I guess we agree in principle. I grew up in a changing neighborhood on the south side of Chicago and fought my way out of trouble more than once. When I was 19 years old, I delivered pizzas in Chicago's Blackstone area and was chased by the Blackstone Rangers many times. Fortunately, my 57 Ford always started. (The guy who took over for me when I took a week off ended up in the hospital. But he no longer holds a grudge. He's dead.) I've wandered Hells Kitchen in NYC and downtown Detroit just for the hell of it. Somehow, Santa Monica, Berkley, and Westwood don't scare me.
But that's all beside the point. What I've been trying to say is that homeless people aren't necessarily evil nor are they necessarily bottom of the barrel. I know I've come damn close to homeless at times. Yet there were times when I've counted my assets in seven figures. Sometimes that line is very narrow.
Paul
Paul
On Oct 17, 2004, at 4:17 PM, Keith Whaley wrote:
(by now the Subject line has lost all pertinence, however... :^)
Paul Stenquist wrote:
I spend most of my summers in Santa Monica in Ocean Avenue hotels. And two of my best friends live on Ocean Avenue. I walk around Santa Monica at night and have never had a problem. My two friends are both young women -- one lives at Ocean and Montana, the other at Ocean and San Vicente.
Those places ARE sort of up-town, aren't they... Out of the usual haunts for the unemployed and homeless. Nobody up there to cadge money from... Besides, how 'young' are they. Just a few years can make a difference. Attitude makes a big difference too. If you look vulnerable, you probably are...
They both walk around town at will, frequently late at night. Neither have ever encountered any kind of problem.
Smile...
I have walked around Richmond, Berkeley, heck, even Westwood! - late at night, and have no problem with it. All of those places CAN be nasty at times, if you're not attentive.
I frequently walk around some rather seedy parts of San Francisco, sometimes at night too, and have never been bothered. One person's "bothered" is another person's "no big deal." I know that.
It's a lot your attitude going in, isn't it.
I DO walk around in "condition yellow" however. I am keenly aware, and know what's coming down around me at all times. At least I hope I do...
If you look like a "mark" you might well end up being one.
The worst that ever happens is being asked for spare change. But, it's the frequency of it that rankles me.
That and not taking no for an answer. Following you around in case you change your mind... Not nice, but dangerous? No.
Anyhow, your lady friends are probably not teenagers any more, and are as aware as only residents can be, when they sashay around town. Being two helps a lot. Going it alone in the very same areas would NOT be smart. Almost no matter what city you're in ~ and Santa Monica is most certainly no exception.
I love Santa Monica. I go there a lot for shopping and night life. I've been out here (Southern California and Santa Monica) living and playing in the general area for some 40 + years.
But I never wander around there unaware anymore.
The homeless in Santa Monica are basically harmless. More than anything, they want to be ignored. Most of us have no problem with that.
Yes, you're totally right. So long as all you run into are the harmless homeless.
To believe all the wanderers are fundamentally harmless is pure folly...
Paul
keith
