Believe It Or Else...
We're almost at the end of another week...with lower temperatures making it feel a bit more like the BEGINNING of summer, rather than the ass-end of it...nice. And when you speak of weird weather, many people tend to think of Indiana...where it changes every 10 minutes (or so it seems).
But not so, say some.
*** Take one of those "best towns to raise children" in, as chronicled at THIS link at Bloomberg Business:
http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20101214/the-best-places-to-raise-your-kids-2011/slides/35
I'm talking about MINOT, N. DAKOTA.
(If I lived there, I'd be raising my child to be a good swimmer...or a lifeguard...or a survival store owner)
Here's the link to the story in today's local paper (from AP)
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110623/NEWS03/306239960
Again with nature's fury unleashed upon American towns and cities. If it's not Wyoming, it's Arizona or New Mexico.
If it's not North Dakota, it's Mississippi, or Iowa.
And if it's not Louisiana, it's Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, or even somewhere else.
Granted it could be worse, like back in the early 1930s with the whole DUST BOWL gig, but trouble is STILL trouble when it comes to Mother Nature.
That girl doesn't know how to "take it easy" once she gets going...and if I didn't know better, I'd think she had some "help" this time around.
Now, I don't want to entertain the notion of some conspiracy theory, but there are too many coincidences all converging at this nexus of time.
You've got nature and the economy, and technology, and politics all seemingly merging at this intersection in our history and at this particular time.
I've often said that whenever you find yourself in a situation, you MUST always plan to have several "exit strategies" for every way into the scenario.
This time around, we're running on empty as far as options go, whether it was Katrina, or the Army Corps of engineers blowing up levees along the Mississippi to keep CITIES from being flooded and in doing so, flooded a CRAPLOAD of acreage along the river, displacing tons of crops AND residents in their wake.
Same goes for the recent events with tornadoes and wildfires, as well as the other assorted nasty circumstances.
You DO have to hand it to those folks that are working TOGETHER and not waiting for FEMA to get their ass in gear and stop on by.
Many are displaying more of that AMERICAN SPIRIT I mention here often.
And that's pretty damn hard to do when you've lost your home and/or much of your life along the way...not to mention losing loved ones also.
It's like when nature or whatever else pushes...Real Americans are pushing BACK...and HARDER, too.
You can't help but wonder if much of this turmoil HAS been "staged"...in order to force some type of "change" (we can believe in?) in our nation.
Take some time to dig a bit deeper...scratch the surface and find out for yourselves if there's not something "else" at work here, other than nature itself.
But be warned...you might find out things you're not supposed to know along the way.
Meanwhile, back at the "Fortress"...
*** This story about how Fort Wayne's downtown (lookin' good, right?) seems "ripe" in many ways, while the SE part of town sits under the tree and rots:
(( Published: June 23, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Dye spoils downtown robber’s loot -Grinning crook still on lam; cash found outside bank / Archie Ingersoll The Journal Gazette
Wearing a jacket and tie, a smiling man robbed a downtown Fort Wayne bank Wednesday afternoon, getting away with a bundle of bills later found stained in red ink beside the building.
A surveillance camera captured the man, with a shaved head and sunglasses, walking into the Fifth Third Bank at 1:04 p.m. Three minutes later, another camera recorded him with a wide grin as he stood at a teller’s counter.
Fort Wayne police officers went to the bank at 202 W. Berry St. at 1:09 p.m., responding to a report of a possible robbery. When officers arrived, they learned that a man had come into the bank and used a note to demand money.
At least one customer was in the bank at the time. No one was injured, police said.
The robber fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, as well as an exploding dye pack.
Police said the dye pack seems to have worked as intended, judging by red-stained bills found on the sidewalk on the building’s east side.
Wednesday evening, there was still what appeared to be a blast of red dye on the concrete.
Still photographs from the bank’s cameras show the robber wearing a dark-colored suit jacket, dress shirt, pants and tie. Witnesses told police he went into a nearby alley and stripped down to a white tank top. Police said he may now have red dye on himself or his clothing.
The suspect was described as a slender black man, standing 6 feet, 1 inch tall. He was estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old.
As of Wednesday evening, he remained at large.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call police at 260-427-1222 or Crime Stoppers at 260-436-7867.
