Who's killing our street people...

and why doesn't anyone seem to care? That was the question that began to bother me again. I spent the entire morning shuttling between home and the milling station/recycling center. Each time I passed the murder sites of two people with whom I had passing acquaintances. One was an older gentleman who liked to ride his bike around town, despite encroaching senility and the concerns of his family. The other was apparently a street person. He seemed normal to me and I never thought of him as a street person. We shared a love of animals and the sites of Elmira. The latter I've been encountering for decades.

Each was murdered in an out-of-the-way place, and neither person's case was solved. To my knowledge. This is not to say that the police are not still on the case. Our blue knights have a way of surprising us with new developments and arrests well down the road, and seemingly out of nowhere. I expect to hear more.

I was stunned and saddened to see the photo of the older gent on the nightly news. We had just that Sunday shared the air hose at the Mobil at Church and Hoffman. Seemed like a nice morning for a bike ride.

Many scoffed at the idea that I knew the "Street Person" who also died. Why? Of course I would know the regulars, those who loved the sights of Elmira, same as I do. He was a nice guy who loved animals, same as I do. He wasn't afraid to talk to people, same as I do. And he wasn't crass or vulgar.

Frankly, I miss seeing them. And frankly, I still hurt about it. Hope the police get back to us soon.


pb
Little Pond