The City, Boarded Up...
There was a certain subtle beauty in the pinks and yellows, the natural glow of pineboard in the shadowless summer light, the smell of cut pine... But this was our city behind shutters or smashed windows, struggling to remain open. It was a miserable sight on Saturday morning....
(For years there'd always been an unspoken agreement that rioters had adhered to pretty well -- no smashing or looting the truly local stores like Cody's, Moes, or the Mediteraneum. This time they'd gone for everything -- not just the universally-despised places like Headlines or the Bank of America, but all the locals, especially the smaller stores. It was the first time Cody's had ever put up any sort of protection...).