Signs and Wonders

In my opinion, Friday the 13th was just another day. I’m not one that’s very superstitious and the day turned out to be a good day because the Lumberton Panthers won their home game. I didn’t attend the game, but I am very supportive of the team. While sitting out on the patio, I noticed the streets were hot and there was a lot of talk about drug deals. There were actually some drug dealers walking by (yes, in Lumberton, there are walking drug dealers) complaining that one of their “clients’ wanted to pay them in change. I just sat there in silence, either amazed at their brazenness or ignorance. I checked my facebook status for game updates because I knew once the game was over, it was going to be quite noisy; especially after a victory. Well, I didn’t want to be a buzz kill because I remember what it was like after a home game. Back in my day, it usually meant hangout time at the game room but today; it’s hang out wherever. I didn’t hear much of what happened after the game because I went to sleep. I had an early morning meeting the next day. When I left the house, I noticed torn t-shirts strewn in the streets, empty beer cans next to the stop sign, paper cups and condom wrappers next to the stop sign (I must say I am still intrigued about the fact that opened Magnum condom wrappers would be on busy street corner; especially since the crowd on the corners are generally all male-----How you doing—in my Wendy Williams voice). But that is not the point of my post. My point is that there are a lot of signs posted at Frank Lee Homes and GreenTreee apartments about rules/regulations that should not be violated and I am wondering when the actions are going to be enforced. Hence the title of this blog post. Recently, the manager of Greentree Apartments (aka New Jack) has started enforcing certain rules; most notably, the No Trespassing Rule. She has called the police several times but the alleged violators generally get off with a warning. (I will have a post about the LPD on tomorrow). I am not certain how successful her attempt may have been but I must say; she is more pro-active than Charles, the manager of Frank Lee Homes. Just the other week, the Chief of Police mentioned a video that was filmed on the property of Frank Lee Homes. They were actually looking to see if any charges could be filed because of the number of weapons in the video. Well, this matter was brought to the attention of the property manager and his response was “oh, that’s old news.” Really Charles? Well, I guess that’s an expected response from an individual that’s just putting in time and not really engaged in making a difference. But that’s the least of his questionable decisions. I think the appropriate response should have been, “we’re investigating this matter”. But that’s just my opinion. Charles tries to give the illusion that he’s concerned but in all actuality, he’s not. MRHA 8 paid million in upgrading the apartment in the area now known as Frank Lee Homes and the current manager is not concerned that a group of “wanna be” rappers was using this area as the backdrop to their low budget video. If Charles were concerned, he would have realized that many of those featured in the video are either on the ban list or should be added to the ban list. And since they provided the world with video footage of their actions, it shouldn’t be that difficult for the LPD to identify the culprits. But I’m sure Charles is either dealing with a vision issue or just ignoring the issue because many of those “banned” individuals are on the property DAILY. In addition to the fact that he did not take this matter seriously, it seems that MRHA and SMHD has been given millions to build Azalea Gardens. It’s obvious that the biblical principles are not in place when it comes to government subsidized housing. MRHA and Charles have not been faithful with the least but it is expected that they will be do a much better job with Azalea Gardens. We shall see. There are a number of issues that I could address in this post, but I will definitely be blogging about the issues taking place at Frank Lee Homes and the manager’s refusal to properly address those concerns. For instance, why are the units allowed to remain vacant for so long? He claims there’s a long waiting list. So, why is it taking him so long to fill the vacancies? The longer the units remain vacant, the more they become havens for individuals looking for a spot to “hang out.” Years ago, people were evicted because of a Crack-Heads Gone Wild video that was produced on the property, but now that there’s a new manger, the filming of a video with gun toting cretins is “old news.” Charles is blinded to certain things and if he’s not willing to do what it takes to protect the value of the renovations that were implemented, then maybe it’s time to look for someone that would. Most of the people that are being disruptive on the property were approved for housing by Charles. Therefore, it is his responsibility to address the matter. I have tried to overlook this matter for quite some time; hoping it would get better but obviously the situation is not going to improve itself. But I must say, all the blame does not lie with Charles. Now a lot of the blame can be placed on Charles and his apathetic attitude, but those that reside at Frank Lee Homes must demand better from the management, the police and those that visit the property. How can you allow individuals that do not live there to come and desecrate the place where you call home? There are people that will let others come in a basically defecate in their yards and they won’t say a word. On too many occasions, I have seen grown people standing outside, pissing again the walls. Now, it’s understandable to see animals do such things in public; but people. Come on now? Where they do that at? Apparently at Greentree and Frank Lee Homes. Another pet peeve of mines is the fact that people are constantly leaving their droppings (paper, beer cans, and condom wrappers) in our yards. The reason people clean up after animals is because they don’t have the wherewithal to know the meaning of a trash can. However, anyone with any sibilance of intelligence, know that it is not right to just dispose of your trash without making any effort to put it in the proper place. There’s a trash can every few feet and I am certain that no one would have a problem with you properly disposing of your trash; even if it means using their trash can. So, when a person has no regard and just leave a trail of litter; it’s a sign that they have no regard for the people that live in that area. I am certain that they don’t go home and just drop their trash where they stand. If they do, then there’s a deeper issue involved, but truly doubt they behave at home in the same manner they display when they are visiting New Jack or Frank Lee Homes. I am glad to see that the manager of Greentree is actually trying to implement some positive changes and hopefully the manager of Frank Lee Homes will become more pro-active in creating a more peaceful living environment. Otherwise, we will see the erection of more signs and would have to continue to wonder.