Be Careful What You Wish For...
How many times have we heard THAT, hmm?
And most times, it tends to refer to something OMINOUS...or otherwise bad for our health somewhere along the line.
Well, in MY particular case, it is nothing short of an epiphanic moment in my life.
Yesterday, I ranted about how my (and my neighbor's) mailbox was blatantly vandalized.
And with good reason...I had no idea who did it.
Notice I said "had"...past tense.
I now know who did it...(cue Dragnet music)...
Well, around mid-morning, I heard a knocking on my door.
It was the neighbor across the street. No problem, as I "expected" her to stop by, and I had the phone numbers she needed to call regarding the vandalism.
She was there to tell me her friend accidentally BACKED OVER the boxes, and that he knocked on my door several times trying to contact me. Never heard anyone at any time stop by.
Seems he wants to make amends by installing our replacement box.
Okay...so now THIS is what I would call (in my neighborhood)...a "WOW" moment...
Yasureyoubetcha...right up there with winning a Nobel Peace Prize...LOL!
Is there HOPE for this neighborhood?
Could there be LIGHT at the end of this VERY long tunnel...at last?
(probably not in the traditional sense, but it IS encouraging, nonetheless)
After considering a few "types" of mailboxes, (and quickly dismissing them as being just a little TOO ostentatious for THIS neighborhood) the missus and I went to Menards on Sunday, and plunked down close to $50 for a nice thick STEEL pole and bronze mailbox (still not nearly the MOST expensive ones in the store,but they are a matched set - same manufacturer), and I'm willing to absorb the cost of the cement (another $5) and the lettering (about a buck) and call it even-steven to have it installed.
(Here's a shot of the NEW boxes - ours is on the LEFT)
That works for me.
And as a show of good faith and no hard feelings, since our OLD mailbox wasn't AS badly bent up as THEIRS was, I gave them OUR old one to mount on their pole, as well as half a bag of cement that I also had.
I didn't HAVE to do it...I just felt like it.
Anyway, I talked with the woman for about 15 minutes, I was very cordial (as I am to most anyone I meet ), and yes, I had a gun on my hip, which I'm sure made her feel a LOT safer.
To steal a line from the movie: THE PUNISHER (2004) - "It's how I say hi to everyone these days".
I mean if she saw it there (which she had to), maybe she'll "pass it on" to others, so they will know not to mess with me and my place.
Word travels at light speed around here anyway, so a word to the "wise" (guys) should be sufficient.
I said at the end of yesterday's post about being able to have ONE ally around here, and that maybe it would happen tomorrow. Well, today IS the former "tomorrow" (it's a time-relation thing), so perhaps, in some small way, by getting to KNOW ME, this person might realize that there is someone who DOES CARE about this area, and doesn't want it to fall further down the craphole.
Now (to quote Dirty Harry) ..."Unh, uh...I know what you're thinking...."
Do I take back my initial assessment of the neighborhood inhabitants?
Not on a Philly dare.
I am willing to amend...as and when necessary.
Since I've not been wrong when sizing up people around here, I feel justified to STILL regard most with suspicion, because I've been lied to before (often), and by some damn GOOD liars.
To secure MY "trust", I'm going to have to take a page from the Missouri Primer for Midwest Neophytes...in other words:
SHOW ME.
PROVE to me you CAN EARN my trust FIRST...and then, I will act in like manner.
Sorry, but "once bitten, twice shy" is the standard here.
There are no "givens"...no assumptions or presumptions anymore.
There are no "benefit of the doubts" any longer.
I look at how you behave, carry yourself, and interact with others as I make my call on who YOU are in my area.
You prove to ME that you can be a person of integrity, and then we can talk. Not before.
And feel free to do likewise with me...what you SEE will be what you GET.
Sorry, but that's just the way the cookie's gonna crumble these days.
I'm in an urban "conflict" zone...ask any police officer.
I really don't want to use the word "combat", as this is a situation where I have VERY limited "rules of engagement" (unfortunately).
Although some would argue that we are at "war" of sorts...yours truly among them.
So, an act of contrition softens the sting of living in a blighted area, but it does not endear me to every person of every ethnicity, including my own race.
Does that make me an angry old man? Perhaps.
But it also, at the same time, makes me a CAUTIOUS (and therefore prepared) old man.
We all know full well what happens when such caution is arbitrarily tossed to the four winds, right?
Well, I ain't tossin' , folks.
I'm not in life to make a ton of "friends" (or even enemies), nor am I in life to be a VICTIM (that's the other guy's job).
I am here to live my life as best I can.
MY primary mission is to be the best "me" that I can be, given whatever time I have.
And that should be YOUR mission as well, regarding YOU.
THAT, to me, says more than anything else that I can imagine.
America has changed too rapidly for many to keep up with, and that's sad.
Many have given up and done whatever they wanted to just to SERVE themselves.
But Americans have ALWAYS been "adaptable" beings.
We HAVE changed with the times, to better ourselves and our nation, and without sacrificing WHO WE ARE along the way.
Yet some things should remain as they are (or were).
TRUST should be one of those things.
INTEGRITY should be another, as should the sense of MORALITY society lacks today.
It's a damn good start...you have to admit.
Just like a neighbor wanting to replace your mailbox...it's...a first step.
And all journeys begin with just that very thing.
Maybe not the best "happy ending" (yet), but this particular chapter WAS a lot more enjoyable.
So, we now turn the page...
Stay safe out there, America.