How readers have gotten to this blog.

It does appear that a great many of readers are indeed locals. That is supported by the fact that the vast majority of visits have been from local sources, such as ErieBlogs.com and GoErie.com. More than a few were referred to this site through searches on the different engines available to us all.

The focus of this post is some of the search terms that brought those readers here. I'm not certain they found what they were looking for, but I thought that answering some questions posed by those searches might be helpful to someone.

Or not.

Anyway, the following is a list and my response to some search terms that have shown up on the stats for this blog:

Crackheads in my neighborhood.

There are places in Erie that do indeed have an over abundance of smokers wandering around. Even in the depths of winter, they can be found on certain areas, hustling to scrap up enough to get a twenty piece.

I can only imagine the frustration of some residents in these neighborhoods because of the apparent drug seeking behavior. Girls on the stroll and johns circling the the streets, dealers wheeling about looking for their customers, crackheads ducking between houses or into an alley to do a quick hit doesn't enhance in a positive way the aura of a neighborhood.

Not to downplay this, but Erie is fortunate in that this activity is not nearly as bad or as evident as it is in others cities. But if you know what to look for, you will find it anywhere.

To look at that search in another light is that there are crackheads in almost every neighborhood. From the center of the city to gated and guarded exclusive developments in some of the wealthiest communities in the country where having the right key code or having a guard buzz you in are a requirement of entry.

So basically, we're everywhere.

My ex (all types apply) is a crackhead and left me for someone else.

Throw a party and don't find a new crackhead to replace the one who left. Unless of course you are a smoker as well, as they may come in handy to get what you need.

Missing in action.

Well if there were doubts in your mind about someone being involved with crack, this is a sure marker. People wonder and fret. Loved ones anguish about what could have happened. Hospitals are called and in some cases even the police.

Usually three or five or more days later the MIA returns burnt out, broke and perhaps without their vehicle. Tall tales ensue and promises are made, but essentially the crackheads well guarded secret is revealed. The shit hits the fan and this is where many of us make our way into our first rehab.

That's right, first rehab.

It should also be mentioned that after that first big run, the blossoming crackhead will hide out in the D&A or psych ward of their local hospital. That's so they can figure out a good line of bullshit when finally confronted by family or friends. Whether they are aware of it or not, hospital staff and counselors are also great at supplying material for the end tale we may weave.

It's called "The 12 Steps."

How to find someone mentally incompetent in Erie, PA.

Sadly, one need not look too far walking around in downtown Erie. Many of the homeless have serious issues. Even those who have some sort of shelter seem to find themselves in or about the center of this town. Many I suspect are coming or going from the various social service agencies as well as the places where a hot meal can be had to get them through the day.

I tend to believe that the number will increase as funding for those agencies as well as other programs gets squeezed out of government budgets at all levels.

And that is a sad state of affairs.

Can you trust a crackhead in jail.

That might be one of the only places you can trust one of us. The subject of trusting crackheads is covered in other entries to this blog.

What will a crackhead do sexually.

There are a few variations on the query, but that was the one that stuck with me. About the same things you, you or even you would do sexually. Sometimes it will happen quicker but all too often the focus is on the drug and all other interests are way beyond secondary.

21 year old girl needs money in Erie, PA.

That one still has me scratching my head.

There may be one more post left in me for this public place, but again the blog will not be added to by me after tomorrow and comments will be shut down as well.

Missing in Action

Sometimes you get to know someone, their habits to some extent and their schedules. All of a sudden they become Missing in Action. They don't show when you have expected them to show, they haven't called and they haven't been seen in any of the usual haunts they frequent.

Most "normal" people get really concerned and think the worst. Most crackheads wonder why the missing individual hasn't stopped by to share their good fortune. If the disappearance is lengthy, most crackheads wonder which jail, hospital or rehab their using friend has fallen into.

Yes, there are those occasions when some serious misfortune has beset us. We've rented our car to somebody to keep the run going. We have found ourselves in a very strange neighborhood with no transportation back home. We are too ashamed, usually, to call someone for some help, so after we manage to get back home, we hide away for awhile and try to resolve some nasty issues on our own. That usually doesn't bring us to a successful conclusion to our dilemma.

Our family and friends fret that we have been shot or some other similar misfortune has befallen us. They may, if they haven't reached the point of stopping to care anymore , call the area police and hospitals trying to locate us. They may even drive around those strange and sometimes dangerous neighborhoods trying to locate us, or at the very least our vehicles.

Worrying about a loved one who hits a pipe is very tiresome to those who care. It becomes so stressful and tiring that those people have reached the end of their ropes and can no longer cope. They have come to the end of their rope. This is often their emotional as well as financial ropes. They no longer want the crackhead around. Not having them around frees them from the burden of worrying about the poor fool.

What the crackhead realizes all too late is that they are burning bridges. They don't see it that way, as they have more often than not lost sight of what is a normal lifestyle. They often are not thinking about anything during the course of a 4 or 5 day run beyond where the next hit is coming from. crack smoker doesn't think about the consequences of those things until the money or the drugs have run out.

This is one of the reasons why crack addicts live a lonely existence. The only ones that come around them anymore are other crack addicts who, as often as not, are looking to gain something from each other. Addicts tend not to trust each other for a lot of obvious reasons. Soon they start to trust no one.

But, no one likes to get high by themselves.