Why my job occasionally sucks

Moldy bread
Originally uploaded by dhoopercu

I spent last week in Orlando, Florida, and nearly came home with a kid. We were looking at damage supposedly related to Hurricane Charley in 2004. Yes, 2004 - and it was 2008 when we stepped into the apartment complex. The complex was painted a hue of "Section 8 Drab Grey", and was full of unique characters that didn't appear to have day jobs, as more often than not, someone was home in the apartments. To be fair, some of the units were well kept, but most were a step below filthy.

One particular unit was unfathomable. Trash and cloths everywhere, roaches crawling on every surface. I saw a full loaf of bread decomposing and full of roaches in the kitchen. Behind a gas line, one hundred roaches were gathering, as if to describe what would be the best method to drop onto someone's head when they were least expecting it. In the bedroom, I saw a cup one-third full of a brown solid, and roaches crawling on top of the goo.

We were repulsed by the stench and squalor and left in a hurry. It looked like no one had lived there for 2 weeks or so, and we were joking that the occupant was probably in the clink for over exhuberant meth use.

That afternoon, we bumped into the apartment manager, and she said the occupant was there last night. And that he had a 2 year old kid. The neighbors occasionally watched the kid, but could not understand why the kid never wanted to go home into this apartment.

Thinking and reliving that 5 minutes in the apartment and how someone can live like this still floors me. What is worse, the kid IMHO has little chance of evolving into an adult capable of mature thoughts and actions. The kid has almost no opportunity to grow and experience a meaningful life - all because he is deprived of basic human rights.