Some folks known to this old geezer are much like the wooden indian in the snap. They stand on the pavement and watch the parade pass by. They are so sure that one person can not make a change that they will not even try, let alone follow in the steps of one trying to make change.
I am pedantic. I am also loud and rude to some, and far too full of self for others. I see wrong and try to right it. It it not the popular course at times, but it is the one that is best followed. It leads to change, even if some get hurt by that change.
At the Linda Villa Complex, I have been told I am the most hated chap to be found there. That my ideas about trying to rid the community of some long lasting problems are too far reaching.
I loathe drug dealers and the horrid actions of of drug users to get their fix. Drugs destroys everything it touches. I am not very fond of layabout scroungers either. Benefits cheats should be reported, as they suck what little cash is left in public purse from thoes in true need.
The Linda Villa is far from the worst place in Linda. Have heard that there be more horrid complexes. I do not know about them, I just know about the Linda Villa, as it is where I hang me hat. Self serving it may sound, but I am very keen on making things different round the patch of earth I occupy. I can do the most good where I am closest to.
Murray Kay and I have teamed up to try and restore order to the Linda Villa. To bring back the ideas that Murray had when he first bought the place. That being, to provide a clean and safe place for folks to live. Folks who might not have a great deal of cash. Somewhere along the line, the drug dealers and benefits cheats got the best of poor Murray and tore the heart out of the man. Must have been a shocker to see brilliant iceboxes, cookers, cooling units and blinds ruined. Along with carpet and anything else near reach.
Right, so Murray got had. He is a landlord, can bloody well afford to be taken a few times. Not true. He kept believing that it was possible to make a dent in the problem, return some to self respect, to care, to even try to better selves. The sob stories rained down and he fell for most of them. He came to believe that bad folks really would settle up the rent, one day. Shame on Murray. He dropped the ball. He was not alone. He had help from folks he trusted. Folks who could have had his back better. What ruined things at the Linda Villa took a bit of time to achieve. Loads of blame to go round.
Enter Rob, the crusader. Like all on a crusade, I was quick to jump right in and try to shovel some of the poo away from the office door. Full of ideas and the knowledge gained from watching the Linda Villa these past 8 months, I was sure thing could be sorted out.
Truth be told, I like Murray Kay very much. He has come round and much effort to be noble again, without being snowed by all of the rubbish horrid folks tell.
Flats are being cleaned and readied for new tenants. Tenants who will pay rent and not bring drugs into the complex. Tenants who will support Neighbourhood Watch and support the coppers. Care about where they live and their neighbours.
Bad tenants have been asked to leave and non-paying tenants are being evicted. There is no longer a FREE ride to be had at the Linda Villa.
Sadly, there are some who feel that I have gone too far. The change is too much. That I have to understand that 'poor' folks deserve to be treated different. "They have nothing". Rubbish. They deserve what they themselves are willing to work to protect.
Pets need to be controlled. Stray cats need to be got rid of. Children are best served by going to school and having a positive role model in parents. Is that too much to ask? To follow rules that show respect for one another and the space shared with others?
"There is no sin in being poor, it is a crime to be filthy." There-in lies the problem. The filth round the Linda Villa is horrid. Flats moved out of are nasty and require a massive amount of work to repair. Animals are 'dumped' in the move, adding to the growing population of unwanted strays already here. Wash is hung about in front of flats, turning the complex into something out of "Tales of Ma&Pa Kettle". Tires, broken furniture and whatever else can be hoarded on a patio bring a general look of decay to the place. Dog walkers do not pick up after pets. Rubbish bin is abused.
Hang on... Much of the sins of the past have been addressed. Much has changed. The Linda Villa shows much better, no thanks to the fighting to be done to achieve. Every action is questioned, and every rule is challenged. Bad tenants protected, even when they are so blatant it would be hard to miss. The word "FRIEND" is much over-used.
The office at Linda Villa is now a clean and cheerful place to be. Gone are the stale odors, the tossed rubbish about the place, and the cats that sprayed the computer. There is order. The office tells the whole world that the Linda Villa is about business.
This very day, stray cats will be rounded up and removed. This round-up will continue until the plague of strays is abated. It is not humane to allow cats to breed out of control. To feed and encourage them is not humane. It is also very unhealthy. I have been told that it is cruel of me to round up the strays. I think not. It is cruel to offer hope to animals that will never be loved or cared for more than as an afterthought.
A new day has dawned at the Linda Villa and some that this old geezer is fond of are not pleased. I do not care, the right path is being taken and that is more important than a few hurt feelings. If one can not accept change with some degree of grace, do not holler if the truck runs you off the road.
What brasses me off the most is that the project to clean up the Linda Villa could have gone off better. Had "friends" not been first consideration. Far too many scroungers were office rats. Even to the very end, there was no real support from some quarters to help. More's the pity that.
I will never understand how some allow "friends" to blind them to the real truth about. Seems to me that Murray deserved better than he got. Mind, that is just my opinion.
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