HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Apr. 17, 2005 Pittsburg, California is a racially diverse town of nearly 80,000 residents. Approximately 23% of the townsfolk are black and 26% are Hispanic. The population figures are a far cry from when my parents first moved us to the area in 1965. Then the population was but 19,000 and Camp Stoneman—a military residential area converted into a housing project—was flourishing with working class black families. 38 of my 46 years have been spent in the Pittsburg/Bay Point (formerly the unincorporated area of West Pittsburg). The area is known as a bedroom community with “affordable” housing starting at around $350,000. For that amount of money you can buy a townhouse so close to your neighbor’s that if he farts, you can tell what he ate. The city has its good areas and downtrodden spots. I have seen both sides of the fence. A year ago I moved into an older neighborhood of long-term residences, many of whom were retirees. There were other vacancies in the area and within two months several young families moved in. They were a rowdy lot—speeding up and down the street in their souped up old school rides—with stereos blaring at all hours of the night. I moved into a duplex where the neighbor was a twentysomething plus-size stripper. Month later she had an abortion, this after a weight gain of ten pounds or so. She soon found herself out of work and began piercing her face in various places, in addition to buying some platinum, clip-on teeth that made her look atrocious. But she was so charming that she drew men in droves, including one who “fronted” her lucrative drug business. Neither rain, sleet, snow or gloom of night can stop a postman from making his appointed rounds. But a postman ain’t got a damn thing on a crackhead. The aforementioned weather won’t stop them, nor will a tornado, earthquake or flashflood from making their purchases. With so much stop and go “traffic” at all hours of the night, it wasn’t long before “Miss Thang” found herself behind bars. That was a relief, but the worst was yet to come, for over a six-week span four people would be shot—three fatally—and another man would be beaten to death in broad daylight one house down from mine. An intense police crackdown cleared the area out back to its staid, quiet beginnings. But my lease was up and I had an opportunity to move to a residence that was nearly four hundred dollars a month less, plus provided me adequate room, storage space. And a fenced-in backyard. I moved to El Pueblo, where for more than twenty years the area was rampant with drug dealing, prostitution, gun play and other forms of criminality. Over the years management put in place stiff penalties for households with residents involved in criminal activity; This coupled with a strong police presence led to a large number of evictions and subsequently cleaned up the neighborhood. Now children can play outside and come evening the elderly can sit in their yards and enjoy the breeze off the waters of Grizzly Bay. More important, my kids like the area. It is located near a bus stop, has an on-site computer center and refurbished basketball courts with bleachers. There is a playground for smaller children. The change in scenery has jump started my creative batteries, so the move was good for all. Within fifteen months the area will be razed and replaced with better newer, affordable housing. Residents will be granted moving assistance and will be given first crack at moving back when the project is completed sometime in early 2009. Subsequently, my next move will be uptown where there is less crime and newer schools. But who knows what the future holds, especially with skyrocketing housing prices and the lure of cheaper prices in the nearby Central Valley. Then again, maybe its time for a trip home to Nebraska. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
