uneasy street

well, i've been pretty lame about blogging lately but i have really good excuses. first off, i'm in the midst of taking on a new job. won't be in it officially until mid-sept but i'm starting to ramp up now. big learnings ahead! should be fun. next up is our new house which closed a couple of weeks ago. while this would normally be really exciting, we've been on the market for about 2 months now with our condo with no offers. yikes!

anyways, enough with the excuses. i thought i'd share a view of what i see when i drive into the rampart district of LA (west of downtown) to pick up my pal jonathan on sundays. most ppl don't know this but the rampart district has the 2nd highest population density in the US, next to manhattan. and it isn't due to the high rises, it's largely attributable to the masses of latino immigrants crowding their familes into tiny apartments.

elcome to uneasy street. this is a shot looking down the alleyway into a nearby park that is infamous for aggressive street people and thugs. tagging and gang violence is normal here. since i've known jonathan, 3 of his acquaintances and pals have been shot and killed. for someone under 18, that's insane.
this was laying on the side of the street in front of me while i waited for jonathan. anyone else find dolls a little creepy? especially when their heads are poking out of abandoned suitcases? they were gone from the suitcase when i returned that evening. apparently someone found them more interesting than disturbing.
iraq or LA? this is the entrance to the apt bldg next door.
i hope our politicians, mission workers and other global do-gooders realize that we have serious needs here at home. time to focus on cleaning our own house for a change?