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greeneyedgirl · Jul 9, 2006, 01:24 am

Tonight, same as every night, I walked past a group of thugs who live on the same block as me. No matter what time of day I walk by, this same group of 4-20 people are always sitting outside their one-story apartment building, smoking pot, drinking beer, and doing the things that thugs do.

Tonight, as I was reading a book, I heard a girl outside my window screaming for help. I ignored her because it is typical to hear people fighting and screaming at night (after all, this is NYC.) A few moments later, her screams were replaced by a bunch of guys screaming "get her" and the sound of tires screeching and gunshots. This piqued my interest and I turned out the light, crept to the window and opened my screen as quietly as I could.

Outside was a total mob scene. People were screaming "call an ambulance!" and 30-50 thugs and their hoochies were swarming all over the place. Seeing that others from my building had ventured outside, I grabbed my keys and ran downstairs to join them. Upon exiting the building, I was horrified to find myself standing 4" from a pool of blood and 5 feet from a guy who had been stabbed to death. Up the street, laying in the middle of the road was the girl, who had been shot.

As I looked at the guy who had been stabbed, I realized it was one of the thugs who earlier today had ran into the apartment and retrieved a plastic bag when my grocery bag ripped and the contents spilled to the ground.

It's kind of odd how one minute you can be living and breathing and the next minute you can be lying in a pool of your own blood on the sidewalk, dead.

**Chris** · Jul 9, 2006, 02:28 am

Very thought provoking indeed.

And if you want to look outside and not be seen at night, dont turn on the light first. Keep the lights out. and then loko outside. At night they can see you easily if you have the lights on.

Clarence · Jul 9, 2006, 02:31 am

umm. due to your recent unforgetable experience, life may seem a little more fleeting than normal. I trust you'll know what ot do with what you saw. I believe life is thriving. almost teeming. So, uhh. Well, I heard that looking at babies and children playing helps you confront death with a with a little lighter spirit. Besides chances are, life will be sinfully long.

greeneyedgirl · Jul 9, 2006, 02:51 am

Quote:

Quote by: Clarence

umm. due to your recent unforgetable experience, life may seem a little more fleeting than normal. I trust you'll know what ot do with what you saw. I believe life is thriving. almost teeming. So, uhh. Well, I heard that looking at babies and children playing helps you confront death with a with a little lighter spirit. Besides chances are, life will be sinfully long.

I guess I'm a bit shaken up by the whole thing. It is the first time in my life I have ever seen a person bleed out and die in front of me, and the fact that it happened in front of my window doesn't help much. I think I have always went through my life thinking I was infallible, that death is for the old and the infirm and not for the young and healthy. I can't help but wonder; if that guy had made one different choice tonight, would he still be alive right now? Like, what if he would have went to the store to get cigarettes instead of sitting outside that apartment and having that last beer. If he had done one thing different throughout the course of the day, would it have altered his tragic outcome?

Scribbler1 · Jul 9, 2006, 02:52 am

And if you or someone else had called the cops? (and no, I don't think badly of you for not doing so)

Google "Kitty Genovese" for a more famous example of that. As a New Yorker you might already be familiar with the story.

greeneyedgirl · Jul 9, 2006, 02:58 am

Quote:

Quote by: Scribbler1

And if you or someone else had called the cops? (and no, I don't think badly of you for not doing so)

Google "Kitty Genovese" for a more famous example of that. As a New Yorker you might already be familiar with the story.

Yeah, the Kitty Genovese story was awful. The area where it happened is a very affluent, primarily Jewish area which makes it more surprising that no one tried to help her.

The other day, a guy went beserk in the subway and grabbed 2 battery powered chain saws and started cutting people up with them. The man who was hurt most severly said that no one helped him, not even the subway workers. The NY Post likened it to the Genovese story. I guess it's just the NY way. It's sad.

**Chris** · Jul 9, 2006, 03:12 am

battery operated chainsaws? I never heard of them. I saw some battery operated hedge trimmers.