The region’s bank robbery task force – which includes city, county and state police, along with FBI agents – is investigating the case.
The bank closed the lobby after the robbery. An employee would not comment, except to say the bank will be open today. ))
Gee, the picture looks kinda like VAN JONES! Didn't know he was "slumming" these days...LOL.
I was following this on the radio yesterday, and the FWPD had at least TWO K-9 units on scene trying to get a track off of the discarded clothing.
Amazing how this guy can still be "out and about", given the area downtown. Naturally, a perimeter was established straight away, and a nearby neighborhood was thought to be the area the perp ran towards.
Jeff Stoner saw a package being dropped out back of his store and thought something was amiss when he also saw a black male walking hurriedly AWAY from the area of the dumpster.
And dressing for success does NOT mean you wear a sport coat and tie to ROB A BANK!
(well, maybe you do in Fort Wayne, Indiana)
'Ya know, having a note passed to a teller from a smiling man (stating he was there to rob them and maybe he had a weapon) wouldn't result in the loot strolling out the front door, IF that teller responded to the man's request with a damn .45 ACP full of hollow points stuck in the perp's FACE!
It's almost getting to the point where average citizen employees NEED to be packing...just to keep the "locals a tad more polite" in their transactions around the city. It's just a thought, anyway.
If the BRINKS guards can carry guns when THEY handle money, should it not make sense to have ANYONE in the bank that ALSO handles large amounts of cash perform in likewise manner.
*** Lastly today, we're rolling up on "fireworks season" in my city...
(( *rolls eyes* ))
Here we go again...morons and things that go "boom"...add some liquor or drugs and loud music for the driving and acoustically-impaired, and that's one helluva recipe for the CHRONICALLY-STUPID among us.
Here's the link to a local news story about this:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/police-respond-to-fireworks-complaints
What the article does NOT say, is that the "response time" might NOT be AS FAST as you might desire...
Think of this as a signal *44* (here in Ft. Wayne) - a NOISE complaint.
Roll up time is somewhere in the vicinity of FIVE minutes (if you're really lucky) to over FIFTEEN minutes (on a good night).
And by then, the revelers have either LEFT the area completely, or just went back inside.
Oh, and don't forget that the fireworks violators CAN (and probably are) monitoring the police radio via some "APP" on their cell phone.
(yeah, there's an APP for that now, too)
We've heard fireworks going off in our part of the ghettohood for OVER two weeks. Not all the time, but mostly AT NIGHT and with the trees and houses in the area causing bounce back of the noise, it's DAMN hard to pinpoint the actual direction (or house) it's emanating from.
What I would not give to have the FWPD purchase a system known as a BOOMERANG.
Here's the skinny on this device:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang_(countermeasure)
It's primarily used to find the direction of GUNSHOTS (that would ALSO be a good thing to have down here), but I'm quite sure that pyrotechnic detonations can just as easily be located with this cool piece of technology.
See...'ya hang around here, 'ya learn a whole lot of neat things...don'cha?
In any event, I'm sure I'll have to endure the locals playing with fireworks (that just also now must be on the WIC plan).
I swear I don't know HOW such lazy-ass do-nothings can purchase ALL the damn fireworks they do, because the BIG ONES they like to set off don't come cheap. We're talking HUNDREDS of bucks worth of "fun", too!
Day after day.
Every year, we've got BAGS of big-ass aerials from these "welfare slugs" going off all over the place.
And every year, the police aren't even rolling through our streets to enforce the laws, otherwise they'd CATCH these idiots firing them off IN THE STREET and over other people's houses.
This year, will be no different, I'm sure.
Be nice to be WRONG at least ONCE in a while...
I like a celebration as much as the next person, but there is a protocol to be observed...and certain "respectful behavior" that goes along with such things. We've forgotten what that apparently means, however.
What amounts to being responsible isn't in the playbook for such people.
And while you can't effectively legislate stupidity or any type of behavior, you CAN make it difficult to people to enjoy their lack of accountability and responsibilities, especially when it comes to their fellow man.
But wait a minute...isn't that much of the way we USED to behave?
I believe it was...but who wants to dwell in the past?
Or even LEARN from it?
We're much to busy repeating it to bother...right?
I certainly hope NOT.
(and so do you)
Be well, make a differnece to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.