Right around the time I was seriously deciding I needed to leave San Francisco and move to Hawaii a whole bunch of really awful things happened around me. None of them directly affected me, aside from witnessing them.
One Sunday during my drive home from Costco, I sort of witnessed someone fall or jump from a building. I didn't actually see the fall/jump but heard the thump and then saw the body. Luckily that person survived at least until the next day in the hospital. But it shook me up thoroughly.
Not much longer after that a strip club near my office (I know!) had some sort of robbery/hostage/gunpoint thing that required police activity and circling helicopters ALL DAY. The sound of helicopters overhead for hours on end makes you think and feel things you never really want to confront. It feels all war-like even though it's a strip club and I believe everyone made it out of okay.
On one particular very-overwhelming city day I came home to see that someone had graffiti'd our garage door. Which is actually quite funny (albeit rude!) but on that day it pushed me over the edge and I thought "the city is too much, it's too nasty, I must get out of here!"
Then, a man was shot and killed two blocks from my house for no good reason at all. Awful, awful, awful! And too much for me to absorb or brush off.
I had made up my mind that the city had too many crazies, too much violence, and too much drama. And I assumed that by leaving the city I would find somewhere with less nastiness and more calm. But don't get me wrong, there is beauty and niceness every single minute of every day in San Francisco. It is a magical place even considering the bad things I encountered.
I figured Hawaii would be immune to most of that craziness. It's small, it's happy, sunny, warm. Family is key here. People have big cookouts at the beach. They wear flowers in their hair! But the truth is, it's no different. There is just as many incomprehensible things happening everyday.
This morning a woman jumped from a parking garage (our parking garage) just a block from Bryan and my offices. My co-worker saw her body on the concrete before the police got to the scene. I saw the police in the parking garage and later saw the sheet-covered body on the ground.
It's just icky that these things happen. It's sad and it's scary. And it's pretty gross. And I guess I just don't take it lightly. But now I can say with certainty that it has nothing to do with the city. San Francisco or Honolulu. Downtown or in a small town, sad things will happen.
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2 comments:
Yucky! I think yesterday had bad karma as a man was killed at the Colorado State Capitol yesterday when he rushed into the Governor's office with a gun declaring he was the emperor! Lets hope today is a better day all around :)
That's what makes you appreciate all the good things that happen in your life
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