Today the Duluth News-Tribune ran a story about people who illegally raise chickens right in the city. When I was a kid, nearly everyone in our neighborhood (well, everyone except my family) raised chickens as well as ducks, geese and turkeys. We didn't live in the country by any stretch of the imagination. People just built chicken coops in their backyards, filled a couple of kiddie pools for the ducks to play in, and feasted on delicious organic eggs every morning.

Occasionally when they desired an evening meal, they'd head over to the shed and grab a hatchet.

The people who lived on my block didn't like the government much, and hated being told what to do. If they wanted to keep chickens, they'd keep chickens. Likewise, they didn't like being told where to park. Our block was a one-way street with parking allowed only on one side. At some point, someone decided that it should be a two-way street and that we should be able to park on both sides. So they did the natural thing and took down the signs.

There was a period of about three or four years where the authorities and my neighbors went back and forth. Signs would go up and immediately be taken down. Cops would show up randomly and ticket everyone who was parked illegally. But usually, you could just drive in either direction and park wherever you wanted because, well, how was anyone supposed to know what the rules were when there were no signs telling you?

Eventually, the city put up stop signs at both ends of the block and alternate-side parking signs on both sides of the street. The criminals had won. Let that be a lesson to you, kids.

These days, that block is completely different. Half the houses have been torn down and replaced with brand-new ones. All of the families who lived in the old, falling down houses have either moved on or died off. It's a nicer neighborhood now, younger and more respectable. There are still a few rotten old crackhouses left, but just by looking at them you can tell they're not long for this world. Soon they'll be bulldozed to make way for new developments, which will be purchased by young couples with little kids.

I wonder if any of them will raise chickens. I doubt it.

At least I hope they appreciate the two-way street.