What a whacko. Youd think they wouldnt allow people to carry shit like that into the subway, but Some people carry bags etc.

greeneyedgirl · Jul 9, 2006, 03:47 am

Quote:

Quote by: |Chris|

battery operated chainsaws? I never heard of them. I saw some battery operated hedge trimmers.

What a whacko. Youd think they wouldnt allow people to carry shit like that into the subway, but Some people carry bags etc.

My bad, it was a cordless power-saw. Chainsaw, powersaw, hacksaw, battery operated,cordless, remote control.....it's all the same to me...lol. Here's the link to the story if you want to read it:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07072006...a_r__fagen.htm

Mia · Jul 9, 2006, 03:51 am

I don't understand not calling the cops. I lived in downtown Phoenix and it was pretty nasty there. Still, I called the cops when I heard gunshots (after I had moved from where there were gunshots every night and usually it was the cops) and once I heard a man yelling at and threatening a woman so I pretended to do something else outside so I could listen and I had my phone to call if it escallated.

I'd want someone to help and/or call cops if I was in trouble.

I will say this: when I was in the really bad neighborhood, the cops were assholes. There was a gas leak in my apartment and I couldn't get them to care. There was someone sleeping inside. The fire company even told me 'drag him out, and we'll be right there'

OK....(they didn't show)

Then I saw about 10 cops busting someone for something and I figured they could spare one person for a minute.

He told me 'your apartment just caught fire, you'd better get over there' (not true)

It was awful!

Then I got in trouble with the apartment manager and I was told that in that neighborhood, you DO NOT call police.

Is that common in certain neighborhoods?

**Chris** · Jul 9, 2006, 10:06 am

Ahh see there is the problem:

Quote:

The bizarre 3:30 a.m. attack began when suspect Tareyton Williams, 33, of The Bronx, grabbed two cordless saws that had been left unattended on the train platform by private contractors hired by the MTA. He menaced riders and track workers on the southbound platform at Broadway's 110th Street station.

They ought to find out who the idiots were who left the saws. Not that the sicko isn't responsible, but the workers share some of that blame too.

underbear1 · Jul 9, 2006, 10:30 am

greeneyedgirl,
You sound intelligent and street savvy, but you obviously live in a treacherous area, watch your back, and when practical walk with another person. Getting to know a few non threatening neighbors wouldn't hurt either.

Scribbler1 · Jul 9, 2006, 11:34 am

Quote:

Quote by: greeneyedgirl

My bad, it was a cordless power-saw. Chainsaw, powersaw, hacksaw, battery operated,cordless, remote control.....it's all the same to me...lol. Here's the link to the story if you want to read it:

You're right, it IS all the same. If memory serves, the guys who threatened Bernhard Goetz used a screwdriver. At this point, common tools are not considered weapons so I imagine if it can fit through a turnstile you can take it on a train.

But anything can become a weapon and a lot of people are downright paranoid over that. They confiscated my car keys when I went on jury duty because there was a little tape measure on the keyring. The reason? Steel tape measures have an edge, don'tcha know.

Nono · Jul 9, 2006, 04:34 pm

Much as I hate to bring the discussion back on-topic...

Quote:

Quote by: green-eyed

It's kind of odd how one minute you can be living and breathing and the next minute you can be lying in a pool of your own blood on the sidewalk, dead. (...) It is the first time in my life I have ever seen a person bleed out and die in front of me, and the fact that it happened in front of my window doesn't help much.

The absence of a sense of personal mortality -- the subconscious conviction that one will live forever -- is why we did all those things when kids (playing chicken on the railway tracks, etc.) that we later shake our greying heads about.

Yes, you eventually have enough close shaves with death that you realize it can happen to you too -- and "we know neither the day nor the hour".

Bitch ain't it?

**Chris** · Jul 9, 2006, 08:54 pm

I am shocked at the many times I have cheated death.

