Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
Reader Tom J writes in:
My wife came home from her job in the Reston Clown Center (RTC) and said that she saw what she believes to be a shanty-town so I Googled "bum town reston" and your blog came up. It's now bookmarked and will be thoroughly read and enjoyed as I'm a native Restonite (Governor Sq./Wainwright/Lake Anne).We were skeptical, but we put on pants and hard shoes and hopped into the car to do a little of what the remaining 12 newspaper fogies still employed nationwide might call "reporting," or at least "driving by at 35 mph with a cell phone camera in case we saw something." And the story was actually true! It's actually past the Target and Sonoco in the thin strip of woods between Sunset Hills and the Toll Road (see the helpful annotated photograph above), and there's a giant tarp, surrounded by a small semicircle of one-man pup tents, and people milling about.
Anyway, if you are on Sunset Hills going from Reston Pkwy towards Target she says there is a group of tents/tarps in the woods on the left hand-side between the road and the toll road. Got any insight on this so I don't have to go over there to satisfy my curiosity?
All in all, it looked pretty much like our last campout, except that we tend to camp a bit further from major big-box retailers and limited-access highways. Reston's homeless used to hang out in the wooded area near the library, back before it was razed and turned into a fancy-pants condo with an awesome view of a parking garage. Like the deer we're required by sections 4-389 of our HOA covenants to love, they appear to have been driven to smaller and smaller wooded areas. Or maybe they just want quick access to all the fabulous low-priced crap at Target.
So in conclusion, drive by and get a glimpse of the future that awaits us all as the economy continues to flatline, the end.
I noticed that 'encampment' over the summer - it was part of my running route and I always slowed down to peak at it. Unbelievable! Who are these people?
ReplyDeletewe used to be your neighbors next door that didn't have the resources to recover Right wing tea partiers think they don't need to help those less fortunate and hide behind God.
Deletewe never had cable at the campsite was anyhow the campstie has been closed for awhile metro is coming and they've cleared it up a precursor to San jose the jungle encampment closure
DeleteThey are, as the Gospel tells us, the "least of our siblings." Do we know whether anyone for Fairfax Falls Church Community Service Board has be alerted to amke sure these people don't freeze to death this winter?
ReplyDeleteHmm... I wonder if some of those people used to "live" over by the police station (across from the library). A few months ago, I alerted the police to the "campers" and they asked those homeless folks to leave (I sorta felt like an ass for doing that).
ReplyDeleteI actually received a notice from my condo association reminding residents to lock their car doors - apparently, there were some homeless folks sleeping in them....
What is happening to Reston?!
I noticed a huge line of trash bags sitting on the side of the road there a week or so ago, but I didn't look far enough into the woods to see the people. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteThere are still homeless at the library. I dropped off some books recently at 7 am on a weekday and there were 2 asleep out front.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a step in the right direction for the RTC. I hope the ENCAMPMENT can continue to flourish gain more members as the recession deepens.
ReplyDeleteThey even have cable TV. There's a line running from one of those green cable TV boxes into the campsite.
ReplyDeleteseriously?? cable tv, target access and the buzz of toll road slaves only feet away???
ReplyDeleteWhen can I move in?? Is there a secret handshake? Do I bring my own pup tent or do we all go buy one at Target and then discuss its merits while having a latte at the embedded *bucks?
This brings new meaning to Reston Development...
wonder if I can put some red mulch around my pup tent....
Wow these comments are the first confirmation I've seen that supports the theory that Reston has become a town of assholes. These people are down on their luck and rather than lend a hand or just let these people be you belittle them on the internet. Shameful - grow the hell up.
ReplyDeleteI lived at the camp site over 6 months from april 2012 thru november Is was very hot during the summer, very cold in April.I wasn't making much money to afford a place in Reston so I camped there.Some people are just down on their luck,as I was. I wasn't trying to commit any crimes or drinking or drugging to any excesses.When you're homeless the local shelter can only provide the basic's to survive food,showers,and washing machines-when they are working.I'll be back out there when hypothemia ends March 31.God says to help those less fortunate,Look through Gods eyes,and he will show you the plan he has for your life.resist the devils false prophesy's
ReplyDelete