Well, it’s actually week II already, but I never got around to updating my site last week. In fact, I have 12 unfinished blogs and no updates since over a year ago. It only took a crises of global pandemic levels to get me posting again.
I wanted to eventually move all my videos to my personal page here, but instead have remained focused on building my YouTube content. Now that I have time, there seems to be no better place to start than the beginning of the city and state’s reaction to the virus during week one, and the immediate effect it started having on downtown Indy.
Things were just starting to look different as I began shooting video. The weather was very gloomy, and the number of people on the streets was significantly less than usual. Despite most of the homeless people I know being absent from their usual spots around downtown, I saw large groups clustering in various places with the biggest concentration on the south side of the City County Building.
As long as I can, I’m going to keep making videos of life downtown Indianapolis as I have for the last four years. Although my interviews may be from a distance, I plan on still getting them when I can.
Stay strong friends. Together we will weather this storm.
Godspeed, and may we see each other on the other side of this.
Mar 20, 2020
It was my first time downtown in three days since implementing our disaster plan of only 1 or 2 people working in the office at any given time with the rest of us working remotely.
One thing I noticed is that street people seemed to be more aggressive than usual. Within 10 minutes of getting downtown, one guy got very upset with my bank teller when she wouldn’t sell him a cigarette. He was so mad she wouldn’t sell him one that he said, “you sure are awful brave with him (me) around.”
In fact, he was so hostile that I actually kicked my board up into my hand in case I needed to use it as sword or shield, and had to stare him down a while before he began proclaiming that he knew Jesus Christ and we didn’t. Finally, he went away peacefully. I didn’t say a word, but just kept staring him down until he was gone.
I didn’t get him on video doing all this, but I did get him early on in this video walking down Delaware pulling a blue suitcase with pink and green pockets.
Today, (which is one day later than when I shot this video), some questionable characters were roaming around inside the office building checking doors to see if they could get in an unlocked office. Fortunately the staff in our office had the door locked. Nothing more came of it, but it’s been a while since something like that has happened.
I also saw more gangs of homeless people like the one I shot in this video on the south side of the City County Building. A couple people yelled out and one dude flipped me off for no reason. Tension seems to be running high on the streets so be careful out there. I’ve been out here a long time, and I can definitely feel a change.
In the days ahead, I plan to keep documenting life on the streets until I’m told to go home and stay there. Godspeed to you all. May we be united in truth and against all evil everywhere.