The sun is shining and the wind is blowing gently through the trees and tall grass along the fence line as I sit on our back deck and write. The warmth of the sun feels good and it’s very peaceful. Birds keep up a constant chirping in the trees and fly back and forth from the trees to the bird feeder and birdbath next to the deck. The sound of the birds doesn’t bother me. It’s a soothing sound. The aroma of new-mown hay, in the field next to our house, fills the air. It’s a far different scene from this winter when I hiked across snow-covered fields to Birch Hill on my snowshoes.
What a different world this is from the one I lived in for many years in Madison. A story in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal got me thinking about the difference. I could sit on our back deck there too, but the constant din of traffic on the Beltline was always present. This time of day the rush hour traffic would have been like the Indianapolis 500.
But the thing that disturbed me about the story was how much Madison has changed since I first moved there when I went off to college at the UW. The story was about shots being fired on Madison’s Southwest Side. That’s the area where we lived until three years ago. It said there was gunfire on Prairie Road around midnight on Friday. Five hours earlier, shots were fired on Allied Drive. That’s not unusual any more. That was about a mile from where we lived and it had become one of the most dangerous places in Madison. The story said that Friday morning multiple rounds hit a house on Theresa Terrace. Thursday evening, two vehicles were hit by bullets on Pike Drive in Fitchburg, and Wednesday night shots were fired on Marquette Street. All these shootings took place on the Southwest Side.
None of this surprises me. I suspect it’s all drug and gang related because they’ve had problems in those areas for many years. In 2007, when we moved back to Westby, a policeman friend told me there had been 67 gunfire incidents on Allied Drive alone. Thank goodness most of these guys are very poor shots.
We lived in a very nice, established neighborhood in Madison, between Midvale Blvd. and the Odana Golf Course. People kept their property and homes in good shape. It was a great place to raise our children. Our old neighborhood was filled with good, family people.
A few years ago, an out-of-state owner bought a house that was for sale. A major drug dealer moved into the rental house a block from us. Every night there was a steady stream of cars coming and going. Loud disputes and fights would take place. Nearby neighbors were afraid to leave their houses at night.
I was a block captain in our neighborhood association at the time. We had a meeting and decided we needed to take action. We knew if we didn’t stop this activity as soon as possible, our neighborhood would become the next one to be taken over by gang members. We contacted the police, city inspectors, aldermen, and other agencies, and got them involved. The police set up surveillance in a nearby house and recorded the comings and goings. City inspectors made visits to check on the number of occupants living in a single family home. Police began making visits in the evenings when there was a lot of activity. After two months of this harassment, they moved out in the middle of the night, leaving two Pit Bulls behind.
Our neighborhood association and the people who live there, won that battle, but I expect this to be a long war. Many neighborhoods have been taken over. When good people are afraid and do nothing, the bad people win and take over. We can’t let that happen without a fight.
We drove the thugs out of the neighborhood before, and I know they’ll do it again if the wrong people try to take over. This war isn’t just taking place in Madison, it’s going on all over the country. You’ve got to stand up and fight for your neighborhood if bad elements try to take it over. When good people do nothing, the bad guys win. Don’t let that happen.
A second story in the same State Journal made me wonder if we moved out too soon. The headline said that supporters were gearing up for a naked bike ride. Yes, you read that right. They’re going to have a naked bike ride “parade” on June 19th in Madison.
I’ve ridden a lot of miles over the years, but this is one event you won’t find me participating in. It’s tough enough sitting on a bicycle seat during a 30-mile ride while wearing padded bike shorts, let alone in your birthday suit. I’ve seen a lot of strange sights in Madison, but this one is right up there near the top.
Between gunshots in the air and naked bike riders hitting the streets, it’s going to be an interesting summer in Madison. It makes sitting on my deck, listening to the birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, seem pretty mundane and boring. Just between you and me, I like it this way.
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