warmth

The heat is turning from a welcome guest to scorching enemy and summer is officially in full swing. Adandoned building fires are becoming less common due to the warm temperatures. Their temporary tenants no longer have to resort to candles or open fires to stay warm.

The foreclosure market has left patches of Atlanta resembling a ghost town. We recently toured a street in Kirkwood where every house was either a foreclosure or marked for teardown. Two blocks over, houses were asking $300K. Even Midtown is affected and foreclosed properties and houses dot a landscape where the median income is nearly $50 thousand.

I walked by an affluent, unfinished apartment building just off Ponce. As I happened by, a ragged man walked up to the back door and pried the door open. It was broad daylight and he looked around before entering, noticing me. He studied me for a moment. I guessed he was evaluating if I was a threat or a narc. After a few second of eye contact he vanished into home and closed the door behind him.