Humpday Happenings...
Oh, wow...we're supposed to get some (here we go again) RAIN today...just when I was getting used to NOT seeing everything wet all over, another round of storms are heading our way (oh...joy).
At least the temperatures will be better and more tolerable. I know I hate to go from the 60s way up to the 90s within a 24 hour period.
Personally, I'd LOVE to send the rain to AZ, NM, and TX (where it's really needed).
Even better, I'd like to take the flooding Platte River and slide THAT water DOWN to fight the wildfires in the SW part of the USA.
And I know some people that would ALSO think those ideas would be great.
*** Geez, I know I'm getting older now, too...totally forgot about yesterday being the 236th birthday of the United States Army...(d'oh)!
Funny, they don't look a day over 224.
Happy belated b'day, gang!
And what BETTER way to celebrate than by ditching the black berets for the (back to basics) patrol cap.
Personally, I never liked the berets for the "standard" troops.
It's hot in summer, (all wool) and gets nice and moist when at attention for hours on end, doesn't do a damn thing to keep the sun OUT of your eyes, and should really be reserved for the SPECIAL units within the army, such as the AIRBORNE (maroon), RANGERS (tan) and GREEN BERETS (color is self-explanatory, obviously).
The MARINES know better, and that's why they have kept the "BDU" cap (as it as known, now called the DCU cap - digital camouflage uniform).
And the dress uniform cap was always snappy-looking...nice and white.
But for regular grunt work about the base, it was always the "utility" hat...something you could fold up and stick in the back pocket of the fatigue pants.
Hell, I've still got my 'Nam-era OD hat with the long, skinny brim, with a leather band inside.
They're not made as well these days...it's all 50-50 nylon/cotton.
Besides, ever try to get a BERET to sit perfectly on so many heads that are all shaped differently?
You have to have the headband sitting JUST so (straight!!!), the emblem patch HAS to sit over the LEFT eye, and you have to get "the crease & drop" looking perfect.
It was the same way with the old "dixie-cup" hat in the navy. Had to have the proper "roll" around the brim at four points to make it look REALLY "navy". Otherwise, it looked pathetic.
Here's the link to the entire story:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/06/army-combat-uniform-patrol-cap-replaces-beret-061311w/
I think it's much better for all concerned.
Let the special forces keep THEIR berets, and let the standard issue "G.I." go back to the patrol cap.
Besides, it will teach the young men and women (of the army) exactly WHERE the front of their heads are, so the BRIM will be situated in the PROPER place, and not in the back, or off to one side.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
*** Still nothing in "concrete" (pun intended) yet over the HARRISON deal (condos and stores)...
(yawn)...Anyone care to wake me when this fiasco is close to being resolved?
Actually, they're NOW looking at 2013 for the completion of the project, and that's a good FIVE YEARS since it all began.
And now you know WHY I called it COSTAPLENTY SQUARE ...WAY back when it all started.
I was opposed to it then, and I still think it was a bad move on the city's part, but the city could give a rat's ass what people like *I* really think anyway.
(and that's why I tend to be RIGHT a lot more often then THEY are...they're just jealous)
And to think the city tore down a PERFECTLY GOOD baseball stadium (only 13 years old) and went "all in" for this new white elephant downtown, changed the name of the team, and rebranded damn near everything they could...JUST so some guys from ATL could afford the trips to the Caymans for their vacation (among other things).
Hardball Capital...yeah, Fort Wayne should have been playing HARDBALL with these mooks from the get-go.
That's why I don't really plan to visit (or frequent) the sites that have been renovated there, especially the stadium.
If I would ever WIN tickets to see the Tin Caps, I'd donate it to some vets to go see the team play...it's that simple.
I'm kinda busy trying to keep MY part of town from sinking further into Dante's Inferno.
*** Now, you know how I always LOVE to lambaste the city for it's IGNORANCE when it comes to this part of town (and deservedly so).
Face facts, Fort Wayne leaders have consistently turned their collective noses UP at the SOUTH side of the city, when they SHOULD have been doing so much more to prevent the problems we're all now hip-deep in.
Case in point...the chronic stupidity when it comes to such a mundane aspect of city living like PARKING.
I told you all before how the morons around here couldn't find their asses with both hand most days, and it shows in the manner they choose to park.
If you're traveling NORTH on a 2-way street, you just can't park on the SOUTHBOUND side (against the flow of traffic), but they sure as hell do around here...and every single day, when they're NOT also double-parked.
Thing is, these idiots are parked incorrectly for HOURS.
And absolutely NO police patrolling to maintain PROPER traffic patterns, and NO parking control to cite or advise as to parking procedures.
I don't think it's MY place to constantly monitor and report every little thing, especially when I'm NOT on the city "payroll" to do so.
If I WERE, it would be a whole different ballgame down here, believe you me.
Isn't that WHY these OTHER people are hired?
Aren't THEY supposed to be doing the job they're being PAID for?
Apparently, not so much.
('cause they ain't catchin' those breaking the ordinances in MY area, that's for sure)
Granted, most times, this is a spontaneous occurrence, but still, when you have a group of people that:
1) have NO respect for authority or the laws and ordinances
2) have people engaged in dubious activities
3) allow said people to consistently get away with breaking the laws
4) encourage a system of "double-standards" in the city.
This will keep happening, until you (the city) have NO CONTROL over any of it...and then it will graduate to the BIGGER things, and that's how a city becomes so damn crime-ridden and broke, that it's all but impossible to pull it back from that precipice.
And the EXACT SAME THING can be said for the same people that always ignore HANDICAPPED areas.
*** Lastly today, I always say that it's always about the PEOPLE.
The PEOPLE make or break a city, town, state, or nation.
It's the collective knowledge, wisdom, and common sense (or some times, the LACK of them) that determines the course of our own history.
We create laws so that ALL people might be safe and have a better life. (and to protect us from he LAW-LESS)
We elect, appoint, or otherwise hire people to write the laws and enforce them (again, in order to keep the LAW-LESS at bay).
But when we concede such laws and ordinances in lieu of "fairness" to anyone or everyone, we have marvelously UNDONE that which we have already paid for, and for which we have lobbied and voted for.
We have cut off our noses to spite our faces, in that regard.
And we often create these wonderful DOUBLE STANDARDS, to which we hold ONE group of people to ONE set of guidelines, and ANOTHER group to something completely different.
ALL our laws and ALL our ordinances are there for EVERYONE...EQUALLY.
And they must be maintained in like manner, or they become so much of yesterday's trash.
But more importantly, such adherence to the "laws of the land" MUST begin with OURSELVES.
We have to be the watchdogs of OUR lives first...be the ones to police OURSELVES.
When that breaks down, chaos ensues, with the usual results such as the lack of morality, the loss of ethics, and an overall premise that says that everyone is for themselves first (and on the government's dime as well)...screw everybody else.
That is no longer a society, but it IS a few steps closer to anarchy.
And we don't want to entertain that thought.
We should be BETTER than that...and we ought to be, if we are to have a future that means anything.
When we look to bygone days and see that it was in fact, BETTER, and then look to day and see hardly anything worth anything, we should set about righting such a wrong.
And every one of us has the ability to do so.
It's nice to revisit the past, but we should be using it as a stepping stone through the present into our future, and not a crutch to lean on because our future is in question.
Today is a good day to start to change it all around to something better.
And it begins with...the PEOPLE.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.