The Danville police recently kicked out some “guests” at the Astoria Hotel on Riverside Drive due to numerous complaints about fights and drug usage from other customers.

I witnessed this expulsion first hand because I work at McDonald’s which is right beside the hotel.

Everyday it is the same thing. Until now. The police finally solved the issue.

People from the hotel came into McDonald’s five times a day.  Daily, addicts begged our customers for money, drug users overdosed and had seizures and were taken out by stretchers. Police arrested them.

It was a lot to take in.

My fellow employees and I shouldn’t have been exposed to that type of behavior.

It was both heartbreaking and disturbing.

Unfortunately, I witnessed a man having a seizure in a stretcher. I assume it was the result of drugs. The lifesaver crew took him away in the ambulance.

Those who knew him were crying their eyes out. That shook my soul to the core.

I wondered everyday how people could let addiction ruin their lives.

Every day, I watched them dig deep in their pockets for change, struggling to afford a $2 sandwich. It devastated me.

Their poverty upset me. However, I was scared as well. I hated making eye contact with them.

The look in their eyes could kill. It was as if they were heartless.

There was not a speck of joy in their eyes. Not even a sparkle. Just black, soulless, and depressing.

Sure enough, their pain turned into anger.

They used to get so angry and aggressive. They didn’t always seem to be in their  right minds, so I didn’t know what they were capable of.

They were rude to our customers. They have cursed and frightened them. One customer even called the cops.

The police were often called to go over to the hotel and sort out the problems.

These events led to the guests getting kicked out. It has been peaceful ever since.