Thursday, January 04, 2007



does this look like the sort of place where someone might get murdered? yesterday, random and I were running around in the field by this abandoned school. when I mentioned to it the m.u., I learned that the school was home not only to creepy clown wallpaper and piles of broken glass, but a recent murder as well. I didn't bother to tell her that I explored the school in depth last week.


what happened to that little town I grew up in? kenmore, with an area of less than 1.5 square miles, has it's own police force. we used to joke that this meant one cop to every six kids under age 18, since there are so many that they sometimes would follow us around, having nothing else to do. crime was restricted to buffalo. it rarely reached beyond the city lines, and when it did, it was never in this direction. kenmore is north of north buffalo, after all, home to the rich folk.


it started with our armed robber. he ran all the way here from the inner city, after holding up a bank. confined to our houses, we watched from the front window as police cars swarmed the street from every direction. someone yelled "freeze!" and the cops sprinted up our neighbour's driveway. afterwards, we were told to be on the lookout for a gun in a plastic bag. never heard whether or not they found it.


and then there's the bikepath rapist. he's been hanging around a few years now. leaves offerings in the form of dead women along unfrequented biking and walking trails through williamsville and the city and town of tonawanda. this year, he found his way over to my favourite trail, the worn-down path following the railroad tracks that pass by about half a mile from my house. this is the same trail where I found half a dead deer last christmas. he has also made his presence known in the glen falls area, a favourite hiking and picture taking area of mine.






however, it will take more than a few rapes and homocides to make me give up my solo photography expeditions and late-night rollerblading adventures. good thing I'll be back in nice, safe, well-lit toronto in a few days!

2 comments:

Katie said...

ya, ma mum doesn't understand how i'm more afraid of walking alone in brampton than in the t dot.

downtown, anyway.

but dude - that abandoned school sounds SWEET!

Katie said...

oh yeah, and see you in like 4 days.

(i'm currently in nowheresville - aka columbus.)