Monday Musings...
Well, the Easter eggs have all been found (or HAVE they?), the holiday dinner is but a set of leftovers containers in the fridge, and...it's going to rain. No one ever said that Mondays would be all sunshine and lollipops now, did they?
One family in Vermont is happy.
The captain of the cargo container ship (Maersk Alabama) who had been captured by Somali pirates has been rescued. Can't say the same for the four pirates that held him hostage for several days. Three of them are dead, the other wounded and in custody (where I'm sure the ACLU will have a field day with when they bring him to America, instead of "hanging him from the highest yardarm").
But the captain's wife has her husband back, and our navy's seal team once again proves that might DOES make right.
Moving along...
Fort Wayne has seen it's 10th homicide this weekend.
(and counting...)
Happened right on a city street in the near south side (where else?) in Fort Wayne
Here's the links to this story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090413/LOCAL07/304139990
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http://news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090412/BREAKING/904120299/0/FRONTPAGE
Now, let's not even go there when it comes to GUN control
This is about a PERSON who could (obviously) NOT control his anger...the gun was only the instrument of settling that argument.
Could have been an old-fashioned beatdown, but hell no, the gun is quicker, more final...and LOUDER.
And again, we hear neighbors claiming that "It's usually a QUIET neighborhood".
Usually? Really? Quiet?
As in "It's quiet for about 5 minutes between all the OTHER obnoxious noises" kinda quiet?
Because THAT is exactly the "kind of quiet" we have in MY neighborhood (which really is NOT quiet at all, is it?).
And that brings me to an annoying aspect of (recent) modern day living.
People have seen fit to "redefine" what USED TO BE, into something more "user-friendly", and therefore suited to the venue.
Sure it's a QUIET neighborhood...as compared to living on the main runway at O'Hare International Airport, but that is far from what is normally considered to be quiet (at least in the context of WHAT USED TO BE).
And when you hear "He was such a GOOD boy", when the guy was shot dead,because of a drug deal gone south, or is imprisoned for murdering someone else, it REALLY means: "He didn't act THAT stupid when he was around us twice a week".
When you hear someone say: "I don't know why he did that...he never bothered anyone", what we can take away from that is:
a) He was mentally-challenged and got under the radar of mental health for YEARS before he shot up that school.
b) He was scared to go outside for fear of being accosted (like many seniors around this city).
c) Even he could only take so much disrespect and hatred against him for no reason,before he snapped.
d) He really DIDN'T bother anyone,...until they bothered him first.
So you see, whatever we hear, can be misconstrued to fit the scenario (or the media attention). Unless we know the FACTS of a situation, (which are easy enough to disseminate), we just sit back and go "wow...that's too bad".
So in this world of "instant" information, YOU, the reader, have to be a LOT more discerning with what you read. Information is coming at you at the speed of thought, and it can lead to overload...the old TMI thing, right?
And you are never too old to learn what the facts are. That's how people gain knowledge and wisdom...and the means to properly apply it.
Okay,enough "book learnin" for today...meanwhile, back at the ranch...
We broke down and got ourselves a new decorative fence for around the garden and patio (actually, it's my "first line perimeter boundary"). The old fence was rotting at the bases of the posts and the fences wiggled like a dancer in high gear on that FitTV show SHIMMY...LOL.
So we helped our economy along and got it all replaced...not a bad job either. I would have set about to doing it myself, BUT...all the neighbors that could help have MOVED AWAY, and I don't tackle anything of this scope SOLO...not when removing old posts and the cement surrounding them is required. I'm a little too "less than young" for that these days.
We did get a standard 4 inch spaced wooden picket, but with the material left over from the job, I plan to add staggered pickets on the BACK side of the rails, creating a "shadowbox" effect, and making the fence less "see-through". At least, that's the plan. I might have to get additional wood pieces, but the initial layout looks great...and is a damn sight less costly than BUYING the shadowboxed prefab fence sections, believe me...by a LOT!
The "3-dimensional" look is going to be the nicest aspect in the area for this fence.
Not that anyone gives a flying coitus, but it's OUR house (until we move), so screw them...I like it!
And I can keep the "Barbarians" at arm's length as well.
As for the next "project" on our list?
Well, there's the front steps...the front door, the 2 screen doors (all of which need replacing). And we should get a new roof for the HOUSE, before it begins to leak, and cost more $$$. Plus, it WILL match the new roof on the garage. That reminds me, we should get a new garage access door.
Then there's the annual "fixups", like painting, planting, trimming, assorted electrical, plumbing, and carpentry tasks (not large enough to be considered projects YET). Of course, that's always ASIDE from any AUTOMOTIVE concerns...or HEALTH concerns.
Oh, yeah...life can be a dream (sh-boom, sh-boom).
It's when it begins to become more like a repetitious nightmare worthy of a Stephen King novel, or a Rod Serling Twilight Zone script that things go a bit awry.
But...the thrill is in the pursuit OF that dream; that race to cross the finish line of life.
And the race continues...it never ends (as Messala said in Ben Hur).
I only hope the PIT STOPS don't cost me a LAP...!
Stay safe out there, America.