About 10 days ago, we published a photo essay “30 feet separates the haves from the have nots”—online on Dec. 30 and then in the print edition on Jan. 2. It concerned the wealth disparity in downtown Durham: half-million dollar condos at Main and Mangum streets right across from where a homeless person had made a bed of newspapers in the long grass.
Well, within a week the long grass, which was elegant and lovely, had been shorn down to nubs; the bed is gone and the area is exposed to the elements. Nearby bushes had been trimmed back as well. I took this photo this morning, Saturday, Jan. 11. The shearing may be routine park maintenance, but the result is someone has been rustled for his or her home. And frankly, it’s ugly and bare.
