Humpday Happenings...
If it's my day to put the trash bin and recycling out, it MUST be RAINING!
Which means that the morning paper (even though it's in a plastic bag) will undoubtedly be SOAKED THROUGH. Gee, a little KNOT at the end of the bag would prevent that, and that ONLY takes a mere 5 seconds to accomplish...guess that's too much to PROCESS for an ADULT paper-carrier, hmm?
It also means it MUST be WEDNESDAY, here in the "Heartland".
Yesterday was the exact opposite of today, weather-wise, and that was a good thing.
I got a call around 1145 hrs from a good buddy of mine (and a LEO) asking if I was doing anything. I didn't have a thing on my schedule (and I jump at ANY chance to blow that "ghetto-stank" offa me), so he swung on by, and we drove down to Bluffton to 21st Century Firearms to do what guys do best...
We shop for "Stuff that goes BANG"!
And we went (in style) in his nice, red Dodge Charger!
When it comes to cars, there's not much left to impress me with...BUT...I was FLOORED!
(actually, it was more like pinned to the seatback...lol)
That bugger has got some BALLS under the damn hood!
Seemed we did more "flying low" than driving...!
We were tooling around hitting 85 MPH (more than once), and there was still PUH-LENTY of room left between his foot and the rug, if you catch my drift.
Well, it DOES have a HEMI (small block 5.7 liter CID).
And the damn car was talking to us (GPS...kinda cool...nice girl's voice, sounded like a blonde, about 5'5", 34-24-34)
It's probably Karen Jacobsen. (for inquiring minds)
But, I digress...
Leather interior, remote start, sunroof, on board telephone, CD player, freaking hard-drive...amazing.
That car does everything but brew beer in the glovebox (and that's probably one of those $3,000 options, I'll bet)
Nothing like "bending" the speed limit down Indiana Rt 1 listening to BACK IN BLACK by AC/DC.
Makes a good case for some of this new technology...provisionally-speaking, mind you.
(I don't even want to think about HOW MUCH it would cost to fix ANY of that cool stuff if it breaks)
Funny thing, when we arrived at our destination (as was told to us by the "woman" behind the dashboard), I look over and saw the big sign:
NAILS...?!?
(to coin a Momma Fargo phrase)...
*blink - blink*
I said to my buddy. "Well, maybe I COULD go for a pedicure...how 'bout you?"
(between joint laughter) He replied: "Yeah, sounds fine".
Of course, the GUN shop was BEHIND the "nails" place...(can't fool that blond...she must love guns, too)
So, my buddy bought himself a sweet B/U pistol (.380 auto - 6+1 rds) and ammo for that and also for his new Kimber, while I was trying NOT to act like a kid in a damn candy store with a pocket full of nickels. (been a while since I've been to a candy store...can'cha tell?)
I was hefting a Remington 11-87 semi-auto shotgun (28" barrel, 3 rd choke - good skeet gun) that I once fired at a range in Philly a LONG time ago. Nice to know they still make these...got a kick like a damn mule, too.
And that Marlin 30-06 lever-action felt REAL nice in my 58 year old hands.
I even saw a single-shot .410 gauge shotgun for WIFEY - a PINK "Realtree" CAMO number with a hammer cock on it...nice.
But seeing BOTH a KRISS Super V .45 cal. sub-gun and a FN P-90 hanging on the wall got me close to drooling like an old cat.
(trust me, they DO drool)
Luckily, I didn't want to stand in one spot too long...and leave a damn puddle...LOL.
So, I decided to be a "good boy" and just purchase a really BRIGHT Nebo "CSI-edge" tactical light...AND a 20 rd box of .45 ACP hollow points for my PT 145.
(oh, yeah, I got your "personal defense")
Anyway, my "partner" and I arrive back to my "Fortress of reason" after stopping for lunch (my treat, his money wasn't good in Bluffton on Tuesdays), when my buddy noticed a FWPD U/C cruise past us by while we're in the driveway. He recognized the driver. I didn't think too much of it, until after my friend left, I saw the same white Impala roll by in the opposite direction.
Then, I heard an AMBER ALERT come across the radio.
It was cancelled shortly afterwards.
When I later saw the news, I knew why.
This is what went down in MY part of Fort Wayne:
*** (( Published: March 9, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Baby in stolen pickup OK - Dominic Adams The Journal Gazette
FORT WAYNE – A month-old boy abducted when someone stole his mother’s pickup truck Tuesday was found uninjured after the vehicle was abandoned in an alley a few blocks away.
The mother left the infant inside her pickup, which she left running outside a home in the 4400 block of Gaywood Drive, south of McKinnie Avenue.
The mother was loading something from the truck into the home when someone jumped into the truck and sped off.
Fort Wayne police responded at 1:49 p.m. and used all available patrol and investigative units to search for the vehicle.
