Snow!

[Carol Lowery]

Carol,
I've been to Charlotte twice so far with my work I don't think I'll be going back due to company travel policies that have recently changed, but Charlotte is a really nice area.

There is a really good seafood restaurant just south of the boarder that my co-worker took me too. Man, they had the best crab! Umm!! :yes

BTW, Pontiac has had 5 recent murders that were gang related... They have the police force cut back to only 70 officers and the mayor just said that putting more officers on the force wasn't the solution I'm telling ya, the poorer parts of Detroit are really suffering financially. Matter of fact, the roads going home were horrible going through Pontiac yesterday and as soon as I left the city of Pontiac, the roads were plowed and salted :yes

Heard Washington State is really having a bad snow storm there and more on the way!! It looked bad!!!!!!!!!!! Just saw it on the tube.

That seafood resturant just south of the border probably was Captain Steve's....we eat there all the time. The really do have the best seafood for an inland seafood resturant. We're about 3 miles from it coming the other way.

My parents live off of Warren Ave. on Rutland and their property value has really suffered. They can only get 20 thousand dollar out of their 4 beroom house cause of the location. My daddy is 77 and very active for his age but just a few months back someone came down their driveway with a hand gun, and try to come in the side kitchen door and daddy met him at the door with a gun and stuck in his face and told him to get his butt out and he better hope that he didnt shoot him in his (you know what) going back down that driveway. They've had four vehicles stolen out of their driveway, one was a RV, and a young man stabbed in their front yard (the gangs). The other day the house across the street is empty and they were stealing the vinyl siding off the side of the house and mommy called the police and two hours later they showed up and by then they were gone.

My parents and about 10 other homes are the only one occupied and the rest are being vandalized, and not a few years back it was a really nice neighborhood, but the gangs have taken over. I want my parents out of the area cause I really fear for the safety at their age, and I've bought them a Boston Bull for protection to alert them if someone is sneaking outside around the house or garage. She's a pretty good watch dog. I just hate being so far away from them, but I do have sibblings up there to help them.

The last time I was up there I was outside with my little 3 lb. chihuahua in the front yard, packing the truck and locking everything down, and this boy (looked gang) started chasing my little dog, and I told him to stop he was scaring her, and making her bark, and he kept chasing her and stomping at her so I open the back of the truck got my husband logger chain, wrapped it around my hand and proceeded to say this is the last time I telling you before you get this up side your head. And he stood there like he was thinking to come after her again when my little (big) brother came up behind me and told him and after she's done I'm going to stomp you in the mud, then he left calling us whities, and a few other choice words. Mommy said it's the same one that chases her dog around. Well when you dog only weighs 3 lbs., you can't risk someone accidently stomping her, it would kill her, and I have a 2 1/2 lb. dog. I don't even allow anyone to hold my babies so I don't have to worry about someone accidently dropping them, their legs are about as big around as my pinky and that's with bone, muscle, tendons, etc. etc. But anyway the gangs are bad where they're at. And my daddy is such a city boy, that he won't even walk around my yard here cause he's worried about a snake biting him. So I hope in Christ that you're in a good area Jeff. That's why if I write a letter to my folks, I always put Murder City under Detroit.

 

[stovebolts]

Yeah! Captain Steve's is the best! What a plate of crab legs! drool

My wife grew up in St. Clair Shores and any time you'd mention anything south of 8 mile she just got real quiet. I remember one time we went down town to the Fox and I took a wrong turn and ended up in the hood. Ohh, she was soooo worried! Me, I used to live in Gardena Ca, 8 blocks away from Compton and I'd have to go to Compton every once in awhile with my Old G. So, Detroit wasn't that big of a deal for me.

What I have to remember now though when I go down there, is that I'm dressing a little nicer now than I did back then, and my car is newer :D It's all perspective now and I've recently realized that I'm actually a target now, as to back then I just kinda blended in (other than being white).

We got a lot of snow, but what really did us in was the wind yesterday. Some of the side streets (I live out in the country) had 3-5 foot snow drifts and a street just around the corner from my house was completely snowed under. Anyone on that street had to call in today.