Tuesday Tidbits...
Monday went swimmingly well, all things considered. I followed the missus to the repair shop so she could get the oil changed, and have the Caprice given the once-over. Turns out my guess about a problem in the fuel-delivery system was correct (damn, I still got it...lol).
She needed a new fuel pressure regulator to stop the stalling. This occurs with fuel-injected cars, while carbureted ones (like my dinosaur) only have to worry about failed fuel pumps & clogged jets IN that carburetor.
Don'cha just LOVE technology, kids?
We got the car back mid-afternoon, and it only totaled about $300...! Not too bad, considering she also got a brake job on the rear.
On the way back, I stopped by B&H Firearms shop and picked up another brick of .45 ACP ammo...I figure with all the shootings nearby, it never hurts to have a little MORE "home-owners insurance" for one of the "good guys", right?
And I'll update the shooting further on in the post, but meanwhile, back at the ranch...
*** Okay, so yesterday, I mentioned about seeing some classic cars (mostly Studebakers), and far be for me to DENY you fine folks, so here you go:


























The gold Studebaker Hawk was my favorite in the bunch.
This was a 1957 model, and the man purchased it in Santa Monica, CA back in 2000...and in damn fine shape, too, considering it's age. It has a 289 CID engine in it, gets about 20 MPG on the highway, and the A/C is that "standard 2/60" mode (with a little help from some additional vents on the front fenders). Not bad for a "daily driver".
I also liked that black AVANTI...only originally made in 1963, and sold for the rather steep price of $4000 (and change). Since then, copies have been produced, and after all these years, that body style STILL looks nice and sleek.
*** And, of course, there is always...THE GARDEN.












I FINALLY have some tomatoes ripening on the vine...TWO to be exact...helluva bounty so far, hmm?
















