Hamilton - The Lazy City

When I moved to Hamilton back in June of '71 as a young lad of 17, I was amazed at what I saw. For someone who grew up in a rural environment, I was used to 1 story houses, barns, sheds and open ground as far as the eye could see. I wasn't quite prepared for buildings of 12 stories and more. The Center Mall was not to be believed when I moved near it. All kinds of different stores all packed into 1 large shopping area. Don't get me wrong, I'd seen similar in Dundas back in the '60's but nowhere as big as that ( I lived out in the rural area of West Flamborough as a kid and a trip into Dundas every once in awhile was a treat).

There were people on the go constantly. Rushing off to work most of the time. Or the kids all headed to school. The houses in the area I moved into were all well kept. Lawns nicely cared for. Houses were kept clean and fresh paint could be seen on almost everyone of them. Flower beds with almost every type of flower you can think of. City life looked pretty good for a kid that grew up in the country.

Here it is almost 43 years later and I'm ashamed to admit I call Hamilton home. People in this city have turned into lazy, hopeless people. Instead of walking 2 blocks to go to the store, they hop on a bus. I see it all the time. Gotta go to the drug store? Bus will be here in a minute. It's getting pathetic. People are so lazy these days, it's affecting our health.

It's not just being to lazy to walk anywhere, it's being to lazy to clean up after a pet. According to the S.P.C.A., there is a $125.00 fine levied on a pet owner if they do not clean up after their pet does his business on public or private property. In other words... If your dog craps on the main sidewalk or on my property and you don't clean it up, you can be fined $125.00. The problem is....City bylaw and S.P.C.A. are too lazy to enforce it because people are too lazy to file a report.

You can walk anywhere in this city and all you see is garbage, garbage, garbage. Garbage on the side of the streets, Garbage in the alley ways. Garbage in the parking lots. Most of the time, garbage on the streets or parking lots are within 10 feet of a garbage can. People are just too damn lazy to take the extra steps to put their garbage in the cans.

Mailmen would go from house to house with their sacks of mail and never walk on a persons lawn when I first moved here. These days, it's nothing for these over paid flyer deliverers to go from house to house in a mini mail truck. They pull up in front of one house, deliver the mail, get back into the truck, drive to the next house and deliver the mail (and so on down the street). That's how the mail is delivered these days (I witnessed it first hand so I know for a fact it happens). And Canada Post and the Government can't understand why there is such a large deficit. Well here's a suggestion for you. Get those lazy bastards back out on the street, teach them some respect for peoples property and get rid of the bloody mail trucks.

I guess my biggest gripe is with homeowners and business owners who are just to damn lazy to clear their sidewalks after a snow fall. Just for example, my wife and I went out to do a bit of shopping. We don't drive so we use a bundle buggy. She pushes it while I try to steady myself with my cane.As we were walking along one of the streets in East Hamilton, we hit a sidewalk about 8 feet long and completely covered in ice with a layer of water on top of it. Inside the front door of the business whose sidewalk we were trying to manouver over was a 50 pound bag of salt. The wife slid on the ice, I wrenched my back trying to catch her and all the while I was looking for a brick to throw threw the bloody window just so I could lay down some salt.

So to all those at Hamilton City Hall.....Sam Merulla, Bernie Morelli, Terry Whitehead, and the rest of you. How about getting off your asses and actually do something for the people who elected you to office. Hamilton used to look like a jewel in Canada. Now it looks like a cesspool because people are getting too lazy. Maybe if some by-laws were actually enforced, people made to be responsible, we could be proud of our city once more.