Monday Musings...
The Vancouver Olympics were nothing short of fantastic.
And yesterday's USA vs CANADA hockey game was a REAL "edge-of-the-seat" event. (felt like the good old days back in Philly with the Flyers in the 70s...OR the Olympic Gold Medal team from 1980)
All in all, those Canucks got it RIGHT...and even though the games started with the loss of a luger, the spirit of the games prevailed, uniting the world for an all-too-brief 16 days.
The closing ceremonies were marvelous and paid homage to a beautiful country with some great people.
Here is the link to the FINAL medal result for ALL participating countries:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals/2010-standings/index.html
This was a case where you CAN have "all winners", because what it takes to even GET to the Olympics is monumental in scope , money, and intestinal fortitude.
Okay, so maybe only a select few ever get to win a medal, but the games are about a LOT more than that.
It's about overcoming obstacles, advancing through adversity, going forward when you'd much rather sit and rest, and it's about PEOPLE.
Ordinary people...doing extraordinary things...that's what I come away from the Olympics with every time I watch them.
And in there is a message for every one of us, don'cha think?
In my part of fort Wayne, it's about as far removed as one can get from that mindset.
Here, we have less than ordinary people around me doing...well, not that much if anything worthwhile.
I still maintain that if it wasn't for the missus and me, this neighborhood would never have anything noteworthy to speak of. We're the ONLY reason this neighborhood's collective I.Q. has NOT dropped into double digits...LOL.
Take last night for example...
A dark colored 4 door pulls up in front of a house that has a CONDEMNED sign on the front door (typical house adornment in this part of the ghettohood, aside from the ICICLE LIGHTS in JULY), and two black males get out.
No big deal, right?
Read on...
They attempt to gain entry via the back door (closed and locked apparently), and when that fails, they attempt to get in through a SIDE WINDOW of the house by climbing on top of a trashbin (cleverly placed directly UNDER the window).
Now, I suppose I could have called the police, and MAY-BE they might have gotten caught, but instead, I pulled out my trusty green laser and bounced it of the ass of the perp in the window.
That definitely got their "attention", as they quickly left in the car, and have not returned since.
And since I contacted Neighborhood code Enforcement, that house should be a LOT more "secure" by day's end.
Sorry to rain on your parade, boys....ROFLMAO!
I guess you'll have to find another place to smoke your crack.
Like I say...NEVER a dull moment down here.
It's a wonder I'm not suffering some sort of PTSD...or something similar.
Living down here is like being "on call" 24/7/365...with NO paycheck or vacation.
But since this neighborhood (among so many others in this part of town) is, by design, destined to become THE slum area, it's little wonder we're not seeing more city "intervention" to halt or even reverse this blight that has taken hold.
In a related vein...check out this excellent story by Stacey Stumpf in yesterday's local paper:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100228/EDIT10/302289970
This is EXACTLY what I see around here...daily.
At the present time, our house has not one, not two, but THREE (count 'em...3) VACANT houses directly adjacent to our property.
We have two on the south side, one on the north side, and one directly west of us, across the alley.
Not to mention, there is another house (one block over) that has sat VACANT for well over FIVE YEARS...no tenants, no improvement...no nothing being done to it. It just sits at that corner, staring bleakly at the passing traffic, year after year.
This is "prime territory" for the scrapping contingent in the S/E.
To take an analogy from the Olympics...it's an ORDINARY neighborhood going through some EXTRAORDINARY times.

(and not the "good" extraordinary, mind you)
Forget about most of the "people" here. They're worth even LESS than the hovels passing for houses.
But that's the way the city's "planned" it. ONE area for all the refuse, kind of like a societal "landfill" of crappy people.
And yet, here WE are...an island of reason amidst a sea of apathy.
John Donne once said that "No man is an island"...and I used to believe that...I've since come to amend that belief.
I may not BE an island...I just happen to inhabit one, metaphorically-speaking.
No gold, silver, or bronze medals to be given out HERE, that's for sure.
No cheering throngs, no celebration...just a few sighs of relief when a house gets boarded up or is vacated.
You just push on...try to be the best "you" you can be.
Can't ask for more than that from any person, can you?
"Things are always darkest just before dawn", as the saying goes.
I guess no one took into consideration the daylight saving time gig, eh?
Oh, well...it may "never rains in southern California", or it might be "always sunny in Philly", but around here...well, it's more a study in aberrant societal mores and behavior above anything else.
Be nice to see a bunch of anthropologists or sociologists set up shop down here, study the indigenous species, and perhaps write a few papers on what I get to see for free every single day.
I mean, it's GOT to be worth at least a few footnotes in someone's journal, right?
...And it's ONLY Monday on top of all that.
Gotta love it, right?
Have yourselves a great week, and...
Stay safe out there, America.