The Alley Story

    First days of the alley.

  One of my reasons to tour our local alleys is to document their conditions for future reference.  The ally behind our home has been the scene of many  dramatic events.  The first time I ever drove thu my alley was in the days before we put down our earnest money on the dump.  I took the time to come by several times at different hours and park and observe the neighborhood.  There was no drug slinging on the block and it seemed pretty calm for the location, it was late January early February 2003.  The day before we bought the house I was cruising up the alley only to be stared down by "Patch", A one eyed thugster.  I exchanged the prison yard stare back at "Patch" and he not liking my disrespect.  This was His turf and who the heck was this insolent white boy.  I tried not to make too much of this single encounter and as Becky needed to purchase a house, I didn't make any fuss.  The morning after the closing Becky called to tell me the back door was kicked in.  The police came and checked the place out and recommended getting a mutt.  Nice welcome to the hood, all I could think of was Patch was marking his territory. As we moved in that weekend, after replacing the door with a reverse swing, I noticed Patch glaring over at us when ever we were in the alley.  This alley was his, not some new guy's.  Much to Becky's dismay, I asked Her please don't use the alley, park in front as you can see around yourself as you get in and out of your car.  She was not happy but as we had lived on the North Side before she complied with my wishes.