01 January 2009

Happy New Year...2009 Edition
Here we finally are...out of the starting gate of a brand new year, ready to race the course.
And by the looks of how we left LAST year, THIS year is going to be nothing, if not interesting in SO many ways.
--We've got an economy that is hanging on by the skin of it's teeth.
--We've got a NEW President, marvelously unproven, ready to invoke "change we can believe in".
--We've got a bailout plan for damn near anyone with a rich-ass CEO at the helm
So it looks like America's plate is already kind of full.
Still, whatever ails this nation will be slowly fixed, and not necessarily by those in "power".
I look to see much of this nation's problems being solved by none other than YOU and ME.
The common man and woman will be the ones that bring this country back from the precipice of recession.
Perhaps that sounds a bit idealistic, but when you think about it, this nation couldn't move a damn inch in ANY direction WITHOUT the "little people"...the "grunts in the trenches"...the ones doing what they HAVE to do, because it's the RIGHT thing to do.
Sure it seems all to simplistic, yet it's true, and every one of you out there knows it.
Trouble is, those running the show don't seem to think so, at least not to the point where they will acknowledge it fairly.
Time to allow THEM the opportunity to LEARN from OUR example, right?
And in other tidbits out and about...
--If you want to read a GOOD article not only about the new Clint Eastwood movie (Gran Torino), but also to get some insight into WHY the "Big-3" automakers are in the predicament they find themselves, check this story out:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090101/FEAT/901010321
Funny thing, I used to own a Torino myself (1975 base model 2 door, dark hunter green w/ oversized blackwall tires, moon hubcaps, and a CB antenna on the trunk lid), and I'll have to get a picture of it on here. Nice car, no A/C, so all the power went to the road, but it was a handful in really snowy/icy weather, even for me...lol!
Love that 26 GALLON fuel tank, especially during the Oil Embargo price era...there went almost HALF of my paycheck!
But that will be another tale for another day, and it will be worth the wait, trust me.
--Last night's re-enactment of the TET OFFENSIVE in our neighborhood was a lot less than I expected...chalk that up to good patrolling by the FWPD. Sounded more like a skirmish along the Mekong (thankfully).
Usually I spend New Year's Eve watching Dick Clark, but last night, Wifey and I listened to the police scanner to see what those area rascals were up to. And we weren't all surprised to learn that the police had their hands full with DUIs, intoxicated people, unconscious people, and even responding to gunfire calls (yaaaaayyyyy...Hoo-rah)!
Amazing how nice and relatively serene this area can be when the "5-0" is around...
Now...if we can only start cracking down on those nasty-ass drug dealers.
And the "Boomcar Boyz"
And the roaming bands of teens after hours.
And the scrappers.
And the rapists.
And the burglars.
And the robbers.
And the home-invaders.
And the murderers.
And those with illegal firearms.
Nah...doesn't seem like to hard a mission to undertake, does it?
I will go on record and say that I believe we're going to see another TWENTY-FIVE homicides this year (last year was 26 - undershot by ONE), so get that betting pool at work or at home, and start keeping count, okay?
I don't know why, but I tend to think the number will be HIGHER for some reason...just got that feeling.
Then again, with a growing population, it just makes sense (per capita, that is).
Lastly, I want to go on record here when I CHALLENGE those in power in this town to take a GOOD look at MY part of the city (S/E side) and decide to do something OTHER than toss up a few $100,000 houses in the badlands along with some amenities and call it a "Renaissance".
Take back the neighborhoods that are distressed, and make them LIVABLE for those a lot less lazy and can contribute to the tax base we've been seeing erode in Fort Wayne.
And maybe if something like THAT would have been enacted YEARS ago, we wouldn't be staring at some hole in the ground, pie-in-the-sky crapshoot of a downtown revitalization, more than likely destined to be more of a bane than a boom to this town.
Gonna say this real EARLY this year, and those running this city best pay attention:
"Any city is only AS GOOD as it's WORST area".
(Yes, you may quote me)
So pay attention, City Hall, we (the people) are watching AND listening.
In the meantime...
Enjoy the new year, and don't worry...that shine & "new" smell will wear off REAL fast.
And just like that brand new car, this year is bound to depreciate a good 33% as soon as we "drive it off the lot".
Now...go have some corned beef and cabbage...LOL!

2 comments:

Jana said...

"Now...go have some corned beef and cabbage..."

My family would say:

"Now...go have some black-eyed peas and fat-back bacon..."

;)

~j

Bob G. said...

Well, I'm from the Irish-Catholic EAST coast...and you're from the SOUTH (coast"...LOL.

Mmmm, that bacon DOES sound purdydamngood.

B.G.