Look at this picture.
What does this say about our society? A padlock on a hammock?
I live in one of those old mills converted into condos. It is not a high-crime area. It is a rare crime area.
The closest thing to a gang is a knitting club that meets once a month or so. Up to the moment I wrote this, there have been no drive-by shootings attributed to this gang. Not even an injury from a crochet needle stabbing.
Last I checked, none of them were cooking Meth while knitting sweaters.
The most dangerous thing to do here is to walk through the parking lot. You have to have situational awareness as some of the senior gang members go airborne over the speed bumps.
They never seem to remember them being there. You can tell by the shocked look on their faces as they bounce along.
Their gang sign is two hands on a steering wheel with no head visible over the dash. They drive by memory.
The only gang graffiti is a chalkboard sign. One of the residents posts sayings each week. They rarely seem threatening.
Yet, along the river, at a peaceful spot someone thought perfect for a hammock (it is), they also felt the need to padlock the hammock to a tree.
Looking for a sign of the apocalypse? Look no further than this.
Bolt cutters or a chain saw and that hammock is gone! I remember a Sunday morning (many) years ago and responding to a car burglary call. The window, worth several hundreds of dollars , on an expensive Mercedes smashed so the thief could steal two one dollar bills left visible on the console.
In the words of the Wicked Witch as she lay melting from the brutality of Dorothy…”What a world, what a world…”