In the 'hood...

I went to the local bodega around the corner earlier today. A white woman was in there -- a white woman I don't know. Now, I realize that sounds a bit odd as I myself am indeed a white woman. But, y'see, in my town, that's a minority and I know most of the folks around the neighborhood. There are other white women, sure. But I live in a mainly black and Latino rising area. I'm also a regular at the bodega and know most of the customers who frequent the store. This is the store that gives me free gum, for Christmas they gave me two 2 liter bottles of brand name soda of my choice. Not a huge gift, but it was nice of them. They're good guys at the bodega.

But, back to the white woman...
Two regular black male customers and the two Latino store owners were chatting as a sandwich was being made for the woman. I bought my cigarettes and she commented on how expensive everything was here. One of the guys asked her where she was from. Indiana. Um... in Plainfield, NJ, huh? Now, that has to be a bit of a culture shock unless she came from an urban area.

One of the customers asked, "So, what brings you here?"
"I bought a crack house."

So, I couldn't resist... I asked, "Is this an operating crack house? An investment property? Or did you kick the crackheads out?"

She laughed and said it was a bit of a problem to get them out, but she and her husband picked up the house for 50 grand and it should be worth $240,000 by the time they're through rehabbing it. The neighbors are great, she said. She lives down an adjacent street, so I'm not all that familiar with her 'hood, but I know this town. It has some really bad Camden-like neighborhoods, but overall it's good people just workin' for a living.

The town was a wealthy one at the turn of the century. I'm talking into the 1900s, not the 2000s. Its nickname is the Queen City, thus named for all the Queen Victorian homes within its borders. So many gay folks have snapped up the historical homes in some areas that Plainfield has been called a "gay mecca" in some online articles. My own 'hood isn't in any of the historical districts, but has a few fine rehabbed homes amidst the apartment buildings and churches.

The murder rate went up this year, alas. But, I feel safe, nonetheless. I find Plainfield the sort of town where I can walk down the street and folks actually say hello -- folks from all walks of life, from many cultures. I'll admit I don't walk around a lot at night, but I don't trust a lot of cities at night when there aren't many people other than the denizens out and about. I enjoy getting to know the people around me. I enjoy the diversity that is Plainfield. I like going to the Latino bodega, the Jamaican corner store, the Egyptian run "Pharoah's Texas Weiners," the Hindu run corner store, the Mexican bakery, the soul food luncheon, the Vietnamese take out... if this was a milquetoast town, it wouldn't be as enjoyable for me. As it is, it makes me feel good to be a part of the cultural soup.

The local news tends to tell the bad things about Plainfield. But, as a four year resident of the city and an "outsider" in many ways, I have to say there's a lot of good about the town and its people. But, shhh... we'll keep that a secret between us.

In other local news, I was listening to my police scanner last night. Yeah, there were shots fired (kind of normal in a few neighborhoods). Yeah, there were plenty of domestic disputes and a few fights. But, there was one unusual event. Someone (had to be more than a few someones) actually stole the ATM machine from Scott's Drugs in the center of town. We're talking the whole thing! How they did it, I don't know. The cops found it about an hour later and fussed about how much it weighed. The fire department had to respond with a truck which had a lift as it weighed well over 500 pounds. On my last hearing about it, the cops said they doubt any fingerprints could be recovered and don't seem to have any suspects.

I have an alibi. I was home listening to my police scanner. ;-)