I don't have a neighborhood right now but the hostel I'm staying at this week is not in a good neighborhood. Right off the highway, lots of dark alleys. But a few streets down is a vibrant bar culture.

In parts of St. Louis... it's so weird right now. During the day, black people on the streets feel, I think, sort of "hunted" -- unwelcome (or worse), both in the eyes of the police and generally. We all know why. At night, white people out walking are unsafe in many places. There is certainly way, way less night walking than there used to be. Place I'm staying, I wouldn't even think of going for a jog. Walking home from the baseball game tonight was a stretch, and I'm physically imposing and know how to handle trouble.

So the 'two worlds' are figurative and literal, here. It's tragic to witness a once-proud city serving as the battleground for what amounts to a civil war.

Good question, cgod. This is an important conversation to have every once in a while; people can learn from reading it and it adds in a different way to the personality behind the username. I remember your last little essay on the local homeless population, some of whom you knew well.