And the reasons were so stupid, for me doing them. Like Riding in a SUV drunk (about a .15 ~.2 level I would say) With an equally drunk under aged guy driving without a seat belt.

Or the near head on collision with oncoming traffic cause I was looking for an item in the passenger floorboard.

Driving a 5 ton army truck in Red driving conditions w 2 sus-v's on the back, I look over at my driving partner who was supposed to keep me in check -not to fall asleep, seeing his head bob up and down asleep. I shook my head and then after a while got into a bit of highway hypnosis myself. Almost driving off a cliff in Alaska.

So many other times I cant even think about.

Mia · Jul 9, 2006, 09:12 pm

Quote:

Quote by: |Chris|

Ahh see there is the problem:

They ought to find out who the idiots were who left the saws. Not that the sicko isn't responsible, but the workers share some of that blame too.

I smell a lawsuit against that company.

greeneyedgirl · Jul 9, 2006, 09:26 pm

Quote:

Quote by: Mia

I smell a lawsuit against that company.

In yesterdays paper, the victim said he was going to sue the construction company and the MTA. He'll probably end up suing the city as well.

Scribbler1 · Jul 9, 2006, 10:59 pm

Quote:

Quote by: |Chris|

I am shocked at the many times I have cheated death.

Same here. Every time I think ablout it I come to the same conclusion. I have no real reason to be alive after having used many more than what I think is a fair allotment of "get out of death free" cards.
I honestly believe the last 25 or so years were all bonus years and I kind of appreciate them. However, because of that if I fade tomorrow I have no gripes whatsoever.

(Sorry, no confessions today, though. But it WOULD make a pretty good movie.)

Mia · Jul 10, 2006, 04:28 am

Quote:

Quote by: Scribbler1

Same here. Every time I think ablout it I come to the same conclusion. I have no real reason to be alive after having used many more than what I think is a fair allotment of "get out of death free" cards.

Yeah, I thought I had used enough as a teen, but I got some more in my 30's.

God looks after drunks and fools - so I had double protection, I guess, sometimes!

Plasma Snake[D] · Jul 10, 2006, 12:00 pm

Yeah, the first time I experienced death first hand was when I saw paramedics wheeling out an old guy who had died in his apartment three days before. It was summer so the smell was horrible. For some reason the air tasted so much better after that sharp contrast. I felt grateful to be alive in a way. But in another way it's also like feeling trapped in a room slowly filling with gas with no escape. It must have sucked 500 years ago before we had all these safety nets in society... the handicapped, the elderly, and the mentally ill would surely have perished. Tell me, have you ever seen a old animal in the wild?

Wailer · Jul 16, 2006, 07:31 am

GEG, you suffer from Ghetto-Survival-Re-Activeness.

I made that up in light of what Jesse Jackson may tell you, but I grew up in the same environment in which you have found yourself. You hear gunshots, or a skirmish, and you instinctively turn out the lights and creep to the window. Why did you do that? Because you knew if a stray bullet came your way, at least you would be hunkered down and out of harm's way. Also because, from street level, only the lighted windows create the targets, or the witnesses.

I turned out the lights and crept to the window more than once...I saw a crackhead beat to oblivion. I did it again and saw the cops in a combative posture awaiting confrontation with the bad guys...only to find the cops did not trust my peering from the window any more than they did the thugs who committed the mayhem. I did it again and saw a childhood friend lying in a pool of thick coagulated blood...the pool so thick that you would not think it possible for a human being to survive such an onslaught and omittance of bodily fluids. He survived. Not that he deserved it.

You, my friend, are a victim of the GHETTO. Get out! NOW!!! Please don't tell me you live there with a male counterpart who subscribes to the GHETTO lifestyle. Please tell me you live there simply by economic circumstance. A girl as smart as you are does not need, nor deserve, to see the vilesness of human nature as you have seen. Get outta there. Go home to mom and dad, if you can. Share a room with a co-worker, if you can. But get OUT!!!

If you are not already, you will become cold and non-chalant to life in general. Peaceful, but violent, if necessary. Trusting, but wary of human nature.

