April Neighborhood Meeting

YOU CAN NOT AFFORD TO MISS THIS MEETING!!!!! Addressing Crime in the Hood.

There has been a recent crime wave in our neighborhood and River Oaks- the police have suspects, neighbors report seeing people leaving the scene- but the spree continues. These are very bold folks who break in – very often through the back door, when no one is home during the day. They leave with electronics, jewelry, cash and prescription drugs. We have invited neighbors who have seen these criminals, as well as those robbed, and the Fort Lauderdale police to gather with us at our meeting on April 26^th to talk about what is happening, whom they suspect, and what steps you can take to protect yourselves and your belongings. It should be a very interesting meeting- please plan on attending. The more you know – the more aware you will be and perhaps with greater vigilance we might be able to turn the tide.

My story of vigilance for the week – sort of an Aesop fable type thing-involves a friend who lives in a small (8 unit) condo complex in Rio Vista. One of her neighbors is 95 years old (let’s call her Bev), and another unit in the complex is owned by Bev’s daughter and son-in-law. Bev’s son-in-law is a bit of a jerk and neither he nor his wife talk to my friend – for no particular reason – they are just really odd people- it is hard to ignore someone when you walk past each other to the pool or mail boxes on a daily basis – but they have been doing it for years.

Anyway – the other night my friend was walking her dog at 11 PM and noticed that Bev’s upstairs lights were on- which she thought was unusual as Bev, understandably for a 95 year old, usually had her lights out by 9. Most of us would have registered the information – but not done anything about it either from concern that if we called Bev or the daughter, we would wake them, or appear nosey, or whatever- but my friend decided that it simply did not look right that Bev’s lights were on that late- so she called the daughter. Fortunately for Bev, her adult grandson lives with the daughter and answered the phone. Five minutes later the ambulance and police were there- Bev had fallen in her bathroom around 8 PM and couldn’t move. She is still in hospital and hopefully on the road to recovery – but one wonders how she would have fared had my friend decided not to call people who actively dislike her- risking being told to mind her own business- based on a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. We have all had that feeling. We see someone in the alley but it does not look like a workman or a neighbor. We see a car circling the block – slowly. We see people walking dogs that do not seem to match them. Yet we don’t call anyone because we are afraid to risk looking silly. Had my friend let the worry about looking silly stop her- Bev may not have made it through the night. The moral of this story – if something doesn’t look right- do something about it. Better to look silly than to be sorry you didn’t act when it is too late.

Please come to the meeting – the better informed we all are the better for the neighborhood. After we get done scaring you with the crime statistics, we will help to relax you with a yoga demonstration and some deep breathing-

Hope to see you all there- Tuesday April 26^th at 7 PM at the Community Center.