Here is my original version of the piece that was printed in The Expositor Today. I am finally waking up to the fact that I should be doing a better job of keeping this blog up to date with the things I have written that are published. That way hopefully I will have a record of my writing for my nieces and nephews to enjoy someday.
Sympatica Crescent is actually a nice place to live though you might not know it from the outside. 20 years or so ago our city planners in their infinite wisdom crowded what seems like all of the apartment buildings and Co-Operative housing for Lynden Hills onto one side of this otherwise relatively quiet crescent. Perhaps proof that what is happening to areas near the downtown is nothing new. Despite this it is far from what I would consider a Ghetto. Though you may have trouble convincing the city of this it seems. At last count there were 5 street lights burnt out on our street. It seems typical of the lack of care from the city that leaves people thinking parts of Brantford might not be a nice place to live; an attitude that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just a few steps outside my door is the beauty of Bridle Path Park, complete with two schools and a rec centre. Unfortunately the sound barrier along the back has been painted with graffiti for years. At least one generation of kids has grown up looking at the markings of the “519crew” and their hope for “old log” to rest in peace. Over the years parks crews have mowed that grass faithfully every week. If they reported the graffiti to their bosses it fell on deaf ears. Gradually we have seen new tags sprouting up and entire sections of the sound barrier have been destroyed providing easy access to the industrial park from the school. One corner of the park has been allowed to become overgrown and now provides a hiding place for teens looking to consume things they don’t want to be seen consuming. A quiet day enjoying the sun on the grass in the park these days can be interrupted by motorcycles and even the occasional car ripping across the grass. As children have grown up feeling that nobody cares what they do here they have felt emboldened to do more. This year has seen a bumper crop of new “tags” added some using colourful words not fit to print let alone be seen by elementary school students on recess; kids that will go on to become teens with too much free time, and a can of paint in their hands. It’s all about that feeling that the city has created through neglect here. They think nobody cares. Next November the many residents of Sympatica Crescent will make their usual walk down our dimly lit street and across our graffiti stained park to that rec centre to cast our votes in the usual city election. Some of us just might care about these things and have had enough. Food for thought for those hoping to have us make a check mark beside their names.
