An eyesore for sure...

My roommate and I carpool most days to work. This is helpful because the quickest route takes us through a particularly sketchy part of Memphis. One morning while I was alone and waiting at a red light, a homeless woman came and stood by my window and was muttering a language I didn't understand. I like when we carpool. Strange things don't seem to happen as much.

Every day we turn from Crump onto Central Ave. At the beginning of this road on the right hand side are two high-rise apartment complexes, nothing out of the ordinary. Between them, however, is this really strange looking manor-type house.

One day, Jessie said, "What is that?" in reference to this building.
I said, "It looks like an old run down psychiatric home where they probably performed lobotomies in the 70s, like in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." (Seriously, I said that.)

For the past week or so, we’ve been wondering what this building is. Each day we made it a point to gather new information about it: it’s name is Ashler Hall and it says Castle on the front of it, for example.

Jessie, in her peak curiosity, found the following site. Click here, please.

This person apparently reports the history of this building, which is quite interesting. Read it to know what I am talking about. At the end of this webpage, the author writes:
“I do not know the current fate of this house.”

Well, dear lover of castles, the current fate of this house can be summed up in two words: shit bag.

Seriously, it’s a disaster. I kinda feel sorry for it because it apparently has a unique history. Maybe someone will save it from its despair. Until then, it will continue to be one of a handful of eyesores we have to look at on our daily commute.

"No soup for you!"

Apparently, it is now illegal in the city of Las Vegas to give food to the homeless in city parks. You can't hand them a sandwich. You can't hand them a piece of fruit. You can't hand them anything. It is believed to take away from the beautification of the parks and the congregation of the homeless is said to lead to crime. You can read about it here.

This makes me a little irate.

Let's see. You can't offer someone a sandwich in a park but you can take a handout advertisement from someone standing every 10 feet on the famous Las Vegas strip peddling hookers. You can legally solicit a hooker to perform whatever sexual act you wish, but you can't give someone a piece of fruit out of the goodness of your heart.

This, in my mind, is messed up. Is it just me or is there something significantly wrong here?

No news is good news.

My roommate Jessie said, "We're watching the news until they say something positive."

Tonight's highlights:
-a man confessed to committing 48 murders over the past 30 years.
-a murderer from Indiana is believed to be living in Memphis.
-a fake cop is pulling people over and telling them that he will let them go if they pay money on the spot (this is illegal... just ask the 60 year old man on a scooter who was pulled over)
-there is a parking scam at the redbirds parking lot.

Survey says, 9 minutes!

The happy news was that part of interstate 55 has a new name to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, Corretta Scott King, to go along with the part already named for him.

Clearly, 1 out of 5 stories is positive. Wow. What is the world coming to?