Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup

Choosing to wake up at 9am without any work obligations or epic bike rides may be a sign of me turning thirty.  Of course, I still stayed up until about 3am the night before, so I think I'm still legit.

On Saturday, April 21st, at 9:30am dull, my girlfriend and I rode our bikes the four blocks to Bryant Square Park (we wanted to fulfill our 30 Days of Biking obligation) to volunteer for the annual Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup.  The forecast called for rain and more rain, but the skies were dry when we left, and we were going to test our luck.

The first wave of forces were dispersing as we left.  We went up to the registration table run by Julie Cohen, chair of the Livability & Engagement Commitee for CARAG, signed the waiver, and got our bags - one for trash, one for recycling.

Cleaning up litter can be fairly labor intensive if you want it to be.  At the beginning, we were picking up every single cigarette butt in sight.  As time went on, we may have a few more butts here and there.  If you're a smoker, please consider finding some way to not litter your butts.  There are designated receptacles throughout Uptown, there are some specialized containers you can buy, or you can just use a friggin' plastic baggie.  Otherwise, you're littering something that contains cadmium, arsenic, lead, and plastic.

Later on, we found some more interesting detritus: Christian proselytism, USI Wireless ads, a lego skeleton, a plastic ring.  We also spotted five different window kitties, all within a block of our apartment.

Our last landmark was the house at 31st and Colfax that had a moat of beer cans, butts, one condom, and other crap surrounding it.  After that house, we were fully exhausted, but we were fortunately a block from the park.  We dumped our bags with the previous bags - one containing the back of a monitor.

At the end, I entered the recreation center I have lived by for six years or more for the first time.  I ate a bit of muffin and a some Bull Run Coffee.

And just then, the rain started.  The Earth gave us a break on her birthday.

Kyle's Market Target of Repeated Vandalism

(Published in TC Daily Planet)


Graffito on west wall of Kyle's Market.  Photograph by Mike Jones.

 A few years ago, in the dead of winter, I biked down the Bryant Bikeway a few blocks to Calhoun Pet Supply at West 36th Street to buy some food for my bunnies, Sniffy and Polly.  Unfortunately, I had neglected to check their hours of operation, and they were closed.  I started to remount my bike to leave, when a man runs out of the convenience store kitty corner across the intersection.

“You want to buy something?  I can get it for you!” he yells.

 

Apparently, the stores have the same owner.  Joe locks up the convenience store, “Kyle’s Market,” and runs into Calhoun Pet Supply to get my rabbit pellets.  We then go back into Kyle’s to ring up the pellets.  Having worked in various retail and customer service positions since middle school, I have a keen appreciation for these displays of above-and-beyond service, especially when they come from a local small business.  This experience stuck in my memory and brought me back multiple times until the tearful demise of my beloved bunbuns.

What I saw this morning at Kyle’s made my heart sink and my stomach turn.

In the early morning of Valentine’s Day, an unknown vandal smashed the window of Kyle’s Market.  The next morning, the same thing happened to Calhoun Pet Supply.  Sadly, things would get worse.  On February 21st, an unknown vandal smashed the window (but did not break through) of Kyle’s Market 10 times, and spray painted amateur but deliberate graffiti on the outside walls.  One graffito reads “CLOSED” while the other two are sexist slurs directed towards women.

Owner and manager Qing Liu cannot imagine why somebody would do this to her or her husband Zhou “Joe” Fuliang.  She says she has good relationships with her customers, and this is apparent as people stop in to make purchases and offer their sincere condolences.  Qing cannot think of what they “did wrong.”  Nothing was stolen during any of the incidents, and the last incident appears very personal.  Nobody they have talked to knows anything about who did this or why.

As we’re discussing, a postal carrier stops in.  She and Qing chat a bit as she gets her mail and a Chinese language newspaper.  I notice a shiny new security monitor behind the counter with multiple very clear images inside and outside.  Later, Qing tells me Minneapolis Police have installed one of their own cameras at the intersection.

Kyle’s Market has been in the neighborhood for 15 years.  Though it is insured, the costs will be in the thousands to Qing and Joe.  There has been talk of a fund being set up by Calhoun Area Residents Action Group (CARAG).

Regarding the neighborhood, Qing tells me “This is a very safe neighborhood… This neighborhood is like family.”