Friday Follies...
Well, what the hell was all that WET STUFF coming down from the skies this morning, hmm? Amazing...we FINALLY got some (much) needed RAIN, albeit briefly.
Not gonna hear ME complaining about THAT...(got plenty of other stuff for THAT...lol)
Nice to know the wipers work on the car...we haven't used them in SO long.
It was a great little trek to the grocer today, to see how MUCH the prices have risen (again).
And we're rarely disappointed in that regard.
Those $50 grocery bills are now nesting comfortably in the $70+ range these days.
Some weeks, we best EIGHTY bucks...for the two of us and the cats.
Nice to know that WALGREENS was OUT of their sale item (Coke 2 ltrs - 4/$5).
To think we have a Coca-Cola DISTRIBUTION CENTER in town, too...
Should be easy enough to get the product to the STORES...and in ADEQUATE quantities.
'Ya think?
But hey, it was raining, and that washes all the problems away, right?
Well, maybe...sorta, kinda.
( "Someday a REAL rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets" - Travis Bickle / Taxi Driver)
We can...but hope.
*** Elsewhere...
A great ending to a story the news had up yesterday about an EMERGENCY landing at FWIA.
I heard the FWFD call go out on the radio when the plane was about 25 miles out, and that the pilot of a single-engine aircraft was experiencing a "problem" with the landing gear (nose wheel).
Here's the story as presented by local news:
(( Plane makes emergency landing at Fort Wayne International
by Elbert Starks III of The News-Sentinel
small plane was forced to make an emergency landing Thursday afternoon at Fort Wayne International Airport after the pilots and airport determined that the landing gear on the aircraft would not lock into place.
he incident began around 4:20 p.m., according to Tory Richardson, executive director of the airport. The pilot of the plane, (a 1954 Beechcraft E-35 Bonanza) contacted the airport and notified them of the initial problem. Air traffic controllers had the plane circle the airport and visually confirmed that there appeared to be a problem with the landing gear before allowing the aircraft to attempt the emergency landing on Runway 23, Richardson said.
he aircraft circled back and touched down around 4:40 p.m., Richardson said, and gradually decreased speed until the pilot was able to shut down the engines. The nose wheel of the aircraft did, indeed, collapse after the plane came to a stop, damaging the propeller and front of the plane, Richardson said.
Fort Wayne International was closed for roughly 10 minutes during the incident, but normal operations had resumed by 4:45 with the airport opening an alternate landing strip.
Richardson said the next step in the process is securing the aircraft and making sure it is capable of being moved off the runway without further damage, then taking it to another location for inspection, likely another hangar close by. Richardson said the airport will forward any information it has gathered to the Federal Aviation Agency, which will determine what steps will be taken next.
Richardson said the plane had taken off from Oshkosh, Wis., and was on its way to Gaithersburg, Md. There were two people on the plane, Richardson said, and neither was injured. He credited them for bringing the plane in safely.
"There doesn't appear to be too much damage to the plane," Richardson said.
"(The incident) went as good as you could have hoped for." ))
Some media sources listed this as a CRASH-landing...and that smacks of inappropriate sensationalism.
It was an EMERGENCY landing...a FORCED landing. There was really no "crash" about this.
It was a controlled touchdown, plain and simple...just without a nose wheel to sit the front of the plane down upon, that's all.
Stall speed for such a vintage aircraft (it's ALMOST as old as I am, so I must be "vintage" as well,,,LOL) is pretty damn low (55 MPH, dirty), so the landing must have been like slowing a car from highway speed...while staring DOWN at the tarmac when the nose dropped past level.
You have the land it like a "tail-dragger", avoiding too much of a "flare-up" or you'll stall and drop like a stone onto the runway.
The pilot did a textbook job of a perfect landing under such conditions.
Hell, I'd fly with him ANY day.
Here's the incident report from the aviation-safety.net site:
(( http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=137752
Date: 28-JUL-2011
Time: 4:30pm LT
Type: Beechcraft E35 Bonanza
Operator: Patrick J. King (rgd. owner)
Registration: N3236C
C/n / msn: D-3901
Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Minor
Location: Fort Wayne International Airport - KFWA, IN - United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature: Private
Departure airport: Wittman Regional Airport - KOSH
Destination airport: Montgomery County Airpark - KGAI
Narrative:
The pilot of a Beechcraft Bonanza diverted to Fort Wayne International Airport (KFWA), IN, to make an emergency landing after having problems with its landing gear.
During the landing roll out the (not fully locked) nosewheel collapsed.
Both occupant escaped unhurt. ))
God, I love happy endings!
And the plane looks to be barely damaged at all (scuffed the paint a little, but they built them TOUGH in the early 50s...kinda like me...LOL)
After a thorough check of all the related systems, Ilm sure the pilot will be able to continue his flight to MD with no problem.
*** And it's ANOTHER shooting on the....(all together, gang...) the SOUTHEAST SIDE...(thank you).
(( Shooting On Drexel Avenue; One Person In Serious Condition - By Maureen Mespell
July 28, 2011
Updated Jul 28, 2011 at 10:18 PM EDT
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) -- Fort Wayne Police are at the scene of a shooting that happened just before 9:30 Thursday night.
Shots rang out in the 1900 block of Drexel Avenue.
Police scanner traffic indicates that one person was shot and rushed to a local hospital in very serious condition.The police have several witnesses to what happened and that officers may also have a suspect in custody. ))
Could it be retribution for the shooting ion Winter street? Another "random" act of violence by the black community?
And WHERE are the so-called community "leaders" decrying this appalling behavior by their OWN kind?
Tell you, if I knew the ANSWERS to all of these, I could run this "dog and pony show" tomorrow, and not break a sweat!
But I STILL would not want to...this city doesn't seem like it WANTS to return to NATURAL justice..not right now anyway.
*** Lastly today...this whole "debt-crisis" gig is wearing thin...all the posturing, the meetings, the "debates", the "plans", and so on...it's enough to put one off their oatmeal in the morning.
What I question is WHY we can't just back up to government spending of say...the REAGAN era...or even the CLINTON era.
Why have WE (the people) allowed this rampant spending to proliferate at such a pace.
And why RAISE the debt ceiling?
Isn't that like raising one's CREDIT CARD LIMIT when you're ALREADY maxxed the hell out?
How in God's name would that help ANY person to spend less and save more?
Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just cut the damn card the hell UP and pay the balance off?
That's the way "WE" do it...and it works.
This is like giving a drug addict another hit to keep them going so they won't make that bad decision to do more drugs...it's INSANE!
If we don't raise the ceiling, our global status will be hurt...well, we made that bed, so now this nation's elected officials have to lie in it, I suppose.
I'd like to see a return to common sense...not tossing money about like it's growing on trees, because it's not.
And printing MORE money is certainly NOT the answer...that just artificially inflates everything ('cause the bucks ain't worth as much, then...see how that works), and that's one of the last things we need now.
We have to watch, listen and learn (sounds like my grade-school teaching), in order to get things set back to rights.
And we have to make sure those we DO elect are paying the hell attention, and not feathering their OWN nests (agendas) and greasing the palms of their cronies, as has been the case for way too long.
With some steadfastness, and persistence to perseverance, we CAN make it through all this.
Remember, it could ALWAYS be worse.
And if we're not all careful, it soon WILL be.
Have yourselves a fantastic weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.