The "GONE NOWWWWWW" in the voice of "Metal LEO" on YouTube, who loves saying that about closed businesses, of which there are so many, he sees in his walks around US cities and towns. Haha!
I burned up some of the "popcorn", crumpled up sensitive papers, last night and was doing various things when I found out the water was off. I called Ken to ask if he paid the bill and he said he'd check, then I got the bright idea to just get some water from next door, where they have a hose set up. But theirs was off too so I called Ken back and said it's not just us so don't panic.
I set out to go buy some water, and remembered that there had been work trucks around this place at the front of the complex where it's always wet. I'd even smirked and said, "Welcome to the perma-puddle" as I'd rode by earlier. They were really working on it now.
I decided I'd go to the 7-11 on 1st, because being a franchise store, for some reason this would mean water would be reasonable. Well, it wasn't. I got some, but the main thing about that place was the BUMS. There were bums on the corner and one bum in front of the store, and when I went out with my water, there were about 5 bums hanging around my bike. The bums were, as bums do, quarreling among themselves and muttering and jibbering etc., under their various drug and mental illnesses. There were bums inside too, also arguing among themselves, and acting crazy in various ways. The Indian guys inside have to put up with this shit every night. I can't begrudge them their high prices because of this. It's a war zone.
I got out front with my 2 liters of water, put 'em in the bag and unlocked the bike as quickly as I could manage smoothly, hopped on and got out of there without even bothering with the lights, just get me out of here!
I decided to swing by the place on 1st and Brokaw, just to see what their prices are. There was one bum-ass / zombess with a cart of some sort loaded with crap, holding quite the lively conversation with herself, out in the parking lot but at least I didn't have to go through a screen of bums to go in, and there weren't bums inside. Their water prices were a bit less, and they had pork rinds. So I got a bag of pork rinds and a liter of water there, too.
I had a bit of a conversation with the Indian guy there, who said they call the police but they never do anything. I said Yeah, unless the bum is being violent or trying to break in, they can't do anything. I said unfortunately you can't just take a stick and whack 'em and chase 'em off. It's not like the old days, we agreed.
As an elaboration on this, I said that back where I grew up, when I was a kid, there were very few stray dogs and cats, and no stray chickens. Now there are tons. The difference being, in the old days, people ate 'em! Even the dogs and cats, I didn't care and don't now. But now there are tons of stray animals, chickens all over the place.
(Likewise there were very few homeless. People didn't eat 'em, it's just that your family took care of you or the state mental hospital did, or you just plain fucking straightened up and flew right. Not taking drugs was a major factor, I'm sure.)
So I got back and got through my night using up almost all of the water, and although the water was still off when I went to bed around 7-8AM, it was on when I woke up at 4PM.
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