justbeachy
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- Sep 25, 2007
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One of the things I learned yesterday from talking to locals is that, apparently, there is quite a drug situation in that neighborhood. One woman I spoke with had recently moved from the neighborhood because (as she put it) it had become a very "scary" place to raise her children (due to the drugs). She was insistent that the sole reason she moved was for safety reasons.
Now, having said that, I searched through the woods yesterday. I spent the day searching with the Navy so we were given some of the roughest terrain and some of the "hot spots" so to speak since we were more trained than the general public. I did not see ONE thing related to drugs. No needles, no bottles, nothing. Having been on several other searches, I can say that I HAVE found those things on other searches.
Does that mean there is not a drug problem in that neighborhood? No. It just means that I didn't see anything so I am taking this particular woman's story with a grain of salt. The one thing that does stick with me is that she insisted that the only reason she moved was to get away from the "dangers" in that neighborhood. Was she embellishing her story? Maybe. But, maybe not.
I met amazing people yesterday. Kind, generous people. Moms with babies in strollers. People on virtually every street corner handing out flyers. I didn't see a "drug neighborhood" but we never know what lurks in the darkness (or, in Somer's case, the bright sunlight). I also don't know what a "drug neighborhood" looks like. There are news stories on all the time about meth labs inside homes in neighborhoods that look just like yours and mine.
One sad story that I will share: One of my teammates was in a truck (we took pickup trucks loaded with people to each search location) and they were stopped at an intersection. A young girl with a fistful of flyers approached them. When she realized that they were searchers she said, "Thank you for what you are doing. Somer is my best friend." I can't even type it without crying.
Now, having said that, I searched through the woods yesterday. I spent the day searching with the Navy so we were given some of the roughest terrain and some of the "hot spots" so to speak since we were more trained than the general public. I did not see ONE thing related to drugs. No needles, no bottles, nothing. Having been on several other searches, I can say that I HAVE found those things on other searches.
Does that mean there is not a drug problem in that neighborhood? No. It just means that I didn't see anything so I am taking this particular woman's story with a grain of salt. The one thing that does stick with me is that she insisted that the only reason she moved was to get away from the "dangers" in that neighborhood. Was she embellishing her story? Maybe. But, maybe not.
I met amazing people yesterday. Kind, generous people. Moms with babies in strollers. People on virtually every street corner handing out flyers. I didn't see a "drug neighborhood" but we never know what lurks in the darkness (or, in Somer's case, the bright sunlight). I also don't know what a "drug neighborhood" looks like. There are news stories on all the time about meth labs inside homes in neighborhoods that look just like yours and mine.
One sad story that I will share: One of my teammates was in a truck (we took pickup trucks loaded with people to each search location) and they were stopped at an intersection. A young girl with a fistful of flyers approached them. When she realized that they were searchers she said, "Thank you for what you are doing. Somer is my best friend." I can't even type it without crying.