It's a common vision of the future, as popularized by fictional works like the book and movie versions of The Road, desperate survivors picking through the ruins as they try to get through even one more day. But there is at least one place in America where the future is now:
Two people allegedly hunting for scrap metal were killed Wednesday after part of a vacant nursing home collapsed on them on Detroit’s west side.Sad as this story is, I couldn't help seeing the black humor in this:
Fire, police, and rescue crews were called to Seven Mile and Glastonbury, near the Southfield Freeway.
Two bodies were discovered in the abandoned five-story building. Fire Chief Kwaku Atara said it’s believed the two men were scrapping at the time of the roof collapse.
“If you see someone scrapping in your neighborhood, call police immediately. This activity directly affects the Detroit Fire Department, because the firefighters have to respond to buildings just like this in emergencies. Not only firefighters but all emergency responders, possibly may have to go into these facilities,” said Atara.You know what else is really dangerous? Starving. Which is about the level of desperation it takes to get someone to go scrounging around in a dilapidated building looking for scrap metal.
And he says it’s very dangerous. “We would like to urge residents that this is extremely dangerous way to make a living and we would discourage it at all costs,” said Atara.
For those that follow John Michael Greer on-line novel of the future Star's Reach (www.starsreach.blogspot.com) it appears that two of the hero’s distant predecessors unfortunately got reborn on the job.
ReplyDeleteAs salvaging becomes a major occupational category, will it held to the formation of a Ruinmen guild as described in the novel, where Master Ruinmen at least train apprentices in how to do this dangerous work? After all, the novel indicated that “Troy” (Detroit) was where the Guild started.