Goddamnit.

They say no news is good news. Unfortunately, every time I open a paper, I read about another reason why I should move away from Abbotsford. Here’s the crap that’s been going on in my town:
During the Agrifair last week, some asshole left their baby and their two other children, both under four, in a locked car while he went to go and get drunk at the Beer Garden. Now: I know back in the day people use to do that shit all the time, while smoking their Laramines and listening to the Big Bopper. At some point, though, they would have thought to themselves, “Hey maybe I should roll down the window.” This wasn’t just a hot day, mind you. It was one of the hottest days on record. These kids nearly died. On the news they showed a stereotypical cop with a ‘stache trying to comfort this poor crying baby. Heartbreaking stuff. The asshole in question was a stereotypical piece of white trash leering at the camera while he was being led away in handcuffs. Of course he had on his Tapout shirt so every knew he was gangsta. Classy guy.
Then, in a unrelated story (possibly), someone found a bag of bloody clothes in a dumpster last night. Very bloody clothes. Suspicious stuff. Could be nothing. Could be something.
Now, just a few minutes ago, I was reading an article on MSN about Canada’s 10 Hardest Hit Job Markets. I’m clicking through it and I’m seeing a lot of towns in Ontario related to the collapse of the auto industry. What’s number 10 on the list? Abbotsford. My town. 9.0% jobless rate for July. Why?
No fucking clue, aside from the fact that every second person is either growing, using, or dealing, and I’m not just talking about the green stuff. We have no relation to the auto industry, or any of the other major markets that have recently collapsed. The only places I know of to go out of business are A&B Sound, Pet Cetera and Linen and Things, and it’s not like those people couldn’t find other work of that calibre. On the other hand, Abbotsford’s basically farm country. The only real businesses employing more than ten people are retail outlets and dinky little manufacturers. Not a lot of choice between them. A city that has the highest murder rate in Canada doesn’t exactly attract high-end business.

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