What Sights You'll See...
We picked up the other computer yesterday morning, and I decided to drive us on up there.
No biggie, right?
Well, that's where it gets "interesting"...
See, on the way up, it began to rain, and on a dry road, people often forget that the accumulated OIL on the roads will tend to make any vehicle handle with a certain level of unpredictability.
People were still driving like it was totally DRY outside...
Now, hold that thought, we'll be right back to this farther down in the post.
We got the system back, and it was there I discovered that when it comes to copying one system software to another CPU, all drivers are NOT alike. They are "special" to the particular machine. that's why *my* recovery efforts went for naught.
Okay...learned something today...check.
Now, a swing past DICK'S Sporting Goods for some .45 ACP ammo.
That went great...got a 50 rd box of Remington UMC (ball ammo-solid tip) for $25! Not too shabby at all, considering a while back, there was NO .45 ammo to be bloody HAD at all!
Got me more ammo...check.
Now, we're getting a bit peckish, so we're gonna go across the "boulevard" to Glenbrook Square Mall to hit up SBARROS for some late morning pizza (yummmmm). Getting out of the damn parking lot was a joy...had a few numbnuts that didn't know WHERE the turn signal indicators were on their POS cars! Luckily, I didn't get TOO pissed at them. After all, it IS Fort Wayne, and in MY neighborhood, I've got plenty of assholes living all around me.
So, we get to the mall, park the car, and as we're walking into the mall, a van full of mentally-challenged adults is emptying out for some sort of "field-trip" (they're going to the mall, too). I KNEW they were mentally challenged by the way they groaned (unintelligibly) like the living dead.
Reminded me of the movie "The Dream Team", only NO Micheal Keaton!
And they appeared to look as smart as a local politicians, just a lot less well-attired.
Not to mention, one of the men was told: "Harold, Pull your pants up".
By then, I was past them, my antenna was up and working and I heard all of that exchange.
I didn't want to look back at Wifey, because I know I would have "lost it".
It makes me wonder what that man was doing PRIOR to exiting the vehicle that required the return of his pants to their proper height?
All I could do was to say over and over to myself:
"Don't eat at Sbarros - don't eat at Sbarros..."
They did not...which made me feel a LOT better.
Better until I saw the "tab" for our brunch.
Seems Sbarros has RAISED their prices...a LOT.
(and no one there speaks much ENGLISH...when did that change?)
Which makes me wonder about all that talk I hear about them CLOSING this year...
We got 2 PLAIN slices, 2 SAUSAGE slices and two SMALL drinks...
Total: $17.87...!!!
I was like WTF?
I didn't want to BUY STOCK in the damn franchise...I just wanted to get something to bloody EAT, for Christ's sake!
When I was on the road, I ate at Sbarros at all those rest stops, and I never had to rob a bank to grab a bite there!
(note to self)...Next time, try Panda Express!
Better yet...eat BEFORE you go there!
Got something (expensive) to eat...check.
Yes, it's AMAZING what you'll see when you go to the mall, isn't it?
And here I thought we'd stop there to GET AWAY from weird sh*t (like what we see all the time in our neighborhood)...guess I was mistaken there, hmm?
Just a more "diverse" kinda weird...yeah, that's it.
Now, back to that traffic I mentioned above...
Not more than few hours later, that SAME area along Coliseum was the scene of a BAD traffic accident...(imagine that).
Nice to "dodge a bullet" once in a while, isn't it?
Then again, I'm one who like to get things done EARLY (as possible) for several reasons.
a) The store staff might be sleepy, but at least they're not pissed at the world or their job, OR you (yet - give 'em a few hours).
b) Traffic is typically LIGHTER than lunchtime, or either "rush hour" (which is SO wrongly named...no one can rush at all...that's the trouble. It should REALLY be called CRAWL hour. The only gear you'll use is FIRST.
c) It throws off the local Aborigines in my neighborhood,so they don't know IF we're home or not (to rob you)...besides, they "usually" don't get their non-working, lazy asses out of the sack until AFTER 11AM as it is.
d) It frees up the day nicely...in case something "else" comes flying at 'ya when you're not expecting it.
Yeah, it's a good deal all around.
The down side is that we always HAVE to return to OUR ghettohood (sighs)...
I can feel my demeanor change when I get near to it...
The tension level rises, the hairs on the back of the neck begin to rise...yep, back in the ghettohood...again.
And at least at and around the mall, I didn't hear the incessant thumping of a poorly installed BASS unit, cowering within the trunk of some POS hoopty-mobile.
But, as you drive south from the mall, along Lafayette St, the closer you get to "your" part of town, you can see the entire ambiance change drastically. It's like leaving the GREEN ZONE...for the WAR ZONE.
Houses are noticeably devoid of care, and people are meandering about like extras in a George Romero flick.
(Zombies - gotta love 'em, right?)
You see a lot more Cadillacs, which, in another neighborhood, might lead you to believe that you wandered into a suburban nest of DOCTORS or LAWYERS...nothing could be further from the truth.
You see a lot more pawn shops, bars, fast food joints, people SMOKING joints, and you hope you're not the target of some buttwipe with a gun and nothing to do with it, but fire it randomly at anything moving.
If you're lucky, you might even see a FWPD car behind someone they just pulled over...that makes you feel a tad better.
You roll back onto the street that leads to your garage, and by then, your head is really back on the swivel, and you're checking the mirrors to see if you've "grown a tail".
Wifey has had TWO cars follow her home over the years, but they seem to take the hell off when I come outside (to meet her) with a pistol on my hip...wonder why THAT is?
The garage door rolls open, you roll the car in, and your eyes are FIXED on the rear-view as you engage the remote to lower the door.
After all, you don't want someone sneaking in while you're under a belief you're "safe", right?
Many people tend to "relax" after they are in their garage.
I tend not to.
It's not easy being "on guard" so damn much, but at least if ANY sh*t is heading for ANY fan, I'll know about it well in advance.
Still, getting out and interacting with a lot more NORMAL people (yes, even those in that van at the mall are better by far, pants notwithstanding) is something I personally come to savor.
And the best part about it, is we get to do it all over again, when we head off to Menards later this morning.
It's not as long of a haul, but I still get away from the din and annoyance of "the locals" for a spell.
Now, if only THESE morons were told by THEIR "caretaker" to: "Deshaun, pull up your pants".
Yes, friends...whoever said that living in a recently created ghettohood was nothing if not "interesting", hmm?
Be well, make a difference today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.