All attributes deemed "realistic" for writing a movie script for a war veteran, but not for what life is meant to be for the human experience.

Your friend,

Wailer

Fly, GEG, fly!!!

Jul 9, 2006, 01:24 am	#1 (permalink) (top)
greeneyedgirl Molten Ash Location: NYC Posts: 106	The Realization That Life is Fleeting Tonight, same as every night, I walked past a group of thugs who live on the same block as me. No matter what time of day I walk by, this same group of 4-20 people are always sitting outside their one-story apartment building, smoking pot, drinking beer, and doing the things that thugs do. Tonight, as I was reading a book, I heard a girl outside my window screaming for help. I ignored her because it is typical to hear people fighting and screaming at night (after all, this is NYC.) A few moments later, her screams were replaced by a bunch of guys screaming "get her" and the sound of tires screeching and gunshots. This piqued my interest and I turned out the light, crept to the window and opened my screen as quietly as I could. Outside was a total mob scene. People were screaming "call an ambulance!" and 30-50 thugs and their hoochies were swarming all over the place. Seeing that others from my building had ventured outside, I grabbed my keys and ran downstairs to join them. Upon exiting the building, I was horrified to find myself standing 4" from a pool of blood and 5 feet from a guy who had been stabbed to death. Up the street, laying in the middle of the road was the girl, who had been shot. As I looked at the guy who had been stabbed, I realized it was one of the thugs who earlier today had ran into the apartment and retrieved a plastic bag when my grocery bag ripped and the contents spilled to the ground. It's kind of odd how one minute you can be living and breathing and the next minute you can be lying in a pool of your own blood on the sidewalk, dead. "How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd." -- Alexander Pope

Jul 9, 2006, 02:28 am	#2 (permalink) (top)
Chris Gamma-ray burst Location: Nashville Posts: 6,376	Very thought provoking indeed. And if you want to look outside and not be seen at night, dont turn on the light first. Keep the lights out. and then loko outside. At night they can see you easily if you have the lights on. I voted against the theocratic psychopaths Shared

Jul 9, 2006, 02:52 am	#5 (permalink) (top)
Scribbler1 Skeptical Patriot Posts: 7,796	And if you or someone else had called the cops? (and no, I don't think badly of you for not doing so) Google "Kitty Genovese" for a more famous example of that. As a New Yorker you might already be familiar with the story. Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

Jul 9, 2006, 03:12 am	#7 (permalink) (top)
Chris Gamma-ray burst Location: Nashville Posts: 6,376	battery operated chainsaws? I never heard of them. I saw some battery operated hedge trimmers. What a whacko. Youd think they wouldnt allow people to carry shit like that into the subway, but Some people carry bags etc. I voted against the theocratic psychopaths Shared

Jul 9, 2006, 03:51 am	#9 (permalink) (top)
Mia Retired Posts: 7,312	I don't understand not calling the cops. I lived in downtown Phoenix and it was pretty nasty there. Still, I called the cops when I heard gunshots (after I had moved from where there were gunshots every night and usually it was the cops) and once I heard a man yelling at and threatening a woman so I pretended to do something else outside so I could listen and I had my phone to call if it escallated. I'd want someone to help and/or call cops if I was in trouble. I will say this: when I was in the really bad neighborhood, the cops were assholes. There was a gas leak in my apartment and I couldn't get them to care. There was someone sleeping inside. The fire company even told me 'drag him out, and we'll be right there' OK....(they didn't show) Then I saw about 10 cops busting someone for something and I figured they could spare one person for a minute. He told me 'your apartment just caught fire, you'd better get over there' (not true) It was awful! Then I got in trouble with the apartment manager and I was told that in that neighborhood, you DO NOT call police. Is that common in certain neighborhoods? "...with like-minded people one cannot discuss. With like-minded people one can only participate in a church service, and you know how I feel about church services." Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Jul 9, 2006, 02:31 am	#3 (permalink) (top)
Clarence pregnant with truth Posts: 2,400	umm. due to your recent unforgetable experience, life may seem a little more fleeting than normal. I trust you'll know what ot do with what you saw. I believe life is thriving. almost teeming. So, uhh. Well, I heard that looking at babies and children playing helps you confront death with a with a little lighter spirit. Besides chances are, life will be sinfully long.

