Day: September 10, 2007

Stump, Owen County, Indiana

Clean up, as I said, was kind of a bitch. More like friggin’ unbelievable, actually. The place was flea infested (and so is my apartment, now, thankyouverymuch) and filthy. More of a toxic waste site than a home. Dirty clothes, used dishes, and toys lay in an ankle-deep, wall-to-wall carpet on the floor. The beds reeked of urine and were covered with cigarette butts and ashes. The sinks and toilets were encrusted with a thick layer of grime that, in at least one case, had sprouted a colony of maggots. The electricity was shut off in early June, which meant there was no pump for water. The family–including three small children–was bathing in pond water. Thankfully, CPS stepped in when the kids got staph infections and told them they had to move out immediately.

It was like something out of a horror film. I think my skin is going to be crawling for the next few days.

As I was was bagging up trash, I came across a cache of used Pampers that had been tossed into a corner of the bathroom. I caught myself thinking, for the umpteenth time, that these people were disgusting pigs. And then I immediately felt horrible. No one–and I mean no one–deserves to live like that. These people desperately needed help. They were in over their heads and didn’t have the resources or skills to get out. Every time I hear someone complain about lazy welfare mothers getting pregnant just so they can scam the system, I’m going to think of this family, and about the stingy, judgmental assholes who insist that being poor is a moral failing.