Big cities going downhill

[JBruns]

We don't have big cities around here. Just a bunch of big little cities bumping into each other. And Arkansas is a "take no bleep" kind of place, so probably not attractive to large swath's of the great unwashed.

My son lives in one of the outer ring of suburbs of Mpls though. It's a nice area, but I'm still on my guard big time when I go up there, or any other big city. It's a shame what has become of so many of our once great cities.

[JMWalker]

I visited San Francisco a few months ago.  I met up with some friends and very gingerly brought this topic up.  They said they don't really see the problems people talk about but acknowledged it happens in certain areas.  I didn't push it.  Later, they all admitted to having their cars broken into just days before.  It's weird to see their reaction like it's just a part of their normal everyday life. 

[JMWalker]

Here I go....So, being of an age where just being able to do things on a computer is an accomplishment...I truly did my best to try and determine what a picture of Mr Spock petting a cat might mean. So far, I have discovered nothing. That's probably more an indication of my lack of modern-day computer lingo/imagery knowledge than anything else, BUT...if anyone cares to assist a boomer with some mild understanding....please message me.

There are space-related phrases involving felines that I can think of but none I dare post.....so?

Thank you.

My guess is Grendel is letting us know he's keeping a close eye on this thread.  The moment it devolves into something ugly, he'll lock it.  So far, everything seems honest and respectful.  Let's keep it that way so we can keep this conversation alive. 

[Grendel]

[crc4]

I visited San Francisco a few months ago.  I met up with some friends and very gingerly brought this topic up.  They said they don't really see the problems people talk about but acknowledged it happens in certain areas.  I didn't push it.  Later, they all admitted to having their cars broken into just days before.  It's weird to see their reaction like it's just a part of their normal everyday life.

Either they're embarrassed they drunk the Kool-Aid and pretend that San Francisco is the 'good life,' or are progressive zombies who enjoy living with bums, junkies, crazies, and the occasional duece dropped on their doorstep.

[Gunnerdad80]

I visited San Francisco a few months ago.  I met up with some friends and very gingerly brought this topic up.  They said they don't really see the problems people talk about but acknowledged it happens in certain areas.  I didn't push it.  Later, they all admitted to having their cars broken into just days before.  It's weird to see their reaction like it's just a part of their normal everyday life.

Either they're embarrassed they drunk the Kool-Aid and pretend that San Francisco is the 'good life,' or are progressive zombies who enjoy living with bums, junkies, crazies, and the occasional duece dropped on their doorstep.

The latter, it’s the latter.

[crosstimbers]

Here I go....So, being of an age where just being able to do things on a computer is an accomplishment...I truly did my best to try and determine what a picture of Mr Spock petting a cat might mean. So far, I have discovered nothing. That's probably more an indication of my lack of modern-day computer lingo/imagery knowledge than anything else, BUT...if anyone cares to assist a boomer with some mild understanding....please message me.

There are space-related phrases involving felines that I can think of but none I dare post.....so?

Thank you.

My guess is Grendel is letting us know he's keeping a close eye on this thread.  The moment it devolves into something ugly, he'll lock it.  So far, everything seems honest and respectful.  Let's keep it that way so we can keep this conversation alive.

Okay. I kinda thought maybe (Spock and a cat though!)

[RSR]

Austin ISD serves globally inspired school lunches
Austin ISD students wandering through their school lunch lines aren't scooping up that unidentifiable slop from your high school days.

They're often choosing from a wide variety of food — pupusas, lo mein, empanadas, chana masala and everything in between.
[...]
"We have a lot of people coming from the Middle East right now. We have a lot of people coming from Central America, so we're trying to tweak things so that those kids get a little something that's familiar to them," Grodek says.

Yesterday's Axios Austin seems to have confirmed my report:
https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2023/11/07/aisd-lunch-menu-international-school

[david s]

Around 1973-74 as a teenager I was in Boston Massachusetts and this being just before the 1976 Bicentennial the city had a walking tour to some of the historic sights. You followed the painted yellow footprints along the sidewalks to various historical sites. This walking tour lead you thru some of the less desirable parts of Boston. In the "good life" department Boston put New York city to shame at least back then. This experience was my yard stick for what I considered urban/societal decay until about 1985 when I was in Seattle. Wow what an eye opener Seattle was almost forty years ago. So, I had a whole nother yard stick to go by after 1980's Seattle. Fast forward another decade and I was back in my home state of Florida in 1995 up around Hobe Sound for six months. Before there was the interstate highway Florida was a neat place, things have been pretty much downhill ever since. Anyway, I had cause to be down around the Miami/Fort Liquiordale area and the homeless camps under the Highway overpasses were amazing to say the least. A whole third world society right there. In the early 1980's following the ongoing Haitian refugee crisis and Mariel boatlift it never approached anything like those camps. It's sort of unreal the exponential growth of this, it seems to be snow balling at a huge rate.