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| Too much variety in neighborhood life to ignore |
THERE
ARE BAD people amongst us no matter where we live, and certain circumstances
can bring out the worst in anybody.
So
when I read a recent Chicago Tribune commentary written by a person who tried
rationalizing his recent move from the city proper to a suburban community, I
couldn’t help but find his tone too over-the-top to take seriously.
Particularly
since this person was also trying to urge other people to make the move. As
though the 2-1 suburban/city ratio isn’t a large-enough gap.
Yet
that person seems to think he can get away from violence. Even though it really
has cropped up around me too often in life. The reality is that those of us in
society who want to be influential are the ones who can stand up to stupidity
and try to do something to fix it.
THOSE
OF US who run are going to wind up finding that the violence follows us.
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| My birthplace neighborhood, heavily idealized |
One
aspect of this particular commentary that I found amusing is that I had my own
stint living in the very neighborhood that he had fled from – Ravenswood and
Albany Park.
It
was one summer back when I was in college, and I can recall the neighbors
warily warning me of “the gangs” that supposedly were running roughshod over
the neighborhood.
I
don’t doubt they were there. But I also remember that they didn’t bother with
me, largely because I had no reason to bother with them. Maybe because I minded
my own business, we co-existed.
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| I didn't flee because of this |
IT
MADE ME wonder how much of my neighbors, most of whom I haven’t seen since I
left there some 32 years ago, was fear of the unknown. Besides, I see that that
particular area has become a popular one for certain young professional types
to live if they are not of an income bracket to afford Lincoln Park or Lake
View.
How
bad could it have been, even if there was a recent homicide that now taints the
neighborhood in the minds of this one writer.
Perhaps
it’s just a difference of opinion. But I have lived in places that have
acquired a local taint because of a criminal act. I remember one day back when
I was in Tinley Park when police stopped me and demanded some sort of evidence
I belonged in the neighborhood.
It
was the day (in fact, within the hour) that a man yet to be found to this day
killed five individuals at a nearby shopping center. That Lane Bryant store where
the slayings occurred is no more, but the rest of the area thrives. It
certainly wasn’t enough to get me to flee the area.
BECAUSE
THE TRUTH is best told by Martha and the Vandellas, who had the right idea when
they sang, “Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide.” You can’t live life in a plastic
bubble – bad things happen even in there.
My
own life story is that I’m born South Side (the Ed Vrdolyak version in the 10th
Ward, not the Mike Madigan or Beverly versions, as one person recently
described them to me) and have lived in several neighborhoods of Chicago south
and north, along with selected suburbs.
There
even have been stints of my life in central Illinois and within the District of
Columbia and I actually spend quite a bit of my time these days around Gary,
Ind., due to my reporter-type work. Yet I always have felt a certain draw to
the city proper – as though it is the reason why the rest of those communities
exist to begin with.
And
is why I envision the day coming when I return, yet again, to Chicago; which
just has too strong a pull on me to ignore. Despite the plea of one who says, “I
can’t find any good reason to live in the city,” I can’t justify going through
life living in fear and ignorance.
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