Turd Hawk Avenue

 Every town in America has a neighborhood like it. It is where the less fortunate members of town reside. They may reside there by choice or wind up there by circumstance. The character of those folks may be gold, its' just a lack of finances that place them where they are. Others living there do so as a result of questionable moral and ethical values. Really, not that much different than other sections of town, just more visible. Where I grew up we had a neighborhood like that and it went by several names. not very complimentary, but an accurate description nonetheless. Tar paper city. The houses there were covered in tar paper and had no shingles . The name reflected that characteristic. They didn't have shingles because they couldn't afford shingles! They looked like what we would call " third world " homes. They stayed that way my whole childhood. I can only assume those folks just didn't believe shingles or siding was a priority. Now I had shingles on my house but could understand that logic. You can't eat shingles or wear them either. Now Tar Paper city was also referred to as Hollywood. The reference was an obvious sarcasm. 

 A lady named Francis lived two houses down from me. She was an older lady, at least we always thought so, but turns out she really wasn't that much older than my own parents. She just acted old. She dressed old and did things the old fashioned way. To say she didn't believe in having the latest technology and comforts is an understatement. But Aunt Francis, as we called her out of respect and not relation, used a slew of colorful terms and adjectives. Aunt Francis always said that Tar Paper City was over on Turd Hawk Avenue. As a kid I thought that was so funny. I'd smile every time she said that. It was explained to me that a Turd Hawk is seagull. That was because gulls just circle around and poop on everything. The term Turd Hawk also morphed into a term used to describe the folks living in that neighborhood, no matter where that person actually lived. Do you know what I mean? You might get labeled a Turd Hawk if you displayed some of those characteristics. 

 Those folks living on Turd Hawk avenue were poor. That's the most direct way I can put that. They subsided on welfare. Back in the 1960's welfare wasn't as lucrative as it is today. They were given a box of food once a month I believe. As far as I know that was about all they got. They didn't get much. Those folks would go fishing and clamming to put more food on the table. Thing is, the shells, guts, and whatever parts of those things that couldn't be eaten got thrown out in the yard. And it is that practice that attracted the Turd Hawks. And that is why it was called Turd Hawk Avenue. There were days when those gulls where circling that neighborhood like buzzards in an old western film. If you have never lived near the water or been where gulls circle like that you may not know this. Don't stand underneath them! You will get Turd Hawked and they are excellent shots, seldom do they miss their target. That's what all that screeching is about, calling out the coordinates to the other gulls in formation. Gulls don't screech when they are roosting, only in flight.

 I have to add that Aunt Francis was the only person I knew that called it Turd Hawk Avenue. I did hear others calling people a Turd Hawk though. Like I said, its' not a compliment. I went to school with some kids from Turd Hawk Avenue and found them to be fine people. The kids couldn't help what their parents chose to do. Some of those kids seemed ready enough to adopt that as a lifestyle while others had dreams of moving uptown. Yes, those kids on Turd Hawk Avenue where just like me. I knew a few of those " characters " that lived in Hollywood. There was even an Indian living in a teepee there. Yes, that's the truth. Tez, Catawba Indian and friend to my father, and most of the town by all accounts, had his teepee on Turd Hawk Avenue just past the last house. It was all painted up and looked pretty fancy compared to those tar paper shacks. I don't when Tez quit living in his teepee but he did rent a home from my sister for a while. 

 All of that was more than fifty years ago now, hard to believe. It is still fresh in my mind and I can see it all. I can see those houses , hear the voices of the people, and the screech of those gulls. Growing up I never gave any of it a second thought. I just accepted it for what it was. It was reality living, not reality television. Those folks were poor and that is the way it was. Why they were poor and chose to remain that way I couldn't say. I didn't see anything holding them back. They had skills when they chose to use them. They were smart enough, just seemed to lack ambition. That's the way I saw it anyway. I have to add I didn't hear them complaining much either. Well, like I said that was more than fifty years ago, time and sensibilities change. But I'm betting there are still Turd Hawks around and they still live on Turd Hawk Avenue, no matter what name you call it. Life goes on, on Turd Hawk Avenue.