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When the comments section starts filling up with the "Dave must be hiding in Simone's book bag" one-liners, I know it's time once again to update this thing.
So, what was I up to all week, you ask? It was hectic as usual in The City that Shoots You in the Back. Let's start with something genuinely sad.
Shinquell Williford, a 16-year-old North Philly girl, was walking to a local store when she was mowed down by four bastards in a stolen Lexus on Tuesday night. She was dragged halfway down the street, and left to die a miserable, inhumane death by the punks who were too wrapped up in their joy-ride to bother to stop. Excuse the strong language, if you will, but a story like this makes my blood boil. I think most people realize that unintentionally hitting another human being with a car is horrible thing to do. But if you stop and wait for the police -- and you're not drunk or otherwise breaking a law -- you won't be hauled off to jail. It is, after all, an accident.
But if you already have one foot in a prison cell -- yes, I'm thinking of the four yoots who were behind the wheel of the stolen Lexus (Did I mention it was taken during a car-jacking? No? Well, there you go) -- I guess stopping the car doesn't seem like an option. So, our four young scholars opted to speed off and then ditch the car nearby.
I'm not sure if those young guns imagined a bright future for themselves, but it's certainly destined to grow dimmer when they one day face charges of carjacking, driving a stolen auto, leaving the scene of an accident and vehicular homicide. Call it the law of unintended consequences, but when you do one stupid thing, like stealing a car, you could set a whole other chain of events in motion. Mean time, my heart goes out to Shinquell's family.
A bunch of other interesting things came up -- like the kid who almost shot off his pecker, for instance -- but the hit-and-run left me mostly in a foul mood. That is, until a handful of caring neighbors came to the aid of five kids who were trapped in a burning North Philly house:
The distinctive odor of burning wood wafted in through the open window yesterday, prompting Thomas Ortiz to drop his construction equipment and peer outside.
Ortiz was horrified to see two little children sobbing at the third-floor window of the house next door, as thick smoke swirled around them.
In an instant, Ortiz and his brother clambered up a ladder and helped the youngsters to safety. Several other folks also rushed in and cleared out the lower floors of the burning home.
By the time firefighters arrived to put out the blaze, a North Philadelphia family had been saved - thanks to a handful of heroic neighbors.
"I just can't thank them enough," said Tamika Barnes, whose five children were trapped inside her burning house. "Most people wouldn't risk their lives to save someone else."
Maybe there is a little good left in this city, after all.
Comments (160)
When will the media stop giving the mayor and the police commissioner a pass? Their incompetence is unbelievable and the fact that the newspapers and TV outlets in this town are not screaming for Sylvester Johnson's and John Street's heads is disgusting.
Posted by Gerry | September 10, 2007 8:40 AM
Posted on September 10, 2007 08:40
Ditto...the fact that the newspapers largely ignore Johnson is a disgrace. I don't expect the TV stations to do editorials but the papers have columnists who basically write middle of the road pablum or ultra liberal rants for the masses (see Porter, Twarnicky, etc.).
Newspapers have (or used to have) the power to set social agenda's and encourage public debate but have failed miserably in taking on this administration. One can only assume they don't want to be called racists for criticizing black leaders. If that's the case, they will continue to become less relevant and wonder why circulation continues to drop. We should give David a column 3 days a week and not let him be muzzeled, that would be worth reading. That's why we come to the blog, at least he can tell it like it is.
Posted by John Q | September 10, 2007 8:57 AM
Posted on September 10, 2007 08:57
There always has been good in the city, but it gets buried on page 22 of the paper, while Andy Reid's sons get page one.
Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2007 9:34 AM
Posted on September 10, 2007 09:34
Yeah how about that? Who gives a darn about Andy Reid's son? Sp the flip what! Thanks Dave for posting the good news! Almost brought me to tears!
Posted by Neicy | September 10, 2007 11:06 AM
Posted on September 10, 2007 11:06
I would like to send my sympathy to the family of Shinquell who has departed the earth due to a few selfish people who only thought about themselves on the day Shinquell departed from this earth. I will keep you all in my prayers. I hope that the gentlemen invovled in this incident be apprehended, and if any one who have any information to pleasde come forward.
Posted by Play Girl | September 11, 2007 3:14 PM
Posted on September 11, 2007 15:14
I would like to send my sympathy to the family of Shinquell who has departed the earth due to a few selfish people who only thought about themselves on the day Shinquell departed from this earth. I will keep you all in my prayers. I hope that the gentlemen invovled in this incident be apprehended, and if any one who have any information to pleasde come forward.
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