quality of life

The following letter was sent to me by a reader and was originally sent to Councilmember Graham. The reader tells me that the Councilman has promised to send the appropriate authorities. It is really quite a sad situation all around. Hopefully, this guy will get the help he clearly needs. Has anyone else faced a similar situation? If so please tell the reader how you dealt with it.

“I am writing because we have exhausted all of our available resources and desperately need help with a mentally ill neighbor, residing. I understand under DC Law that unless he is a direct threat to himself or others, there is little the police or Department of Mental Health can do. However, the quality of life for this whole block, most particularly for the neighbors located on both sides of him, has deteriorated.

He frequently yells at passersby and his neighbors, using racial and sexual insults that must be heard to be believed. In the past, he has tried to spit on elderly women walking down the street and has begun throwing all the contents of his house onto his front steps. (I submitted a complaint for sanitation violations on 3/23/08 on the DC Government’s website). A consequence of his unsanitary living condition is we have mice and roaches in our house and must pay Orkin for regular maintenance. Letter continues after the jump. (more…)

Have you noticed it is staying light out much later?  That is a great feeling, knowing Spring is around the corner.  But here is the catch 22:  I can’t wait for the longer days but I’m dreading the inevitable shootings that will come with the longer days and warmer weather.  Does this mean I’ve become jaded?

Similarly another catch 22:  I can’t wait for the warmer weather so that I won’t have to pay anymore $237 heating gas bills (Ed. note: and that is keeping the thermostat at 58-60 degrees, ok, 62 degrees when I have company over) but I don’t have the scratch to the tune of $14,000 to put in central air conditioning.  I know, I’m living a very tough life…