I Remember When...

I remember when I started working in Decatur and we moved here a while later. There was very little crime. It seemed like the crime report was published in the paper and you would see a few bikes stolen and a few other seemingly minor incidents for the most part. At the time, I think there had only been one murder in the previous 10+ years. Today that has all changed. There is a high incident of theft and there have been a number of murders. Drug labs and drug use is way up and arrests for them rise with it.

Looking at Decatur over the past 12 twelves, I can understand why so many people who had grown up here wanted to keep it the way it was. I was quickly one of them thinking, just let me move here and then shut the gates. It doesn't work that way though and now we are seeing a lot of the bad that comes with Lowes and Chili's. Oh, I'm not blaming Lowes and Chili's - it's the growth of an area that brings in good people and bad people.

Today, I think about being burglarized at business this way - not if, but when. I hate to think that way and I would love to see things back the way they were but it doesn't work that way. Hopefully, Decatur will be able to maintain as much of it's old charm and down-home feeling awhile longer because I remember when...

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Addendum to Wednesday's post...

First, I didn't realize how many people are out there reading blogs and was surprised by people telling me they had read mine. It's scary in a way. First, I have a comfort level thinking I'm writing for myself but that there are only 6-8 people and 1 Sonic coney fiend reading it. Second, it hit me that what is written on the web is there for all the world to see so be careful what you write. Third, I realize that as I come down off my soapbox, I have faults of my own that certainly need to be addressed.

That said, there is one disappointment I left out of Wednesday's post. I'm also disappointed that a bunch of parents must think it's OK to say what our kids are saying. What are they teaching?

The response I got that hit home was from a friend who said they didn't enjoy having to explain to their young child what the phrases meant. That's exactly what I was thinking a year ago when my then 9 year old son asked, "Daddy, what does screwed mean?" That question should not have had to come up at that time and that place. Now, at 10 he has a sense of what it means and wonders why it's OK for the big kids to say it.

Finally, I'm thankful for some parents I know that have told their high school kids it is unacceptable. What a simple but wholesome response.

Have a great weekend.