14 December 2010

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))

9 comments:

Slamdunk said...

Don't get me started on global warming.

I like your movie suggestions. The first two Diehard's were so much fun--#3 was a disaster.

Ann T. said...

Dear Bob,
I remember getting a superior glove when I was six and lived in Cleveland--furry on the inside, waterproof on the outside. The only problem was you couldn't ake a decent snowball when you wore them!

We had snow last night. You would laugh at the puny frosting we got. But it was pretty.

Have a great day,
This is a fun series!

Ann

Bob G. said...

Slamdunk:

Global warming?
We don need no steenkin global warming!
(mini ICE-AGE anyone?)

Oh, there was a THIRD Die-Hard movie???
(rofl)
And even more?
Sorry, didn't quite get around to seeing the "subsequent" fiascos.
They don't even warrant a TV viewing (imho).
But I DO still like John McClain, though. Great acharacter.

Glad you liked the picks.

Thanks a lot for dropping by the "freezer" today...lol.

Stay warm out there.

Bob G. said...

Ann:
I remember when Mom bought me my first gloves WITH FINGERS...it was like graduating into "humanhood", instead of acting like a fish out of water.
It was a LOT easier to carry school books, too!

But you have to admit that when it comes to total WARMTH, mittens trump fingered gloves.

Mittens do present problems with trying to SHOOT, but someone invented a "trigger-finger mitten", that you can expose your finger to pull the trigger.

Kinda like a mini-snuggie/cozy for your hand.

Hoods are worth a post ALL their own...
Perhaps before Christmas, eh?

Glad we're turning frowns upside down out there, in spite of the cold weather.

Thank you for taking time to drop by the ice box today.
(that's where I placed the fence...to keep it WARM)

Stay safe & keep the cocoa handy!

Phil Marx said...

Bob, it looks like this took place about four or five blocks north of you.

Take care, and Merry christmas to you and the wife! - Phil

http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/fort-wayne-police-investigate-shooting

Bob G. said...

Phil:
Hey there, Stranger...
Yeah, I saw that, and I'm going to include it in Wednesday's post.
Thanks for the link.

And that's why I pack heat outside on my property ALL the time...I really need to get a CCP, so I can "expand my sphere of influence".

Thanks for stopping by to check in.

Stay safe up there.

indy said...

i had to think about an answer to you blog yesterday. when my daughter was in elementry i had a babysitter that was on a corner and would walk her to the corner and wait with her. or i would drive her. when she got in middle school she was out there with a few other kids and one of the dads was out there when she got home. when in high school at the house the dad was there at pick up and drop off. so i was pretty lucky. now at the new living quarters. we have about 20 kids at the stop at one time she will be 18 soon and i pretty much let her handle it. i've been spoiled. really back in the old neighborhood were they into taking kids. it was easy going there. lots of empty houses. THATS why houses need to be torn down beside of eye sores. they are places to cover up rape and other crime. oh yes, i walked to school without anyone with me for the most part. back at lincoln elementry (the year it first opened) my friends took the shortcut that i was forbidden to take and they were extreamly late to get home. i beleive the cops had to be called out. i think the big boys got them. my mother was always in fear of those "big boys" and i had to take the long way where they had a school cop stationed at. then at waynedale i walked from the 2800 block of fairoak to school everyday by myself. stood on many a corner waiting for the bus sans parents. but there were a group of us. one time i went to tennis league at waynedale park and the lady accross the street was worried about me being out there alone waiting for the instructor and welcomed me to her porch. had some cookies that day. i've always been blessed with an angel by myside. same for my daughter.

indy said...

oh yes, i forgot. all the news people are talking about is lake effect snow. heck they say it more then i ever heard it in my entire 18 years of living in fort wayne. yea, its been nasty down here. but, i've seen it far worse in my life. please bob pray they stop yepping about the lake effect, lake effect snow. lol

Bob G. said...

Indy:
The main issue I wasaddressing was that SOMEONE was with the kids at the corners...even when they got "older".
And you know from growing up what that as like also.
It was great to see others AS CONCERNED about our safety as our parents were.
Don't see all that much these days.

You made a GREAT point about the EMPTY HOUSES...lots of places for "thing to happen"...especially with the thugs we have on our streets today.
And there are those INHABITED dwellings that are JUST as bad.

Nice to hear the story about the cookies...don'cha wonder whatever happened to such nice people (other than becoming angels in their OWN right)?

Lake effect snow...LMAO.
Well, they have to call it SOMETHING, hmm?

One thing they CAN'T call it though...is GLOBAL WARMING!!!
(how's that workin out for ya these days, AL?)

Thanks a lot for stopping by the icicle factory today...

Stay safe & warm down there.