quality of life

I’m walking home the other day and there is guy who is just blitzed out of his mind and this is about 4 in the afternoon and as I see him weaving back and forth he stops and tries to take a leak right on the sidewalk. Well he falls down and is lying face first on some grass and takes a leak. Other times I’ve walked around and seen folks drinking beers in groups who become very loud and sometimes violent. Let me contrast this with another night I was walking home where I passed two guys smoking a joint. They were happy and friendly and did not produce 16 empty beer cans/bottles in their wake. So it occurred to me, we really ought to legalize marijuana. Now granted I’ve mostly seen its use with the Grateful Dead crowd, but I’ve never seen anyone violent who just smoked some weed. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating drug use here. I’m not saying its use should be mandatory. But if there are those above a certain age, they should be permitted. And I think the streets of DC is a perfect place for legalization. Think of the taxes that the city could earn and hell, it might even put a dent in some of the illegal drug dealing on our corners. Additionally, when you smoke a joint that is it, it is gone, no refuse to worry about, no violence, no folks pissing on the sidewalks. So why don’t we legalize it? Is it that much worse than drinking alcohol?

“I had one of my less mentally stable (but harmless) neighbors knock on my door at 930am and ask me to pop some popcorn in my microwave for him… which I declined.”

I think someone from Monty Python said that.  So I make an effort to say hi to most people when I’m walking around.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I don’t say hi willy nilly, I make sure I get some kind of eye contact first so I don’t throw out a hello when I don’t think it is welcome.  But I’d say one out of ten times I make a huge mistake.  I don’t realize that the eye contact I receive is actually a “don’t look at me and get the hell out of my sight” eye contact.  What generally happens is I get a little eye contact from some tougher looking folks and I say hello.  My hello is received by an icy cold stare.  I’m telling you it is a stare that could frighten Mike Tyson.  But the stare is not enough.  It is almost always followed by a disgusted look and an exaggerated spit on the ground as I pass.  Well, ok, a simple nod would do but I hear you.  I won’t make the same mistake again.  But I always do.  One of these days I’ll get the courage/stupidity to spit back on the street. Well, no I won’t but sometimes I’d like to.