Tales From The SOUTH Side...
Today, I want to take a stroll down that "wonderful" street (which curiously, doesn't happen to be MINE, unfortunately) where BAD things (always seem to) happen to GOOD people.
I'm sure most ALL of us have spent some time THERE, usually NOT of our own volition.
It's one of "those" places you never REALLY want to go, but somehow, for some unknown reason, and even in spite of GPS technology, which should provide a level of avoidance of such areas, you invariably DO wind up there...now and again.
It's like that proverbial "bad penny" that keeps coming back.
Welcome to LIFE - 101.
Yesterday, as Wifey was heading to work (school), she was driving through some neighborhoods farther north of us.
As she winded one curved street, there was a LOUD bang, and her first impression was that someone had shot at the car.
Well, you DO get used to such things living in OUR ghettohood.
But, she was safe...no one was shooting.
The car, on the other hand, had suffered a glancing blow...to the right-hand side mirror.
Apparently, some dumbass in the THAT neighborhood (oh, yes, stupidity knows NO boundaries...and will live in ANY area of ANY city) placed their city-provided 96 gallon trash bin IN THE DAMN STREET, instead of ON THE CURB STRIP (where it's SUPPOSED to be).
So guess what "jumped out" and whacked Wifey's mirror?
Yep, the handle OF that bin was a "perfect match" (height-wise) to where the mirror on a 1996 Chevy Caprice is located.
The mirror HOUSING was unaffected (designed to fold back against the car), but the backing plate for the glass was hanging off, and the glass itself was cracked really bad.
Now, IF the bin had been placed PROPERLY by that house (because the snow has melted to the point where streets are VERY clear again), we'd STILL have that mirror in perfect working order.
But, thanks to people that couldn't give a rat's ass as to where the bin GOES on trash day, we might be out close to $300 (power mirrors are a bitch to replace, trust me - I broke it before while slowly backing OUT of the garage).
I remember telling Matt Gratz (head of Solid Waste Department) about this problem...several times.
In OUR ghettohood, bins are placed any damn place the morons want to place them, and NEVER a citation.
Well, WE are the exception to the rule...'ya see, WE can obviously READ (the brochure that came with the bin) and know WHERE to place them on trash day, as well as WHERE to store it after the trash been picked up.
In other words, WE are the "outcasts" here, because we do things RIGHT.
I never did like that whole "pack-mentality" gig anyway...why follow when it leads off a cliff, right?
Traditionally, we're SUPPOSED to have "alley" pickup, and there are a FEW blocks where that's NOT possible (dunno why).
We even had a city vehicle PLOW the alleys (as was mentioned on TV) so the trash trucks could get through...nice touch.
In OUR specific alley, we have some "gypsy" plow that piles the snow against the alley entrance across the damn street.
And yes, I did pass that along to our quadrant chief in the FWPD, hoping she can get to the bottom of as to WHY "our" alley is always plowed long before the city comes by.
I mentioned this the other week...it's like someone NEEDS our alley clear (must be those DRUG HOUSES down the block) so THEY can have two-way traffic flowing normally. That's funny, I could have SWORN ('cause I DO know all the words) that the sign at the alley entrance says NO THRU TRAFFIC...!?!
Anyway, I managed to get the mirror "remounted" to some degree. Can't do anything about the cracked glass (Placed clear packing tape over it to keep the pieces in one spot), but at last the power function works.
The mirror WILL still tilt and rotate...just not as well as before. The glass and backing place flop around a tad, but it's serviceable (until Wifey gets it back in the shop). As a repair, I'd rate it a 6.5 on a ten scale (for me), considering I was winging it, and didn't have the replacement parts at hand. (who usually DOES?)
I'd call it a damn fine "butch" job...my former compatriots in the working world would have been PROUD!
Problem solved...for the time being.
When I asked Wifey which way she was going to school TODAY, I didn't quite hear the answer I was looking for.
Since she cut through a neighborhood, I was hoping she go back to taking the MAIN streets.
But, she told me "the same way"...
(rolls eyes)
I guess a lot of people prefer to not learn much from the past.
I said to her: "What if the trash bins were still in the street?"
