if you were a town or a city; a settlement, what would you look like? what kind of people make up your community? what amenities or shops or public buildings would you have?
cw : hitting kids?
i think i’d be a block in a city, a neighborhood. the houses would be tall apartment buildings, but not the thick ones that take up too much space and look more like a brick than a collection of homes, the tall thin ones with the fun balconies. flags would hang and mats would be laid out, someone might have wind chimes or plants and another might decorate their portion of the fire escape even though it’s more than likely illegal.
there would be stray dogs and cats that everyone knows and all call a collective name ; simon, teeth, whisker, blue. i wouldn’t want my strays to be skinny, and there would probably be one or two persons who don’t treat them like they deserve, but however much food they get i guess is determined by the goodness of the people in my city block.
kids would be allowed to run rampant during the day. they’re allowed to play tag on the sidewalks and play basketball in the courts, and splash around in funky fountains that double as art pieces. no one is allowed to hit a child on my block, but if they do, never out on the street, and never more than once. it isn’t allowed to bruise or get red, and it should only teach the child something important and never cause unnecessary pain.
there would be a library that holds a ‘kids time’ every saturday and sunday all day, with colors and paper and stuffed animals and bean bags. on school days, volunteer tutors come for a few hours and help kids of any age with their homework or projects.
there’s a cornerstore run by a family who sells only a shelf full of candy, and the kids race each other to get to it before it’s gone. the children are the heart of my city block, and the adults and elderly are the soul.
people sing songs, dance, yell at each other, walk with one another, fight sometimes, and maybe once there was a shooting, but during holidays, bruises and cuts and arguements are forgotten for barbeque and hot dogs and burgers.
traffic sucks, so mostly people walk. only sometimes they say good morning to one another, but mostly, everyone already knows they wish each other off well.
neighbors like and hate each other, they love one another and tell each other to fuck off. if one died, they’re mourned; if one is born, a party!
my city block would be filled with a hope to make this shitty place better, and maybe, if we feed strays and teach kids, and support our neighbors, we can convince the city itself to love us.