There's Got To Be...A Morning After...

Well, I got to watch my Garfield Halloween tape (as noted in yesterday's post) on my BETA machine (which is older THAN most bloggers...LOL) unfettered by annoying interruptions. And that's no small FEAT in this part of town.
We had NO ONE show at our door for trick or treat (must have been the fact that the front light wasn't on), and I could have counted the number of trick or treaters on ONE hand that I saw around the neighborhood.
Now we DO have kids around here, because I'm always seeing them walk to and from the nearby convenience store (a haven for after-hours activity of the dubious nature), as "mom" is AWOL when it comes to getting her children any snacks when they go food shopping with YOUR tax dollars (that would be welfare). Dad's been AWOL since "mom" got preggers.
They must have went to YOUR neighborhoods...the ones with money, prestige, luxury items, loads more people with free candy, respect, civility (did I mention money?), and a sense of caring. Those are all traits we rarely see outside OUR OWN front door, or as I like to say:
"We're the island of reason in a sea of apathy".
Hey, maybe they were the "advance recon" for their "baby-mamas and baby-daddys", who might be dropping by YOUR part of town for the holidays (to relieve you of those nasty gifts and decorations you bought to make YOUR holiday season bright). Sorry if I appear a bit cynical, but from where I stand (for the past ten years), I have little if anything to dissuade me from the way I feel based entirely on what I have ALREADY seen, heard, and experienced firsthand.

But what would any Halloween be without some village idiot?
Boring, right?
Well, leave it to those *new* people that moved in down the street who have been, for the most part unassuming and quiet. That changed around 5PM yesterday. We first heard LOUD music from their garage (decked out with cobwebs and pumpkin lights), and then the cars began to arrive. Over TEN vehicles wound up at the house, and people were milling about out back in costumes with kids. I wouldn't have a reason to gripe, but for the fact that the music could be heard at the OPPOSITE END OF THE DAMN BLOCK....now that's loud.
So I call the FWPD, and within 15 minutes...it was turned WAY down.
End of story, right?
WRONG!
The party flared back up like a wildfire in San Diego County around 10PM and went on until after 1:30AM. I know, because I was TRYING to get some sleep. And as a "finale" to this affair, they set off some aerial fireworks (two to be exact). This morning, I can still see the cars of those who spent the night (at least nobody drove while drunk), but this will no doubt set a disturbing precedent. Since these "people" (let's call them redneck white trash, shall we...for argument's sake) have "gotten away" with ONE loud party...there WILL be more forthcoming...we can bet the farm on that.

Now in my 55 years on this good earth, I can truthfully state that I have been to MY share of parties...and we tossed some real "lulus" in our day. But in ALL that time, we NEVER, I repeat NEVER had the "5-0" called on us for ANY reason...by ANYONE. Hell, I don't even recall any fights or aberrant behavior by ANY person for ANY reason. We stayed inside, played our music, drank our soda, beer (or whatever else was at hand), and ended at a decent hour.
And when we grew too old to be "supervised" by adults...we threw our OWN parties and supervised OURSELVES, making sure no one either got stupid or did anything stupid. But wait...that was when people had something called RESPECT FOR OTHERS, wasn't it? We, in our flawed minds took time to think about other people; people who might have to get up for WORK the next day, or people raising the infant two houses away that might wake up crying, or that elderly couple up the block that like to go to bed early.
Curse that infernal parental upbringing!

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that there are a LOT more people on this planet than just those in attendance at some drunked-up, loud-ass party. And it certainly doesn't take much to make a decision to take those people into account whenever WE decide to have people over.
A little COURTESY always did (and still can) go a LONG way these days. We're just not seeing it, that's all. We're too busy parking our widening asses in front of the Wii all day, or jamming earbuds from our iPods into our skulls, or blu-toothing our way through our lives to even worry about OTHERS...aren't we?

And therein lies the rub, as Shakespeare would say.
People are in your face when it comes to saving the planet, but fail to understand that it's not all about our planet. It's about the BILLIONS of people that have to LIVE on it as well. And our first job in taking care of Mother Earth should be to treat ONE ANOTHER with a modicum of civility. When that happens, and we become used to doing THAT, taking care of the planet will not only be a no-brainer, but will be something we do, not because we HAVE to, but because we WANT to.

And WANTING to do something is preferable to HAVING to do anything.