There Goes The Neighborhood: An Introduction

As you, my faithful readers, have requested, I have a story to relate about our cute little neighborhood here in Florida. I want all of you to promise, promise, that no matter what you read here, it will not dissuade you from coming to visit us.

Before I begin our tale, let me give you a feel for the area. We have been warned that although it seems calm and peaceful on our section of the block, if we cross the major street two blocks over, we will be entering the second worst area for crime in South Florida. (I don't know if this is true, this is just the warning we received from someone who works for the City of Dania Beach.)

If you're looking for a more specific example, here's one for you. Not too long ago, we were on our way to the laundromat for our Saturday morning cleansing ritual and we heard sirens close to us. Very close to us. We didn't see exactly where the ambulance went, but we knew it was near our home. Later that day, to our surprise, the news reported the event. It turns out that some heroin addict left his gun out, and his seven-year-old son shot his two-year-old sister. Although they didn't say exactly where this family lived, they did tell us the little girl was in critical care after losing a finger and taking a second bullet to the abdomen.

After hearing this report, and I angrily yelled at the TV to tell me where they lived so that Stellan would never ever ever play anywhere near their house, and possibly never on their street. The TV did not respond, but Kevin was quick to remind me that we were a few streets over and that we live by home owners and not just all renters, so we're probably much safer.

This is where we live. More to come in our second episode.