#onlyatsouthern

     I've been painting the pavement in Statesboro, around the campus of Georgia Southern University for several years now.  For almost a decade I've dedicated my time and being to learning how to turn chalk and dirty sidewalks into something greater.  Unfortunately I find it all coming to an end.  

     This past Thursday, the 13th, I was sitting on my normal pitch by Retrievers.  It was a little after 2am, very cold.  I was out a little later than normal because I had decided to do a more complex piece than usual and wasn't ready to quit yet.  The street was quiet since most of the bar traffic had gone home.

     I heard something and looked up.  I see a young black guy in a red sweatshirt running toward me rubbing his hands together.  "Damn it's cold" he said, I chuckled a bit and said "Yeah...." as he ran past me, scooped up my tip hat, which had deep sentimental value to me, and kept on running.  Before I could process what had happened he had rounded the corner towards Eagle Village and was gone.

      I called the police and filed a report, but I know I'll never see that hat or its contents again.  

     Later that night on Yik Yak(local social media) Someone asked "What happened to chalk guy?"  One of the responses was, "Me and my homies robbed that hobo bitch."

     This semester I've been robbed twice, in almost the exact same fashion, a run by snatch and grab.  It may have been the same person, sadly I never got a good look either time.  I've also had a full tallboy of cheap beer thrown at me from a moving car passing along Georgia Ave.  This is what has become of Statesboro and sadly I can no longer be a part of this towns culture.  

     I've had fun painting this town.  It was good while it lasted.  I've been shown great generosity and support by many of the students at Southern and am thankful to have met those students.  I've always been open to talk to a passing student about anything they wished.  I simply wanted to bring joy to this small town but thanks to a few predatory children I can no longer do it.   When I paint the sidewalk I reach a zen like state of peace and relaxation.  But no more, I cannot be relaxed when I am constantly looking over my shoulder for the next attack.

     I don't know if I'll ever return to the sidewalk here but I doubt it.  There will come a time when I leave this town and move on to another. When that time comes I will find a new town with new sidewalks to paint and hopefully I'll not have to fear the actions of random passers by as I have had to here in Statesboro.