crime and lizards
Someone was murdered near where we used to live again. It was a pretty tough part of the city. Lot of shootings, stabbings and crime. One time we had left to go see my family, and there were emergency crews surrounding a house just down the street. Later on at my parent’s place the television was on before dinner, and we saw the scene on the news. It turned out to be a multi-million dollar meth operation that was being dismantled.
That used to be home to us. Now it is just street names on the news. Did you hear? Another murder near Humber.
I don't usually go out at night where we are now. If I do, there are areas I avoid. I feel pretty safe during the day though. Living there I always felt like anything could happen at any time.
This all got me thinking back to when we lived in Peterborough. Where we lived wasn't too bad at that time, but it has since declined. The street names also sometimes make the news. Usually stories related to the drug crisis. Back then it was just kind of annoying trying to get a good sleep. There was often loud drunk college kids on the streets after last call. A few loud all night parties nearby.
There was a guy that lived in the same building as us on the bottom floor. He used to drink alone, and would get really drunk and yell at the loud people walking down the street. We didn't have A/C so the bedroom window was open most summer nights. We could hear everything. We would worry about the guy some nights when the drunk people on the street would yell back at him. We worried that it could escalate. It never did. I’m assuming because he honestly sounded quite intimidating. A little bit crazy. During the day he was actually a very easy going chatty person.
Kind of a funnier side of that story. The guy couldn't stand it when anyone used a key fob to lock their car. The chirp or short burst of horn would push him over the edge. We would hear that sound some nights, and then immediately after, “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” One quiet night, when he must have been more drunk than usual, we heard be-beep, and then his voice loudly echoing out into the night, enunciating each syllable, “are you a MAN, or are you a LIZARD?” I will probably think of that whenever I hear that sound for the rest of my life. No idea what it could even mean.