Weekend Roundup...
It certainly has been an "interesting" week around our house, that's for sure.
Our last good neighbor stopped by on her way home yesterday and we chatted about the "action" I missed yesterday morning.
I have to say that nothing the "locals" do around here surprises me, considering the types of lives they choose to lead.
And I also stand my ground by stating that we DO need a lot more FWPD patrols in our area.
The officers need to cruise our ALLEYS as well as our streets, because THAT is where a lot of these perps travel.
It becomes such a marvelous study in The Broken Window Theory down here.
As long as a lot of the small things are relatively glanced over, we will continue to see bigger things occur, like that rolling shootout yesterday morning.
When officers are left to pull over ALL those people I see on MY streets speeding and driving without proper vehicle illumination, this area will become a place where the criminal element will NOT want to loiter about.
Think about it...if the criminals KNOW that the police are actively patrolling an area, that is usually the LAST place these thugs will frequent. Who really WANTS to get caught, right?
We have three distinct areas called (from North to South) MARY, NORA and OCEAN.
What I've been told, and I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the information, is that the crime around here is "fluid", in that it migrates between these three sectors. When you chase the perps from the MARY sector, they move down into the OCEAN sector, or back up into the NORA sector.
My take, is that if you have a group of areas that are hotbeds for all sorts of criminal activity (which, if you listen to the radio OR read the PD blotter daily) you KNOW exactly where they are. You can name the streets without even thinking.
Again, it comes to having an educated citizenry...and naturally, you WILL have those that want no part of any educational process.
You send along a flyer advising people WHERE to put their trash bins, for example, and the bins STILL wind up wherever the people want to place them.
Or, you add a center turn lane on a street to ease traffic congestion, and people refuse to educate themselves as to properly navigate that pattern, ergo, you have confusion and accidents, instead of smooth-flowing traffic.
Too many of the people down here have NO interest in anything other than entertaining themselves...and at any cost.
THAT is why you have these "people" driving about playing "music" that can heard several blocks away, or these rolling gun battles between local gangs, or a rape of a teenager on her way to school. It's all about "instant gratification", because they KNOW the government has given a form of that to them already, and they now EXPECT it from every single person they encounter.
That type of mindset is about as base a form of animalistic behavior as you can find, and one would expect better in our society, right?
Should we wish to see animals, we usually take the kids to the local ZOO, pay the admission, grab some snacks, a souvenir or two, and enjoy ourselves. We should not have to open our front doors, or part our curtains to see such things happening on our streets.
These urban-dwellers do have an overabundance of energy, that much is certain. Crime statistics back that much up.
I said here often that IF all that pent-up energy were devoted to PRODUCTIVE pursuits, this part of town would be THRIVING, instead of hanging on by the skin of it's teeth.
But, I suppose as long as some governmental program is running these people's lives, instead of having them do for themselves, things will remain static at best. And that alone is a sad testament to whatever progress we say we are making.
Technologies alone will NEVER enrich mankind.
Sure, all the gadgets and gizmos will make life a bit easier, or even fun, but the continuing evolution of mankind has to based in something MORE.
We need to LEARN. We need to seek out truth, if only for truth's sake.
And we need to rekindle that "pioneer" spirit our ancestors used to have...
Moving on...
Yesterday, James MacArtthur passed away at the age of 72. From those in MY generation, you best remember him as the original Danny Williams ("Book 'em, Danno") from the first Hawaii Five-0 series (starring the late Jack Lord).
Here's the WIKI about this wonderful person:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_MacArthur
One of his earlier movies, Disney's Swiss Family Robinson is considered by many to be a timeless classic, and I personally like this move...great fare for the children. He also played a lieutenant in the movie Battle of the Bulge, who manages to overcome his fear and inspire others in combat.
He will be missed by many.
Finally today, we're going to end this week on a lighter note...
(about damn time, Bob)
This Sunday is Hallowe'en, or as I prefer to call it in the ghettohood...the Great American Beg-A-Thon!
(weird how that also sounds like something on PBS...or a political candidate)
With that in mind, I'm going to lift a post from two years ago, that I like to re-post every year at this time, and it sums up what I feel is the essence of the whole "trick-or-treat" gig. Enjoy.
~BOB'S EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR HALLOWEEN~
Now I WAS thinking of just putting my sign in the door that says something like:
"Obama took ALL our candy and gave it to some poor folks, as a REDISTRIBUTION-OF-WEALTH thing...sorry, kids."
Decisions...decisions.
What is a person to do?
Anyway, you decide what works best for YOU...fair enough?
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Rule #1: You show up WITHOUT a costume....you have TWO choices:
a) You can just turn around and LEAVE, or (my favorite) ...
b) Show me you're WORTHY of my free candy WITHOUT a costume by jumping through the FLAMING HOOPS I have set up on my lawn, OK? If the folks can't blow TEN bucks to get you SOME kind of costume (and dressing in mom's old clothes could bring up gender confusion issues, even though it's FREE), then just spend TWO bucks for some of your OWN candy (**hint: after the 31st, ALL the HALLOWEEN candy is 50% OFF...check Walgreens and CVS)!

