These Walking Blues

It began on a tuesday afternoon. This walk to the nearby store was different. Something eerie was felt through the air that day, and not that tension that runs through L.A. County, something that wasn't right. In a city full of motion and pollution and noise of cars, that day, nothing. That scared me.

No work that day, so I started by waking up late. No one was home, so I figured they had all gone and done their own things, errands and what not. Took a shower and then did something I never have time to do, ate a giant breakfast. Just thinking of that meal....oh man! Not much of a tv watcher, but do frequent the library. Realizing some books were due, I decided to go and get some new reading material.

The library is about a 40 minute walk south of my house. It was a hot day, just like most days in the San Fernando Valley, so a trip to the store and getting something to drink seemed smart. I put my music player on and walked west. Reaching the store's parking lot I quickly noticed there were no cars. The store was closed, the metal barricade was still set. "Damn, just my luck." I cut south and walked downs some residental streets toward the library, plenty of shade. About a block into the quiet neighborhood streets, I see a dead crow on the floor. Stiff with its claws pointing toward the sky, beak half open. I stepped over it, a few feet away, there was another. Immediately I stopped. "What the fuck?" Looking up and down the street I saw birds and squirrels and what seemed to be a dog in the distance, all on the floor, motionless. "God damn town is filled with savages!" Teenagers and BB guns, seen it before, but not to this bad of an extent. In retrospect, I really wish thats what it would have been.