Where The Bottles Go To Die

Litter just pisses me off.

You may not live in the hot ‘hood of the moment but you can keep where you live relatively clean.

I know I live in a city and all but holy smokes; does my little block have to look like the place where the cheap malt liquor bottles go to die?

I’m sorry---my frustration is showing and I’m getting ahead of myself.

I live across the street from a large all boys’ Catholic high school and their campus encompasses most of block. Frankly the word pastoral comes to mind when I look over my balcony across the street.

Slightly rolling hills, lush grass, birds and geese strolling inside the school’s fenced in boarders---you would almost think you’re in the suburbs.

Except for one little thing---the mounds of trash that rest on the parkway on the south end of the campus.

The school has every intention of being good neighbors.

They’ve been responsive to my inquiries about the closing of a local street so that they could enlarge their campus.

They’ve responded to my inquiry about the height of the grass & weeds on the parkway this summer.

After all when the weeds are up to my hips and I’m 5’10---that’s a tad ridiculous.

Nonetheless, despite assurances that the parkway will be at a minimum tended to when the weather warms up, that ain’t feeding the bulldog.

The amount of trash on the parkway of the school across the street is unbelievable. So much so, that I personally went out and took pictures this afternoon.

In the City of Chicago the parkway is the responsibility of the owner of the property. Since the school across the street is the owner of several lots, they should be taking care of the parkway.

Not just what resides inside of their fence line.

Trust me, I’m not happy.

It’s bad enough I live around people who don’t either think enough of their neighborhood or are visited by people who don’t think enough of my block that they leave their litter all over the place.

Now I have to contend with well meaning but a slow moving neighbor across the street.

If their esteemed alumni had to look at shit like that at the entrance of the school, there would be an uproar.

But on the other side of the fence line on the south end of the campus, we’re treated as an afterthought.

I just have to look at this ghetto shit and be reminded of how tall fences don’t necessarily make good neighbors.