That's A Sub-Standard Neighborhood

***Update*** Here is what happened. A resident was returning home late and pulled in his garage when he was approached by a man with a handgun. The assailant demanded money from the victim and shot him in the leg. Thankfully, for my peace of mind, it was not random. The two men had had contact in the past. While the assailant was distracted the victim was able to get the jump on him and wrestle the gun away. The victim shot the assailant twice. The assailant ran to a nearby porch and collapsed. The assailant died of his injuries at the hospital. The victim was treated and released.

When we were house hunting back in August I was working with a realtor to find a rental property. She had emailed me information on several houses and I sent her links to some I was interested in.

We arrived in town on a Monday and had Tuesday and Wednesday to find a house. The realtor wouldn't meet with us until Wednesday so we decided to drive around and at least look at the outside of the houses she had given us and then drive by some others I had found.

We didn't see the house we are currently renting listed. Their was a house on the same street that was listed. When I had emailed the realtor about it her reply was, "That is a sub-standard neighborhood." P.K. and I decided that her idea of sub-standard and our idea of sub-standard may be two different things so we drove by the house that was listed. While I was walking around looking at the outside and trying to peak in windows, P.K. was talking to a lady across the street. She mentioned that their had been some houses for rent further back in the neighborhood. We decided to look and just happened to see the one we are in now.

Now I wouldn't want to buy in this neighborhood. Many of the houses are now rental properties and I could see how this wouldn't be the best neighborhood in ten years. However, as I have mentioned before our plan has been to only rent for a year. Comparing this neighborhood to some the realtor had suggested, I could see a slight difference. Many of the other areas were part of home owner's associations and had pools, tennis courts and required your grass to be maintained at or below a certain height. We are humble people and don't need all those bells and whistles. There is nothing wrong with amenities and if we were going to buy, those may be things we want in a neighborhood. We have had tons of out-of-town guests since we have lived here and they have all agreed that this is a nice area.

Some of you may wonder why I am posting so early in the morning (in case my date/time stamp on here is incorrect let me make it clear that it is currently about 1:30 AM) or if there is a point to this story. Here is the conversation that occurred in my home just before midnight. This stuff is real. I couldn't and/or wouldn't make it up.

Jody: (Wakes up from a very nice sound sleep to the sound of the doorbell.) Was that the doorbell?

P.K.: No. (In his defense I often hear things that go bump in the night and ask "Did you hear that?")

Jody: (Looks out the window which happens to be on my side of the bed.) Uh, yeah. There's a fire truck out there.

P.K. (I'm trying to find a robe and he heads down the stairs. There is a policeman at the door.) Yes.

Policeman: Are you all alright?

P.K. Yes.

Policeman: O.K. There has been a shooting and they gave your address first so I needed to check to make sure you are o.k.

Jody: (Forget the robe and now coming down the stairs in my gown (which is rated G)) What? Oh my goodness.

Policeman: You are all o.k?

P.K. Yes.

Policeman: O.K. I have to go check on the shooting guy (those were his exact words...shooting guy).

Jody: (Standing looking out the partially opened front door watching four policeman double time it up the hill to just two or three houses away). Lord, help them.

P.K.: What?

Jody: I was just saying 'Lord, help them'.

...pause...

Jody: Do you think this is what the realtor meant when she classified this as a substandard neighborhood?


P.K. went back to bed while I had more adrenaline pumping than the day we saw the snake. I was walking from room to room trying to see outside. I'm pretty sure it was probably a domestic incident or the policeman surely would have mentioned something. As I was walking around the house, I kept reliving the conversation out loud. Poor P.K. He was just trying to get back to sleep.

Luckily my friend Becky lives in Washington state so it wasn't quite 9:00 PM there. I also thought about calling my friend Kari who is a time zone behind us and keeps late hours. I also owe her a middle of the night wake-up. Anyway, I called Becky who luckily didn't look at her caller i.d. first and assured me that it isn't unusual for one of her siblings to call at that time.

I can't see up the road because our house is set back farther than the others. However as I was talking to Becky, I did see them pull yellow police tape around the opposite corner. I thought it was across the street but it looked like the fire truck drove through there. Anyway, my prayers are with the person who was shot and any others who were involved. I know it is a serious situation. But how can I not blog about it. I have to do something while I am WIDE AWAKE. Becky suggested I should go to bed and practice my memory verses over and over. I guess I'll give that a try. I'll be sure to keep my faithful readers posted.