Police found the truck about 40 minutes later with the baby unharmed inside in the 4600 block of South Park Drive.
Dogs were called in but did not find the abductor. Police do not have any suspects and are asking anyone with information to call 427-1222. Police remind people to never leave infants or small children unattended or alone in vehicles.
Each year, city police investigate about 500 stolen vehicles, many of which were left running and unattended. ))
Alrighty then...
How many times have I said that these do-nothing bucks in our area spend all day scoping YOU out...watching what YOU do...and waiting for that opportunity to avail themselves of something of YOURS?
This story made that case all too well.
Luckily, it had a happy ending, but that explains WHY the FWPD was in my area (not that far from the scene of the abduction).
It all comes down to THIS:
Many falsely think the "American Dream" means EQUAL SUCCESS.
Not even close.
The American Dream is defined as having the exact same EQUAL OPPORTUNITY...TO succeed in life.
But when people "stack the deck", it makes it a little more equal to some, and a little less equal to everyone else.
Now, this also depends on HOW one measures success.
To be able to NOT have to want...to raise a family, have a permanent roof over one's head, steady employment (or even a CAREER) is much of what this "dream" is about.
Being a decent person, living a good life, staying as far away from trouble as life will allow, and having a level of contentment also works for me.
We're not perfect, but we can always make a little room for improvement...that is another aspect to fulfilling that dream.
Trouble is, there are some folk that believe otherwise.
Some feel that to have "what everyone else has" regardless of whether you work to get it or not IS the dream.
To have the loudest stereo...the biggest TV..."the most toys" as it were, is THEIR goal.
And they will do as little as possible to get it, even if it means taking from YOU.
Or, they will all but sell their souls into crime to get it, because it beats punching a clock and having to show up and work at a job.
We see it in our schools...and eventually, we will see it on our streets.
They feel no need to be a responsible person...as long as someone ELSE can be responsible for them.
They hold themselves to no standards, which is, of itself a double-standard for our society.
And this is why they will seek out an opportunity...ANY opportunity to TAKE...from anyone, and never give anything back.
*** Our current society has this nasty habit of jerking it's knees...and here's a perfect example:
(( Last updated: March 5, 2011 5:19 a.m.
Indiana officials probe leak of ISTEP+ question - Results for 80,000 8th-graders might be invalidated
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Education says it is investigating whether test security was breached by the release of an essay question from the ISTEP+ examination.
Department Chief of Staff Heather Neal told The Times of Munster for a story published Friday that the agency might have to invalidate test results for about 80,000 eighth-graders due to the leak.
Neal said the department believes a test coordinator copied the question from the eighth-grade language arts test and shared it with others, including someone who posted it briefly on a Facebook page connected with a teachers group based in Lawrence County, south of Bloomington. The test continues through Wednesday.
"I cannot emphasize how big of a deal this is for a teacher or administrator or test coordinators to be circulating a test question," Neal said.
If the agency is forced to suppress the question, ISTEP+ test results will be delayed and the state will have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional grading expenses, Neal said. The test results for all eighth graders could also be invalidated. That could leave schools without guidance on for placing them in high school English, the newspaper said.
Democratic State Sen. Karen Tallian of Ogden Dunes said the question asked students their opinion on vouchers that use taxpayer money to help parents send their children to private schools, a contentious issue in this year's state Legislature, and questioned whether it was politically motivated.
"It's a blatant attempt to collect opinion that supports the administration's agenda," Tallian said.
The Republican-backed voucher legislation is one of the bills that triggered House Democrats to boycott the General Assembly last week.
But Education Department spokeswoman Lauren Auld said ISTEP+ questions are developed and vetted by teachers and others over a two-year period.
"It's quite a strenuous process," Auld said. ))
So, because of ONE lousy question (out of HOW many HUNDRED?), the whole test validation is under scrutiny?
And how MUCH will THIS fiasco cost?
(Tony Bennett says maybe several hundred thousand bucks)
This is ridiculous...it's all about "THE TEST"...what about the kids?
Does one question trump all the children and the lessons being taught?
How about we place children into high school English based on THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE and APTITUDE?
(the way we USED to do it)
Would that be a bit UNEQUAL?
Would that "level the playing field" (no one's a loser)?
It's still called EQUAL OPPORTUNITY...and NOT equal grading, or even equal achievement.
We all don't learn at the SAME rate...that's why we're all "different"..
There has already been many cases where cell phones were used to pass along regular test questions to those unwilling to study in other classes.
We would call that CHEATING...or gaming the system.
That will make some more equal to others...and that's unfair to everyone.
No one ever said that life was suppose to be fair...life just IS.
Life is what YOU make of it...period.
And there 'ya go...just a few things to think about today.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.