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Not in my backyard
Submitted by Michael Fielding on Sun, 05/06/2007 - 8:45pm.
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After I left college there was a reason that I always said that if I ever moved back to Chicago, it would be in the neighborhood. It's rich in tradition, it's got the strongest identity of any neighborhood in Chicago, and it's a safe, stable place to raise a family.
I still believe that, although two incidents in the last week put that faith to the test.
Last Sunday morning I witnessed a pretty rough rear-end collision on 109th and Kedzie between a mini van and an SUV. I was two cars behind them, and as I approached the mini-van, the driver lodged free of the SUV, backed up, nearly hit me and drove off. The driver of the SUV was fine, so I drove off after the mini van to catch his plate number. I lost him, but - somehow - within half an hour, an off-duty Chicago police officer had caught the guy and arrested him.
Bad beginning, happy ending.
Fast forward a week. This morning I was at DiCola's when an elderly man began to exit. A large, much-younger guy who seemed to be waiting inside approached the elderly man as if to hold the door for him. Within moments a woman who was also inside yelled at the elderly man to get his attention: the young thug had slipped his hand inside the guy's pocket and grabbed his wallet.
Good thing for the elderly guy that this woman saw it all happen and made a scene out of it. The thug pretended he had no idea what she was talking about and took off.
Again, bad beginning. Happy ending.
It's those two incidents that proved to me that while our little area of the city isn't immune from crime, it's got one thing that other neighborhoods need more of: conscientious neighbors.
Thanks to the off-duty cop and the woman at DiCola's for renewing my faith in an area that I plan to call home for quite some time.
I'm not surprised to hear
I'm not surprised to hear about the polarizing behaviors of different citizens that come from the same area in these situations. That kind of behavior is prevelant in all areas in the city and suburbs too. No matter where one goes, they are going to find good people and bad people.
As a pizza driver in the Ashburn community for 2 years, I could see the differences in how people act in the manner that they gave tips. One person on Spaulding avenue would give me a $20 tip and wish me good luck in life while someone down the same block would rob me at gunpoint that same night.
In Beverly last year, local kid Ryan Rusch was beaten up and robbed for a cell phone at a public park but survived. An off-duty police officer went out of his way to track down the perpetrators. No area in the city is immune from crime, but no area is immune from good deeds either.