Lately there's been a good deal of noise around town about how "bad" the Highlands have gotten. Lots of breathless news stories about rising crime in the Highlands has got all the upper crust white folks scared to set foot there, so naturally I had to investigate this scary situation.
When I quit drinking many moons ago, I quickly discovered that in this society about the only places adults gather to socialize are bars and churches. Since me and religion get along like matter and antimatter, that just left bars. Seems counterintuitive but watching a bunch of drunks carry on is a great reminder of why you quit drinking.
The Highlands quickly became my favorite haunt with its walkable assortment of bars, restaurants, and quirky shops. There was always somewhere to shoot pool, listen to music, or get into a bar fight.
All the noise about how bad it's gotten has amused me greatly, it's quite obvious that the folks saying that stuff were never there in the Before Times. It's no different now than it was then but I can't help but suspect that the quiet of the lockdown gave folks collective amnesia.
The Badlands Highlands can get lively enough to make you lose your donuts but that's just part of the fun of mixing booze with those volatile critters known as humans.
See how scared those guys are? Guess anything can be scary if you don't have any experience with it.