I found out that the realty company that bought my old cul-de-sac tore down another duplex today. Before the person who lived there moved out.

Because his lease, you know, wasn't up.

When he wasn't home they went in and removed his belongings, and then bulldozed it. I'm so in shock I am sputtering. Homes-destruction-privacy-safety-interiority-blah-those-things-I-won't-shut-up-about, WHAT THE FUCK. Setting aside all my deep philosophical feelings about renting and homelessness, there is something seriously wrong with the housing situation in Tuscaloosa. The rental laws are holdovers from much earlier in the last century, designed to take advantage of people who don't have enough money to advocate for themselves. A fair, honest landlord is a valuable thing. A landlord who won't knock down your house while you're still living in it is not too much to ask.

[Photo courtesy of a friend--ironically, that beige house on the left is where I'm moving soon]