Jul 9, 2006, 10:30 am	#11 (permalink) (top)
underbear1 BANNED Posts: 2,630	greeneyedgirl, You sound intelligent and street savvy, but you obviously live in a treacherous area, watch your back, and when practical walk with another person. Getting to know a few non threatening neighbors wouldn't hurt either.

Jul 9, 2006, 08:54 pm	#14 (permalink) (top)
Chris Gamma-ray burst Location: Nashville Posts: 6,376	I am shocked at the many times I have cheated death. And the reasons were so stupid, for me doing them. Like Riding in a SUV drunk (about a .15 ~.2 level I would say) With an equally drunk under aged guy driving without a seat belt. Or the near head on collision with oncoming traffic cause I was looking for an item in the passenger floorboard. Driving a 5 ton army truck in Red driving conditions w 2 sus-v's on the back, I look over at my driving partner who was supposed to keep me in check -not to fall asleep, seeing his head bob up and down asleep. I shook my head and then after a while got into a bit of highway hypnosis myself. Almost driving off a cliff in Alaska. So many other times I cant even think about. I voted against the theocratic psychopaths Shared

Jul 10, 2006, 12:00 pm	#19 (permalink) (top)
Plasma Snake[D] Cause for Concern Location: Planet Earth Posts: 664	Yeah, the first time I experienced death first hand was when I saw paramedics wheeling out an old guy who had died in his apartment three days before. It was summer so the smell was horrible. For some reason the air tasted so much better after that sharp contrast. I felt grateful to be alive in a way. But in another way it's also like feeling trapped in a room slowly filling with gas with no escape. It must have sucked 500 years ago before we had all these safety nets in society... the handicapped, the elderly, and the mentally ill would surely have perished. Tell me, have you ever seen a old animal in the wild? Isa14:21Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers. Deu24:16The fathers shall not be put to death for the children,neither shall the kids be put to death for the fathers.

Jul 16, 2006, 07:31 am	#20 (permalink) (top)
Wailer Igneous Magma Posts: 154	GEG, you suffer from Ghetto-Survival-Re-Activeness. I made that up in light of what Jesse Jackson may tell you, but I grew up in the same environment in which you have found yourself. You hear gunshots, or a skirmish, and you instinctively turn out the lights and creep to the window. Why did you do that? Because you knew if a stray bullet came your way, at least you would be hunkered down and out of harm's way. Also because, from street level, only the lighted windows create the targets, or the witnesses. I turned out the lights and crept to the window more than once...I saw a crackhead beat to oblivion. I did it again and saw the cops in a combative posture awaiting confrontation with the bad guys...only to find the cops did not trust my peering from the window any more than they did the thugs who committed the mayhem. I did it again and saw a childhood friend lying in a pool of thick coagulated blood...the pool so thick that you would not think it possible for a human being to survive such an onslaught and omittance of bodily fluids. He survived. Not that he deserved it. You, my friend, are a victim of the GHETTO. Get out! NOW!!! Please don't tell me you live there with a male counterpart who subscribes to the GHETTO lifestyle. Please tell me you live there simply by economic circumstance. A girl as smart as you are does not need, nor deserve, to see the vilesness of human nature as you have seen. Get outta there. Go home to mom and dad, if you can. Share a room with a co-worker, if you can. But get OUT!!! If you are not already, you will become cold and non-chalant to life in general. Peaceful, but violent, if necessary. Trusting, but wary of human nature. All attributes deemed "realistic" for writing a movie script for a war veteran, but not for what life is meant to be for the human experience. Your friend, Wailer Fly, GEG, fly!!!