Monday Musings...
Wow, you wake up on the tail-end of November and...BAM...all this "stuff" waiting to be blogged about.
And in some cases, you don't know whether or not you WANT to proceed into December...OR roll back into October, hoping that a do-over of this past month would be any better.
It's CYBER-MONDAY, too, and we all know what THAT means...right?
More electronic junk than we can shake a motherboard at, which could all become a really nice doorstop with a power surge or EMP!
Don'cha just LOVE technology?
*** First up, the garage door case is closed - got two NEW remotes that work just fine (for less than the retail price of ONE), and the other 3 have been relegated to backups. Having taken the batteries out to prevent false trips to the doors was advised, so now they're quaint paperweights...lol.
*** Thanksgiving leftovers are winding down here, which means in a mere three weeks, I have to do a proper dinner all over again...talk about DEJA VU...LOL.
*** On a sad note, actor Leslie Nielsen passed away.
(Surely you jest...No, and don't call me Shirley)
Here's the WIKI on this fine actor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Nielsen
Now most will remember him from the NAKED GUN trilogy, or even AIRPLANE!, but I remember him from Disney's THE SWAMP FOX (when I was a kid) along with FORBIDDEN PLANET (when Leslie took his roles a bit more "seriously".)
Nielsen appeared in over 100 movies and 1500 TV shows (...wow), portraying over 220 characters.
Not too shabby for a Canuck!
Nielsen was admitted to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale earlier this month ("A hospital? What is it?"..."It's a big building with lots of doctors, but that's not important right now.") for treatment of pneumonia. And it there he passed away yesterday around 5:30 P.M., with family and friends at his bedside. He was 84 years old.
Thanks for the great movies and funny shtick...your brand of comedy will be sorely missed.
*** In news a little "closer to home"...
It would appear that we have hit my "magic number" of TWENTY FIVE HOMICIDES in Fort Wayne:
(( Body found in alley on east side; homicide hinted - Chris Meyers The Journal Gazette
The death of a man found Sunday in an alley on Fort Wayne’s east side is being investigated as a homicide, police said.
"Everything is treated as a homicide until proven otherwise," police spokesman Scott Tegtmeyer said at the scene in the 2200 block of Chestnut Street, near Wayne Trace and New Haven Avenue.
Police were called to the alley behind a home in the 2200 block of Chestnut Street about 12:45 p.m. Sunday after the person at that address arrived home to find an unconscious and unresponsive man in the alley, police said.
The man had suffered "obvious trauma," police said, but the cause of death has not been determined. Tegtmeyer said an autopsy will be done today.
He said he was unaware of any reports overnight of disturbances in the area.
Police had about half a square block marked with police tape as they searched for evidence Sunday afternoon. ))
Weird thing about this...I can see more before year's end...hope I'm wrong.
Neighbors were concerned about more situations like this in their neighborhood, and refused to go on camera.
It's not one of the best areas on the SE side (what part really is?)...near the railroad tracks, and not that far from a place I used to work at (before they moved out of town). There are only a few smaller houses per block, and after the sun sets, it's a real good place to not be noticed.
Then again, we've a few too many places just like that down here; places people can go to do whatever they want.
Overgrown foliage, vacant houses, trash-strewn alleys all help to make this part of town somewhere you can "get lost" in real easy. Lots of apathy to go around.
And that's why I've maintained over the years that Neighborhood Code NEEDS to clear out these alleys...have that foliage cut WAY back, and hold the landlords (and whatever homeowners still remain, besides us) accountable for the conditions down here.
I've also said that more FWPD patrols up and down these alleys would be advisable, as more goes on there than on the streets.
*** Remember back on Friday I mentioned about that nearby house with ALL the vehicles stopping by?
Well, there WAS a funeral for someone at that house, and we had cars from MN and AZ there (big family?), as well as locals. Over TWENTY cars were parked at that house during the weekend. Now, I'm sure they were just ALL paying respect (rolls eyes) , but from what I've seen around here, funerals mean that you party for ONE WHOLE WEEK, as was evidenced a few years back in another nearby house. They had fights breaking out in the streets because of the partying, and the police KNEW about this, and yet no additional patrols were assigned to the area.
Hell, I had to string up some yellow "FIRE LINE - DO NOT CROSS" tape across our driveway JUST to keep people from parking THERE!
(makes a good case form some nice, high wrought IRON fencing)
That's the way people shake around here...everything's a party to them...for as long as they can milk it.
I had to drive back to Philly for my Mom's funeral (and had to make all the arrangements), and we didn't party one damn bit...AND I was back in fort Wayne within 3 days! But then again, I'm NOT a ghetto-dweller on the gov't dole, living off of others.
*** Lastly today, I want to show you the face of another WAR HERO.
This is LEX, a Marine working dog who was stationed in Fallujah with his handler, Cpl. Dustin Lee.
In 2007, they were attacked by an RPG and Cpl. Lee was killed in the attack. Lex was wounded with pieces of shrapnel still in his body.
While the Marines were wanting to put Lex back into action, the family of Cpl. Lee tried to have the dog sent stateside, as a tribute to their late son.
With the intervention of Congressman Walter Jones (R., NC) Lex was retired early and came to live with the Lee family, but had trouble getting around.
Dr. Lee Morgan of Georgetown Veterinary Hospital was recently made aware of Lex’s condition and volunteered his services. Dr. Morgan is a leader in using adult canine stem cell therapy for treating animals in pain and Lex’s procedure proved to be a success. Lex can once again run "with the big dogs", and his life is made better as a result.
Here's a related article that speaks to all our hearts at this time of year when we feel compelled to give of ourselves: http://www.lhj.com/relationships/family/pets/a-true-war-hero/
FOX AND FRIENDS this past weekend ran this story of courage and devotion...and love of family.
NO ONE is forgotten...NO ONE gets left behind...
That's a great legacy for us ALL to remember.
We're almost into DECEMBER, and that means some of the "nice" things that make the holiday season a lot more joyful (and it's not all about "stuff", but about US...people...you and me).
We'll cover things like shopping, decorating, favorite things, songs, movies and every other facet of the Christmas season.
And as I have in years past, you might even come away from all this by learning a few things...about others, and even about yourself.
I promise it won't hurt a bit, and the price will ALWAYS be right...FREE!
So, have yourselves a fantastic week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

((Remember - 26 shopping days until Christmas))