Humpday Happenings...
Where's all the snow?
And why is the river rising, mama?
I'm sure a lot of people are worried around the area with the sudden THAW.
Portland, Indiana is drying out from their flooding (considered by many to be the worst ever recalled).
Roads are becoming passable again, and one woman is lucky to be alive when she attempted (rather unsuccessfully) to navigate some deep water.
*** Lemme let 'ya in on something....high water LOVES to win.
The house is stacked against you...period.
It's a fact of life.
In a one-on-one with high water, you'd best back off and cut your losses before those losses extend to your LIFE and others.
Mother Nature has at her disposal an arsenal of items designed to either SAVE you or KILL you, depending on how you decide to look at it.
Deep water (from a swollen river) is a damn GOOD way to get peoples' attention.
And THAT is why local law enforcement put up those nifty BARRICADES (some even with flashing lights...oooooooo).
It's there to WARN you..to KEEP you from doing something REALLY dumb...like trying to drive THROUGH it.
Some people never learn, and that's why they have near-death experiences (when they don't die outright).
Here's the link to this tale with a fortunate and happy ending:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/woman-rescued-from-submerged-car
A few "tips" if you will from someone who's been pretty good at "surviving" both in times past as well as now (in the ghettohood).
If you have a car with electric door locks and windows, they may OR MAY NOT work when you "take the plunge".
Depends on the electrical system, battery, and insulation of the wiring.
A failure on ANY of these will negate operation.
You can't simply manually unlock the door and exit the vehicle...water pressure prevents that from happening.
You have to WAIT until the car fills up and equalizes the pressure INSIDE the vehicle...THEN you can open the door and exit to the surface.
I know that "waiting to drown" doesn't seem that all appealing, but trust me, you have enough of time to oxygenate your lungs by deep breathing before the car fills completely.
Carrying a "punch-tool" in the car is good, and allows you to smash the side glass, but remember that water will not wait OUTSIDE until you exit, so you'll have to fight water rushing INSIDE, got it?
Above all...(and I know this sounds impossible)...REMAIN CALM...and REMAIN ALIVE.
Now, if the water isn't that high, but ONLY comes halfway up to your wheels, there's some things you NEED to know.
First, the car MAY stall, depending on if the tailpipe is under water, or if something electrical shorts out...be prepared for that.
Next, if you do make it through and are still running, when you go to hit the brakes, you will probably find they don't work that well...
DO NOT PANIC.
This is normal. When brakes get wet, they loose the friction needed to bring the vehicle to a stop.
The BEST way to get your brakes working again quickly, is to lightly DRAG the brakes...hold your foot ON the pedal gently, just enough to feel the vehicle want to stop, but also keep your foot on the gas pedal to maintain a speed of under 25 MPH (tops).
Within a block, the vehicle will stop as good as before..trust me, I've done it many times...and it WORKS!
*** This story got my attention too, but not because of the usual reasons.
(( Attempted traffic stop leads to pursuit and crash - Police find crack cocaine and marijuana in car
Updated: Tuesday, 01 Mar 2011, 5:49 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 01 Mar 2011, 12:04 PM EST
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Fort Wayne police tried to pull over a motorist for speeding Tuesday morning. When the motorist wouldn't stop, officers pursued the vehicle for about five minutes before it crashed near the intersection of St. Joe Center Road and Salge Drive.
The driver lost control, the car hit a culvert and landed on its top. The driver then took off on foot and police caught him between some homes in a nearby neighborhood.
Police say the car didn't have a license plate and when they searched inside they found 1.3 grams of marijuana, approximately 22.5 grams of crack cocaine, and over $800.00 cash.
A warrant had been issued for the driver prior to this incident for possession of a dangerous drug according to Officer Scott Tegtmeyer.
The driver was taken to an area hospital in serious condition. His identity has not yet been released. ))
This story caught my eye because the vehicle involved is about the SAME YEAR as the Wifeymobile (actually a year earlier...around 1995). It's a Caprice Classic, and I can tell you it's not a bad driver, as 4 door full-size sedans go (and that's coming from a confirmed 2-seat coupe driving kinda guy)!
They DO look much better with the TIRES on the ground, rather than the roof, though.
This perp had to be pulling a decent speed to FLIP a car that size (they were more aerodynamic than previous models from the 80s).
Here's a hint: When attempting to AVOID the police in a pursuit...DON'T!
I do tend to notice cars that look like the Wifeymobile...call it prior "training".
Ditto for MY Firebird, too. (simply because it's MORE rare to see a car like MINE, especially in AS GOOD A SHAPE as mine, given it's age)
I always suspect these perps are "cruising for parts".
(Yeah, I'm SUCH a cynic)
I can already tell you that in OUR part of the ghettohood, we have about FIVE of those mid-nineties Caprice Classics tooling about. (excluding Mrs. Bobby G.)

We have a white one, a black one, a gold one , another that is the mirror image of Wifey's car (that's kinda creepy), and a dark RED one that I saw for the first time JUST this past Sunday, heading N/B on our street (oh, he was speeding, too...FWPD, take note).
And when I saw the car on the news, that's when it all clicked...
THAT was the same car I saw Sunday...!!!
What drew my attention to THIS caprice (on Sunday) was that he was thumping his stereo (typical)...that ALWAYS gets my attention.
(not a good thing for the loud asses - they really DON'T want me to notice them).
Imagine that.
A guy with DRUGS in the car...an active *14* (warrant - that makes ONE down, with ONLY 6,924 MORE to go) and "NO TAGS" that passed through MY (drug-infested) area a couple days ago....what ARE the chances, huh?

(betcha he had a gun too...and they're just not saying THAT)
Well, that's ONE druggie off MY streets for a while.
And one LESS Caprice to monitor.
Amazing that the FWPD has NOT released the name of the perp..stay tuned for updates on this one.
I plan to hang onto this story like a junkyard mutt on a trespasser's leg.
Anything that will garner me more "intel" regarding MY ghettohood is always welcome.
I like to "know the playaz", as it were.
Our area is one of those "unique" places....we're the "buffer zone" between TWO other sectors for the FWPD.
We are the "Nora" area of sector 45, the area directly NORTH of us is called "Mary", and the one directly SOUTH of us is called "Ocean"...neat, huh?
We get all the traffic that runs BETWEEN those other two areas (lucky us), and the crime tends to be in flux, flowing from one of these three areas into another and then back again...hard to the police to keep track of and get a handle on (maybe that's why they're always busy chasing the radio, instead of being able to PATROL and head this crap off at the pass).
In any event, we're sure to only see MORE of the same down here this summer (each one gets a little worse than the last).
But remember, it's all BY DESIGN. The city must WANT this to happen for a reason...and we all know the end to that reasoning.
(scroll down for those pictures of DETROIT if you want a reminder)
It shouldn't have to be this way...but it is.
And we can thank entitlements for all of it.
Somehow, the meaning of PROGRESS isn't all cracked up to what it used to be...at least not in the societal realm.
I could be wrong, but we both realize that's folly to even consider that.
We know the truth.

And we shall speak the truth.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

((Tomorrow: An "old" drug is NEW again))