19 February 2012

dark side

for my first six years in Santa Fe my property oozd into land full of trees & cactus. it went all the way to a major street. during summers I cd sleep with doors & windows open. then an apartment complex went up on that land with the nearest building within feet of my property line. soon my bathroom window was shot by a kid from the apartments.  then my beautiful stucco walls were taggd by a gang.


during the past few years there have been two break-in attempts.  the first was thwartd by my alarm system. the most recent by my return.  both happend in daylight.


I'm a block captain in my neighborhood watch.  so I know from meetings with the police that at any one time the city has only nine patrolmen on street duty. & we have 25 gangs at work thruout town.


one of the tough components of aging is a feeling of vulnerability. following my most recent break-in attempt I made the decision to add another layer of protection. yesterday I had security screen doors installd.


this is Lynda Benglis on my back portal in 1996:




& here is the new screen door:





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