Twelve thoughts


... have lived for 20 years in what could be considered a pretty nondescript community ... others call it rough ...

... true it is on the "wrong" side of the river ... the west side ... on the edge of "downtown" ... across the railroad tracks ... at the bottom of "C" hill ... should there be any more stereotypes ... one more ... heard "once you turn the corner ya know you're in the hood" ...

... i feel safe ... even though have survived one break in resulting in all electronics stolen, a number of house windows broken, car vandalized, tires slashed, driver window shattered, ignition switch destroyed, even a second car torched by a fire ... house side graffitied a couple of times ... oh ya ... two homicides less than 100 meters from the yard (2014) ... still feel relatively safe ... 

... yet when opened the backdoor this morning saw a knife on top of the fence post ... it was a bit unsettling ...

... perhaps I should explain the lone fence post ... at one time there was a wooden fence surrounding the property ... always being scratched or damaged ... dismantled it ... destroying a wooden fence can be a truly cathartic act ... that bullshit about good fences make good neighbors ... now neighborhood dogs have full access to the beautiful huge tree trunks & there is a well worn short cut path ... it's a corner lot and using the sidewalk means an extra, i don't know, ten steps ... i'm a good neighbor without a fence ... back to the fence post ... left one standing for winter extension cord purposes ... winter is an eight month proposition ... temperatures dip to -40 C ... car needs plugging in ... extension cord needs tying down ... hence lone fence post standing ...

... well the knife was a butcher's knife ... first thought ... what's the message ... yet if it were a message ... like straight out of Coppola's The Godfather it should have been a horse head ... don't mean to suggest this is an Italian neighborhood ... i'm Italian heritage ... the rest of the neighborhood is hugely mixed ... primarily low income edging ever so slowly to hipster ... second thought maybe someone had dropped it ... another had found it ... being considerate had politely placed the knife nice and high and visible on the fence post ... 

... thought for a moment ... just leave it there for the owner to find it again ... fourth thought ... no way ... took it inside and laid it down in the entrance way ... locked the door behind me ... rushed off because I was a few minutes off schedule being delayed by the knife action ... had to get past the railway tracks before the morning train came ... hated waiting in the resulting halted traffic jam so always timed drive early enough to avoid the train ... sped over the tracks and was well on my way to work ...

... waiting at a red light thought asked ... keep the knife ... hadn't really had time to inspect it ... looked expensive ... first glance ... seemed in good condition ... sharp ... but what can you determine by just looking at a knife ... sixth thought ... didn't need a knife ... knew if I kept it ... every time I looked or used it ... would remember this strange incident ... seven ... could keep it and hide it ... what would be the use of that ...

eight ... throw it away ...not in my trash though and no one near here ... people regularly went through the trash searching for anything ... didn't want them finding a good butchers knife ... remember that time you were helping that eight year old fix his bike ... he pulled out this kitchen knife from his backpack ... asked him why he had the knife ... "Just like to carry a knife" he replied ... "Do your parents know you have a knife?" I asked ... "No" he stated eyeing me ... "Maybe you should tell them." I suggested ... "Sure!" he lied ...  

nine ... been two days ... knife lays waiting for a decision ... a baseball bat at the front ... a butcher knife at the back ... told you I felt safe ... so why the bat & knife ... don't even know where the bat came from ... 

ten ... can never be too careful ... always be prepared ... had been a Boy Scout ... 

eleven ... replace the knife ... take a picture ... put it back inside ... write about it ... post on blog ... seems logical ... 

twelve ...

::Note:: ... still waiting for the 12th thought ... "good knives make good neighbours" - jc FB comment ...

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