Rule #2: If you're OLDER than say....12 years old, you better either have a DAMN GOOD (original) costume, or you better have the mental state of a 3 year old. Either one will get you treats! Anything else will get you a front door closed in your pre-pubescent face! If you're THAT old...just stop at Lassus Handy-Dandy and grab a bag of M&Ms for yourself, lazy-ass!

Rule #3: Facepaint ALONE does NOT a costume make....Even SOLDIERS wear a UNIFORM WITH their facepaint, and Indians have horses and head-dresses.....so...NO horse, NO head-dress...NO treats, Kimosabi!

Rule #4: If you are coming to my house on Hallowe'en with a BUNCH of friends...be advised, I WILL be "packing" (to politely dissuade you from a home invasion)! And if you're dressed as BATMAN or the PUNISHER, I might want to hire you to clean up my neighborhood.

Rule #5: Don't try taking a "short cut" across MY lawn to cross the street (the barbed wire and punji sticks I have up will do a real number on your legs and feet...trust me)! Better to stay ON the sidewalk that the city provided with your parents' tax dollars!

Rule #6: DO NOT show up at the house as a ZOMBIE, LIVING-DEAD person, or some sort of analogous entity. If I EVER want to see the living dead (aside from a George Romero flick), all I have to do is watch damn near ANY politician in D.C., or ALL of the non-working "neighbors on welfare" that have NO future (past the next bottle of malt liquor or blunt) meander through their pitiful lives. Also...NO ELMOS or LADY GAGAS!

Rule #7: When I ask you to take what you want from the huge bowl of candy, that DOES NOT MEAN grab every damn single piece OF candy.....taking EVERYTHING should NEVER be a choice...it means be SELECTIVE...others might want to drop on by, 'K?

Rule #8: If you don't like what we GIVE (free) to you, don't even think about retaliatory measures....I've already PLANNED for THAT contingent...(heh, heh, heh)...and you might not like the result (and did I mention NO ELMOS and LADY GAGAS?).
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So there you are...MY "Rules of engagement" for handling Halloween.
I think it's more in the "spirit" of the evening, and if you want to get a slice of what exactly this curmudgeon's been going on about, I DARE you to watch Garfield's Hallowe'en Adventure (if you can find a copy)
Funny thing...they WILL show The Great Pumpkin, but DON'T televise Garfield in INDIANA, which is the HOME of Jim Davis, the CREATOR of Garfield...what's up with that? That doesn't seem right somehow.
Hey, It's not a TOTAL waste, though...I got my DVD of GARFIELD'S HALLOWEEN.
It's still fun to watch after ALL these years.
(they KNOW where we are...LOL)
I WILL be watching it...again...with the Missus (and popcorn...gonna need popcorn)...so THERE!
And when the kids come a'calling...I'll just turn the TV up...a little louder.
Doesn't matter to me one bit.
What DOES matter is that you all...
Have a fantastic weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.