felt they were reasonably priced places to live, and simply avoided being a lone pedestrian after dark...at least, after I got mugged and beaten up for about $25.

I've recently decided it's time to move on. I'm sick of the mentality that a neighborhood isn't worth saving, doesn't warrant investment. I'm sick of people not giving a shit.

Last week I had to scrape the contents of the recycling bin off the street after two assholes rummaged through it for cans and bottles (California has a cash redemption value for recyclables). I don't object strongly enough to their rummaging to interrupt it -- especially as there were two of them, they looked like hardasses, and I'm pretty sure they were drunk at 7 am -- even though it undercuts the ability of recycling services to cover their own costs. I object to the fact that they smeared trash all over the street, and that I had to clean up after them.

Yesterday, I picked up and disposed of the carcass of a cat that had been decaying by the side of the street for a week. It was in someone's front yard. Who the fuck leaves a rotting animal in their front yard for a week? Ghetto people. Animal control will come pick it up for free, but ghetto people are insufficiently invested in their own neighborhood to bother picking up the phone.

For over a month, the neighbors' newly adopted dog has been barking all night long. ALL. NIGHT. LONG. I've lost count of how many hours of sleep I've lost. I've gone to their house twice, all sugar and spice, let them know that their dog is disturbing the neighborhood, and asked them to please quiet it. The first time, they seemed stunned and remarked that "No one told us." Umm. Hi. This is me, your neighbor, standing here telling you about it. The second time, they told me all about other dogs in the neighborhood, who also bark. "We've had complaints!" they said, "but it's not always our dog." I smiled and replied, "Well, it's your dog right now, and I'd really appreciate it if you asked him to be quiet."

They did. But the peace is always short-lived; the following evening I called the police at midnight and asked them to please pay a visit to the neighbors, whose dog had been barking constantly for an hour and a half. I'm not exaggerating, either: I've been keeping a log at the request of county animal control, who can't take any action until one of the other neighbors makes a complaint. No one has. Even the folks next door, who complain to me every time I see them about the noise, and who scream over the fence at the dog to shut the fuck up...they won't file a complaint. It's not even about getting the dog removed from its home -- although that's the best solution I can think of in this case, since the dog isn't a part of the family but remains chained up in a walled-off portion of the yard (no wonder the poor creature barks). Animal control merely visits the residence to assist the owners in training their dog and suggesting tools that may aid in the process. But they can't do even that, since no one will register a complaint. This morning, that dog started barking at 4:36 am, and didn't stop until 6:00. Then he started back up again before 7:00. It's driving me bloody mad. I want to bust out the gate and unhook the dog from its chain. It's not registered, and if it has any sense at all it won't come back.