Yes, Friends, It IS True...
GLOBAL WARMING IS A SCAM.
If you doubt the veracity of that statement, just ask those in Wisconsin...or Wyoming...or Minnesota, or Indiana, or Ohio...well, you get the idea.
Kids, it's COLD outside.
The morning temps here in Fort Wayne are barely near TEN DEGREES, and with the wind-chill factored in, we're staring at MINUS SEVEN FAHRENHEIT.
(that's even colder than a witch's teat in a brass brassiere, in case you were wondering)
There was no delay for the local schools today, so I'm hoping the kids don't have to wait long for the buses to pick them up.
I took a bus to school (for two years) when I attended the Watson Comly elementary school back in Philly.
See, we lived in "the sticks" (at the time)...WAY up in the far NE part of town, and walking to school was not an option.
Nice duplex apartments on a dead-end street (Evans Street) that butted up against the fence for the YALE forklift company on the boulevard.
So, we had little traffic, even less plowing by road crews (we swear they didn't know our street existed).
And every morning, our MOTHERS walked us children to the bus stop (one block away).
The moms would bring hot chocolate in a thermos to warm us while we waited.
After a short time, old bus #107 came rumbling down Haldeman Avenue to our corner.
Driven by a kindly older man named "Tom", it hissed to a stop as he opened the doors for us, and we could feel the rush of WARM air smack us in the face.
We boarded and off we went, waving to our moms, who turned to go back home. Now, you have to remember one thing; Bus #107 was not the newest bus in the fleet, and it had it's share of problems.
Some days, the heat was acting up, and it was cold INSIDE the bus,but we could at least put happy faces on the windows when we breathed on them.
Other days, it sounded like the transmission had left a few gear teeth back at the barn.
It would protest all the way to and from school, and I knew our driver had his hands full.
But he never lost his temper, either at the bus OR at us
Those were also the days when a bus with lots of schoolkids was NOT the driver's main concern...we were a LOT better behaved than the kids of today.
When we were told to sit down...we did it.
When we were told to "turn it down"...we did it.
Adults overwhelmingly knew more than we did (at our tender age), so we deferred to THEIR wisdom.
(or else)
Can we say the same these days? I wonder.
Anyway, traveling to school in a bus was a great experience for me...no riots on board, no stabbings, no shootings...all-in-all, it was pretty mundane, and we all appreciated it (even more now, all these decades later).
Still, a cold corner is just that...COLD!
And I see kids dressed like they're going on Spring Break with light jackets, baseball caps, perhaps a hoodie and lightweight athletic shoes, shivering their asses off as they chat on their cell phones, or play with the iPods, or do whatever it is they do. (sexting? texting?)
Funny thing is...not ONE damn parent IN SIGHT!
No one apparently walks their child to the corner bus stop anymore?
I mean, you DO have child predators, sex offenders, rapists and the like plying our early-morning streets, and having all these kids go "unescorted" is like handing these criminals the keys to the frigging candy store, right?
Is there a lack of caring? It sure appears that way.
I know there are SOME parents that still DO give a damn, and kudos to them for taking the path less travelled.
Now, as usual...I said all THAT, to say THIS:
Christmastime is a season of wonder, but it doesn't mean that you, as a parent wonder where the hell your child might be, okay?
It's also a time of being grateful.
And maybe you can show your gratitude by being there for your kids...not just at home, but at the bus stop, or when they get dressed to brave such cold weather. Get them suited up for the PROPER environment.
They don't need to be all that "cool", when it comes down to getting sick and missing school because they were NOT dressed correctly for such freezing weather.
Besides, don't schools have LOCKERS to place the coats and hats in?
(or did they suddenly remove them as a cost-cutting measure?)
Hell, we wore GALOSHES to school in snow, and those dumb-ass thick, hooded jackets with the "idiot-mittens" clipped on the ends of the sleeves.
They had elastic that went up one sleeve and down the other, so loosing one of them was next to impossible.
But it did lead to some "fun", as Bill Cosby once stated.
"You would yank on the one mitten, and the kid would smack himself in the head with the other one".
Yeah...THAT kind of fun.
I've had double-pneumonia as a child (recovery lasted a few months, and I never missed ANY classwork, thanks to Mom), and I can say that things like that can happen EVEN if your mom DOES take precautions and dresses you warmly, so it never hurts to tip the scales in YOUR favor when it comes to preventing something like that from happening.
The last place you want to be around the holidays is in some isolation ward, with an oxygen tent, trust me...either as a patient, or a visiting parent.
An ounce of prevention is ALWAYS worth that pound of cure they talk about.



Lastly today, I want to go back to yesterdays' post about "Christmas Movies".
I forgot THREE, often overlooked movies.
Two of them are the FIRST and SECOND of the DIE-HARD series.
Both of these movies take place during Christmas season...
If you doubt me, go watch them both again.
The end music in the first movie is "Let It Snow" sung by Vaughn Monroe (who also sang the theme for the James Bond movie: From Russia With Love, for you trivia buffs out there).
The THIRD Christmas movie is none other than THE FRENCH CONNECTION.
There is one scene where Gene Hackman's character (Popeye Doyle) is chasing down a suspect DRESSED AS SANTA.
Now if THAT isn't "Christmasey", I don't know WHAT is.
And the bar he rousts the perps at is decorated with all sorts of mini-Christmas lights.
So there 'ya go...more seasonal fare at the movies for you to enjoy this year.
Who says we don't look out for all of you when it comes to cinematic substance, eh?
Tomorrow: The type of Christmas tree you prefer.
Bundle up if you have to venture outside in those frigid cities today.
The fingers or toes you save might be YOUR OWN!
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.


((Only 11 shopping days until Christmas))