Deadwood

I've been wanting to watch Deadwood for months. The video store never has it. I think they've lost it and won't admit it. So today I committed another sin (yet another...though far from my worst) and walked through the door of Blockbuster to get it. I hate that place. I hate the part of town it's in, too. What is it with West Waterloo? People don't say 'hello' or 'please' or 'thank you' in stores. They keep you waiting for no good reason. Parking lots are treacherous. I waved a frantic 'thank you' of my own to some guy who came within centimetres of mowing down a couple of my kids. I had a talk with my 11 year old on the way home. Had she noticed how different things were in that stretch of the city? She thought she had, though she tactfully pointed out that my fatigue may have been talking a bit. I asked her whether she thought it possible that things like the layout of streets, widths of roads, design of shopping centres could be responsible for changing who people were. I didn't really expect her to know what the hell I was talking about, but I was curious to see what she'd say. She told me that she'd had much this conversation with one of her friends, and they had agreed that what neighbourhoods need is places where people want to gather. If people see one another more frequently, they have to talk to them. Then they get to know them. Then they're more decent to one another. Smart kid. So smart that she ended up getting some loot at Blockbuster as well, and now I still can't watch Deadwood because the screen has been occupied for the last couple of hours.