(no reply)
"What if another can decides to jump out and BITE YOUR CAR AGAIN?"
(no reply)
I added: 'It's called learning from others mistakes FOR...A...REASON."
(still no reply)
Yeah, I can also go from ZERO to ADAMANT in about 1.3 seconds!
Hopefully, the whole "once bitten, twice shy" seed was planted in fertile soil this morning.
As I say, I only like to make mistakes ONCE. That way the repetition factor never enters into it.
But that still doesn't excuse the idiots that have NO idea how to follow city guidelines...with something as BASIC as a f$cking TRASH BIN!
THAT'S how you create a SLUM area..don't bother to make EVERYONE follow the rules.
As for people like US...we don't need any "guidance"...we're self-policing, as far as that goes.
We grew up, paid attention and learned the difference between doing what's RIGHT...and doing NOTHING (or as little as frigging possible).
Wifey had no idea that the bin would be IN the street...can't fault her at all there.
I know, if it had happened to ME, the people at THAT house would have a trash bin coming through their front window...as a "reminder".
Cripes, the people across our street can't even figure out the whole location thing for the bins either.
Otherwise, WE wouldn't have so much trouble trying to exit OUR damn driveway. (thanks to them)
I told Wifey this morning: "Knock the damn bins over if you can't get out...back the hell over them...wise THEM up for a change".
Sometimes, people HAVE to be taught a lesson.
And I can be a pretty decent "teacher", when the need arises.
Thing is...you might not want to be one of my "pupils"...LOL!
*** And that brings me to the rest of Wifey's day (yesterday).
The "children of the corn" were in attendance in her classes...the spawn of Satan ALL showed up.
She had one jerk running around the room giving out M&Ms to everyone and he wouldn't sit the hell down. (a black student, obviously with a lack of social graces and behavioral difficulties...AND a failing student - big surprise...wonder WHY that could be?)
Wifey can't lay hands on him, so she called the office.
The BLATANT disrespect shown to our educators is almost beyond comprehension these days.
Now, back in MY day, a teacher could size up a kid's family life simply be the way he or she acted IN CLASS.
Well, that much certainly hasn't changed.
But today, teachers are relatively hog-tied when it comes to real intervention to halt such behavior in the classroom.
Back in MY day, the teacher would grab you by the scruff of your neck and haul your ass down to the office...no debate, no questions.
Thankfully, that NEVER happened to me...see, I was there to LEARN, and not be a "Future F$ckup of America".
Today, it's more like a "rite of passage" to be tossed out of school...a lot.
"Y'all ain NOBODY less you git yo ass froan outta few times...no whutahmsayin?"
And everyone is SO damn concerned about TEACHER evaluations????
(oh, yes, that is surely a "WTF?" moment)
I'd say that what's being taught by the schools THESE days (and not be the individual educators) is HOW to game the system to be an upstanding welfare recipient. There's not enough discipline or personal accountability charged to a lot of students to warrant any other conclusion.
And that's a direct result of the "family" life...if you can even call it that.
Teachers are there to TEACH (a subject).
They're NOT police officers.
They're NOT surrogate parents.
They're NOT social workers.
They're NOT psychiatrists.
They're NOT behavioral therapists.
They're NOT babysitters.
Got it?
Good.
Personally, I'm for arming the teachers with TRANQUILIZER guns...loaded with enough "Special K" to drop a Clydesdale, but that's just "me".
They are there to TEACH your child...to help them through the learning experience, and to open their mind to the possibilities of what having an education means in the world today. It's but a few baby steps into a much larger realm.
And the hardest thing these educators have to overcome is all the APATHY and the SOCIAL pressures (both at home and on the streets) encountered BY these kids as soon as their feet get outside that school.
It's one side of the whole educational triangle.
The other two are PARENTS, and the STUDENT (themselves).
You can't learn properly without ALL three sides working in unison, holding that damn triangle together.
But we can always delve further into the educational process another day...
So, 'nuff said about that...for now.
Here's hoping nothing BAD comes your way today, and that life sees you ready for any challenge. Watch out for roaming trash bins - don't let them jump out at YOUR car.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.