Originally Posted by sgtdmski

I grew up in DC, and have hung out on more than one street corner in my life. Hell, I used to spend all weekend running ball at Anacostia Park from sun-up to sun down. I seen my fair share of drug deals, shootings, stabbings, and down brawls. Hell I took part in a few of those my self. I did not change until I fell in love and got married. That was when reality sunk in and I figured out that I could not support a family running the streets, hustling and bustling trying to make a buck. Yeah I had my job at K-Mart, but hell, who could make it off of $5.50 an hour, so I did what I could to make ends meet. Luckily I was able to join the military, first in the infantry and later as a lab technician. That experience has led me to where I am today.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try you cannot change the friends around you, let alone the community around you. The first thing you have to do is change yourself. After that, if you cannot change your friends, CHANGE YOUR FRIENDS.

When I was young I loved the hustle and bustle of DC, always somewhere to go, and something to do, not matter what time. Sure the Clubs all closed at 3 in the morning, but we had drive thru liquor stores that stayed upon until 5 AM and we could always find a party. Today.....well Ketchikan in the winter pretty much shuts down at 9 PM. And nothing happens anywhere in the morning to well after 10 AM. Believe it or not I actually enjoy the slow down. Quite a far cry from what I grew up with.

dmk