Humpday Happenings...
A few snow showers covering the ground once again (and I was just getting reacquainted with the color of concrete sidewalks, streets and dormant lawns), more snow headed to the east coast (The Poconos will love this), and another day in the "ghettohood", as I like to call it, are staring me in the face. Not the "best" way to greet one's morning coffee, is it?
But still, if I learn nothing else in this life, I have learned to be HOPEFUL.
"Dum Spiro, Spero" - "While I live, I hope" goes the old Latin proverb.
Robert F. Kennedy once said:
"Every time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million other centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Yeah...there's always hope...I hope.
And we ain't talking about the type of hope (crap) we've been fed from any political stage.
We're talking REAL, honest-to-God hope, here.
With that said, let's journey forth into another day, eyes wide open, ears attentive and with a clear mind, shall we?
** Fort Wayne's City Council heard complaints from citizens over another new office complex that was supposed to be coming to a neighborhood near them (up north - where else?), and lo, and behold, the development was quashed.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100224/LOCAL/302249914/1002/LOCAL
I have to hand it to Councilman Mitch Harper, who said:
"I think you deserve the quiet enjoyment of your property".
Well said, Mitch.
Wish you could make the SAME statement about MY neighborhood.
But alas, you can't.
You see, the city has deemed it "necessary" (for some strange reason) to allow all the riff-raff to assemble and be housed in MY part of town...you know, the part of town with the HIGHEST crime rates in the city.
Yeah, that one.
The city also "allows" the Realtors to steer people AWAY from this area, while steering "others" INTO the area. I believe there is a huge lawsuit pending in Atlanta for such practices.
We can think of this as a perverse type of "urban planning". I liken it to a form of ABORTION, myself. The city must WANT to "do away" with this part of town, otherwise, they'd fix what is broken, yes?
I mean, by allowing city codes to go unheeded in MANY of these properties, permitting people to own unlicensed dogs (they breed and then "trade" them among themselves like baseball players), not holding landlords to a standard that promotes a better selection of clientele to inhabit these houses (soon to become hovels), and a laundry list of other items sure to perpetuate anything but a sense of quality of life OR anything close to resembling a modicum of QUIET, what else can you expect?
I'm sure those people in the Cherry Hill section of the city are never privy to curb-side drug deals, right? And I'm sure the ONLY time there is "gunfire", it's most likely some person with a faulty muffler, or maybe someone is hunting in a nearby area.
Be real nice if people down HERE knew what "being held to the same standards" truly meant.
As it appears NOW, they HAVE NO standards...they also have NO morals, NO civility, NO ethics, NO honor, and NO responsibility or accountability...period.
And those are their "better traits".
We won't even get into the manner in which they live...that's a whole other post for another day.
Now, just because OUR houses didn't cost anywhere close to between $300,000 - $400,000 does not mean we are to be denied the exact same opportunity to enjoy this "quality-of-life" gig that so many politicians SAY we are ensured.
I firmly believe that every person MUST have a certain LEVEL of life, as life is meant to be LIVED.
If I am only breathing, than I am only existing...the living aspect is all but gone.
Might as well stick me on a ventilator and feed me intravenously.
Many times, that's exactly what it seems like down here, as you're TRYING to "live" your life.
But, as I say, I'm hopeful that the city will eventually figure this obvious "no-brainer" out and come to see that this part of Fort Wayne does NOT have to become the slum it already has the reputation of, nor does it need to be a tax hindrance on the city, but instead has the chance at becoming a tax help.
** Elsewhere around the "ghettohood"...
Two house fires on the SE side (where else?) within several blocks of each other occurred the other night.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100224/LOCAL07/302249917/1002/LOCAL
Now this area is smack dab in the middle of the ghettohood, so it's no surprise that we're seeing this HERE.
And, while the FWFD is investigating the fires to these houses (both were vacant...imagine that), they are NOT ruling out ARSON.
WOW...I'm impressed.
I'd pursue the arson angle like a bloodhound. It's got to be the ONLY reason for the fires.
I mean TWO (empty) houses within blocks of each other don't all of a sudden spontaneously combust in the middle of winter at the same time on the same day...right?
I'd also check to see WHO (exactly) owns these cribs, in case the landlord is trying to claim some insurance money fraudulently.
The good news is that BOTH houses will be razed...wish the city would do that around HERE.
Face it, what KIND of house would one expect to "purchase" for a mere $7500 dollars, anyway?
(you read it right...seventy five HUNDRED dollars)
And then stick some of society's castoffs as renters...oh, yeah, nothing says slumlord quite like that, does it?
Then again, if these people gave a damn about themselves (and others) we wouldn't be at such a crossroads in this city, would we?
And I'd most likely have REAL people living around me that I could ACTUALLY call neighbors, or (dare I say it?)...FRIENDS!
But, as ever...I am hopeful.
And some days, I admit to being as hopeful as the captain of the Titanic, as the water crept up the foredeck. But those days are few and far between, thankfully.
Human beings are nothing if not resilient creatures.
We bounce back...we persevere...we overcome.
We take the worst that others offer, and although we might fall, we will get the hell back up...and press on.
We do so NOT because it's the easy way out. Hell, for many of us, it seems the most daunting thing to pursue
And we certainly don't do it because we love doing what seems impossible at times.
We simply do what we do because it's the RIGHT THING TO DO.
That's what got this nation off the ground, and kept her sustained through many trials throughout her history.
And it's what keeps me going...a sense of being a part of America, however insignificant it might appear.
It all comes back to what RFK said (above).
And it's something we need to believe in...to reassure ourselves that we CAN...and WILL...and MUST.
Take care, make a difference today, and be sure to...
Stay safe out there, America.