And I see the first RED jalapeno showing it's face as well.
Nothing like tasting that which you have grown YOURSELF...gives one a real feeling of accomplishment.
And we have a few other nice things going on...New Guinea Impatiens and Wifey's "planter collage".
Well, Mother nature DID help...LOL.
*** Today, I get to take my Firebird on that nice (albeit too short) drive along that tree-lined and winding part of Winchester Rd. to the shop for an oil change..or as I prefer to call it, a SLUDGE-DUMP!
I've had the SAME oil in the crankcase for THREE years (ewwww), even though I ONLY drove the car a few HUNDRED miles.
Used to be a time I HAD to change the oil (religiously) around 2K, which equated to every six months of regular driving (for me).
I mean, it's really nice to have all those parts slidin' offa one another...they way they're MEANT to be...LOL.
Best part is...I get to wait for it, so I'll be back home in about an hour...suh-weet!
*** Now, as promised, more of the *411* on those shootings...
It took the local media almost TWO DAYS to get the wheels rolling with the story, and I have no idea as to why.
I also know a friend of "third-out" has been busy those 72 hours with the first two shootings that occurred around 0400 hrs. on consecutive mornings.
Here's the updated story (finally).
(( Few clues, no suspect in slaying
1 dead, 3 injured in series of weekend shooting cases
- Holly Abrams / The Journal Gazette
The southeast side, and one neighborhood in particular, was the scene of repeated gunfire last weekend that left one man dead, three people wounded and homes and vehicles riddled with bullet holes.
The death has been ruled the county’s 18th homicide of the year by the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
Police were called just before 5 a.m. Sunday on a report of shots fired near Capitol Avenue and Plaza Drive, just east of South Anthony Boulevard.
When officers arrived, they found Justin Javon Tennant in the front yard of a home, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Tennant, 22, was taken to a hospital in critical condition. He later died.
Family members described Tennant as a loving father to his two 1-year-old children, son Deairis and daughter Jaidence.
"He was sweet, he was loving, he was caring," said his older sister, Lakrisha Odom.
Police are also investigating whether Tennant’s slaying had any connection to two other weekend shootings.
Omar Nelson, 18, of Fort Wayne, remained in critical condition Monday. He was injured in a shooting reported just before 10 p.m. Sunday at Pettit Avenue and Gaywood Drive, also on the city’s southeast side.
A third shooting was reported Saturday just before 4 a.m. outside a Plaza Drive home, which left a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man in fair condition with gunshot wounds.
According to police dispatch logs, officers received several calls Sunday of shots fired in the area where Tennant was found shot. Callers told police between six and 30 gunshots rang out.
Fort Wayne police say they have no suspects in Tennant’s slaying and few clues to a motive, although officer Raquel Foster, a police spokeswoman, said detectives had interviewed one witness.
There are also no suspects in the Nelson shooting and no suspects in the Saturday shooting.
One caller to police Sunday morning reported hearing a dozen shots – and saw people running in and out of a home in the 4600 block of Plaza Drive at the time Tennant was shot.
That address was also where the Saturday shooting was reported, according to dispatch logs.
Police also investigated at least three reports of vandalism by gunshots Sunday in the same area. The reports, in the 4600 and 4900 blocks of Plaza Drive, included vehicles, a home and a garage all hit by gunfire around the same time of the slaying.
‘At a loss for words’
Odom said her brother attended both South Side and Harding high schools.
He graduated from Harding in 2007 and had plans to study business at IPFW this fall.
Outside of spending time with his children, Tennant enjoyed bowling and wearing the latest clothing and shoe fashions.
Tennant had two pending criminal cases in Allen Superior Court at the time of his death. He was facing a felony possession of marijuana charge from December 2009, and last month he was charged with felony possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine or a narcotic drug.
Tennant is survived by a siblings and stepsiblings, along with his mother and father."I am at a loss for words. I want my son to rest in peace," said his mother Brenda Morris, who said she hoped any witnesses to the slaying would come forward. ))
Now please tell me that YOU see the exact same pattern being played out there.
We could belabor the "He's such sweet, loving caring young man" BS until the thugs come home, but that doesn't change the FACT as to what was underneath this "nice" veneer, does it?
Have you EVER noticed how, when they talk about such recently deceased, there is NEVER a mention as to WHERE THEY WORKED?
And do you take note that in damn near EVERY instance, there is a RAP sheet on the victim, usually with either cases STILL pending, or a recent release from the local hoosegow?
Somehow, this seems like a pattern of behavior indicative of something being horribly "broke" in the black community.
Yet, where the hell is ALL the outrage BY the community?
They pretty much all act the same...with that "yeah, like, whatevah" air of smugness, as if they EXPECTED this to occur...sooner or later.
Justin was 22 and "had plans" to study business at IPFW...
(plans on hold eternally now)
He also must have had plans to do some time in jail for a FELONY charge of possession of pot, cocaine, and whatever else they caught him carrying.
Seems he couldn't have cared about his TWO DAUGHTERS all that much, or he would have NOT followed the path that brought him to that final "slow ride in that new Caddy" (read hearse).
He would have been working to take care of them...providing for them, instead of leaving them fatherless to baby-mama to raise via welfare.
Well, that's what RESPONSIBLE people tend to do, anyway.
Yet, there are people out there that honestly believe that they are strong people, when they have evidenced NO strength of character when it comes to make the right decisions in life.
Let's face it...we ALL screw up, sooner or later (some a few times more than others)...hell, that's what a LOT of life is about; Learning to unf*ck yourselves from whatever predicament you got yourself into, and then taking that "learning" from the experience and moving the hell FORWARD.
Some people never seem to get out of NEUTRAL when it comes to going forward, though.
They just sit and rev the old engine...going absolutely nowhere (in a hurry).
Others will pop the clutch, and promptly stall the hell out.
What we have to figure out is how to properly navigate this journey called LIFE.
We have to watch the road ahead for obstructions, be aware of distractions, and pay attention to all those wonderful "roadsigns" along the way.
THAT is how we get to where we want to go.
From destination to destination...THIS is what we call our lives.
And perhaps, maybe we might need to "change the oil" during our sojourn...dump that sludge, just so the engine OF our lives has all those parts slipping off of one another.
It's not a universal panacea, but it WILL ensure that your "drive" lasts a lot longer.
Steel yourself to make at least one, GOOD decision today, no matter how insignificant you may think it to be. It will have a "ripple effect" somewhere.
Dare to be better than you were yesterday.
You won't be sorry.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.