Kat and Kate do America

"Hit em with a little ghetto gospel" (Shakur, T. & John, E, 2005)

Now some may think we have used the term 'ghetto' far too liberally, but this week has been the first genuine glimpse of life for the world's undesirables. Getting back from the Strip has proved hazardous every night, which is a 5 minute obstacle course to avoid drunks, Lieutenant Dan look-a-likes from the Vietnam War Vets club, prozzies, beeping horns, drug lords in their Bentleys, and people greeting us with "how y'all doin white girls". Just glimpsing out of our room the other night Kate spotted a van with a team of armed policemen hanging off the sides, carefully undertaking a drugs bust at the 'Fremont street apartments', just across the road from us. There were at least 3 other undercover police cars outside as backup, but after the initial call of "go go go" they seemed to come out empty handed.
At any time, day or night, WPC Wilde and myself will play a game of 'guess how many police cars there are outside', and there are bonus points if they are arresting someone, and a special prize if the cops are performing the art of 'frisking'. You may laugh, but this very thing happened last night outside our window complete with a guy being cuffed and frisked by a female cop and supervised by another officer of the law. We have figured out the centre of all the action, the 7/11 on East Fremont Street, where all the s**t goes down. It usually has a cop car outside for the inevitable moment when the next perp decided to misbehave, and is most definitely owned by the local drug lord. Yet the area certainly is ritzy, many of the dumpsters in the street are home to the local down and outs, including Dumpster Doug, not far from said 7/11. The streets are also lined with sick, the beautiful scent of puke, and the obligatory porno mags. Fremont Street, aka Ghettoville, NV.

posted by Kat Weaver @ 4:08 AM