The nearest Courier-Journal newspaper box is located at 10th and Elm, a half block away from our house.
This morning Diana resolved to read the newspaper, half suspecting that a relevant item featuring her husband might be found in the Indiana section of the C-J.
Upon returning, it was obvious that something had shaken her.
On the route to the paper box, there is a small white rental house that in terms of upkeep leans toward the shabby. In this regard, there’s nothing unusual about it by New Albany’s traditional standards of non-accountability.
It’s largely true, but “New Albany: Absentee Slum Lord Capital of Southern Indiana” just doesn’t have the ring of “Land of 10,000 Lakes” or even “Particle Board Center of the Planet.”
Last year’s residents always kept two scrawny dogs tied to objects beneath a tree in the small front yard, which consequently was composed entirely of mud. The barking of these dogs was a recurring feature of a newspaper jaunt, leading to occasional reconsiderations of why it is that the most dilapidated houses generally have the loudest and most annoying guard dogs.
This particular set of residents disappeared last autumn, and someone new moved in. At first there wasn’t a dog, but according to Diana, now there is, because as she passed the house this morning, the dog began barking.
Returning with newspaper in hand, Diana was treated to the sight of the dog cowering in the presence of a small, sallowed woman who was screaming obscenities at the dog while her two young children looked on.
Disturbed but eager to see the Indiana section of the Courier-Journal, Diana leafed through the newspaper, paused, and announced that the Indiana section was missing.
Sure enough, instead of the Indiana section, which for those unaware of Courier protocol is the section specially composed for Indiana readers, we had received the Kentucky section. The Kentucky section is even less relevant to Indiana readers than the Metro section.
Without further ado, here’s the link to Dale Moss’s column today on the topic of NA Confidential:
New Albany man likes to stir things up: Web site devoted to debates on city, by Dale Moss
Impressive and enlightening piece, and I appreciate the kind words about our establishment.
ReplyDeleteBy now you know that the much of New Albany has had the Indiana section embargoed in exchange for the Kentucky section. Mayhaps the home delivery editions did not suffer from the same incompetence.
What your Maine squeeze experienced this morning from your neighbors is just one of many small but important items that need addressed by our local government.
ReplyDeleteEnforcement of such said items are a necessity for urban reconstruction.