Monday Musings...
It's utterly amazing what a mere 72 hours can contain these days.
We've got a really "full boat" this AM, so let's jump right into it, okay?
*** I grew up watching auto racing with my dad...always loved watching it, and the Indy 500 was something we looked forward to every year.
Back in the late 90s, when I first moved here, Wifey and I drove down to Indy for a NASCAR qualifying event, and I got to tour the facility and meander about the museum there...I think Dad would have approved. It was breath-taking for this city boy from Philadelphia.
I got to do something Dad and I used to dream about. Sure, we went to see a POCONO Indy car event in the early 1970s, but Indianapolis was THE place to go. And we used to attend the closed-circuit broadcasts at the local theater (yeah, they used to do that back then) for the "500".
And this year's 100th running was a fantastic event as well.
So, I noticed that yesterday, they were running a race in Las Vegas, and I was GOING to watch it, but opted for a PBS show on the War of 1812 (I'm also a fan of American History)...
I found out (later) on the news that race driver Dan Wheldon was killed in a horrific 15 car crash only 13 laps into a race at the Las Vegas track...and it was then I knew I wasn't meant to watch that race. I tend to get a bit "emotional" whenever something like that occurs while I watch.
Here is a link to the story:
http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/7111712/dan-wheldon-dies-following-indycar-crash-vegas
I remember Dale Earnhardt in February 2001, as well as other Indy car drivers that suffered similar fates.
Wheldon won this year's 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, and he had a lot more career ahead of him.
Tragically, that will never be realized this morning.
It was rough watching fellow drivers express their feelings, because you KNOW they were still holding back...waiting to be "more alone" to vent their emotions. I really feel for his wife and two children, one of whom was just born this past March.
It's always good to hear the applause and cheers from the stands whenever there is a crash, and the driver stands and waves to the fans...we never like to see a "death in the family" , as it were.
People WANT to see a survivor, and are devastated when that doesn't happen.
Sure, I'll still watch racing...And I'm sure if Dad were here, he'd say the same thing.
*** This story is even more disturbing, but seems to be a sign of our times...
Here is the link:
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/horror-house-part-of-interstate-ring-101611
And the AP link:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMulthgyybjaq3C7p6LdJ47_PSxA?docId=cc54395fb26547f0b897bc5c1f63a6e7
Seems we had three perps that had chained up four mentally disabled adults in a basement in the 4700 block of Longshore Ave in the Tacony section of Philly (15th district - where I used to live), and it's these three that are believed to be part of an interstate ring of people committing SSI check fraud, taking the money from those four and cashing it for themselves.
(beats working and being a PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN, right?)
The neighborhood SURE has gone to the dogs, too, judging by the looks of it. used to be a REAL nice area.
Same can be said when I google-mapped my other neighborhoods...they're ALL cesspools of human flotsam.
That tears the hell out of me...the memories of those areas from little on up were what molded much of who I am, and it saddens me to think all the once-great areas to live have deteriorated this badly.
Goes to show what happens when the WRONG ELEMENT is "given" housing without EARNING the right to do so by working for it (or just takes it outright)...it turns into a ghettohood real fast.
The weird thing is that these three were SQUATTERS in that house....so HOW the hell did they gain access and were allowed to "operate" unnoticed, hmm? Philly has no oversight when it comes to housing these days, and that's a far cry from when I lived there.
Gee, isn't that what is also happening to my CURRENT neighborhood here in Fort Wayne?
(short answer: yes, indeed.)
Been heading downward for some time, in fact, courtesy of the apathy of the city (and ethnic community) leadership, thank you very much.
Well, that brings me to the next turn in today's shrubbery maze...
*** Our neighbor across the street (you know the one...she raked leaves into the STREET...all the way down to where the sewer CULVERT is located, so it will back up like a cheap toilet when we get some rain)...decided yesterday to "amend" that leaf pile.
She came home, and promptly proceeded to rake EVEN MORE leaves down to the culvert.
Can you say dumber than a bag of rocks?
I sent along emails to both Solid Waste and to Neighborhood Code Enforcement (with pictures) in the hope that this neighbor would at least be "advised" as to the PROPER PROCEDURE to preparation of the leaves for their eventual removal...
Apparently, no one "got the memo"...(yet).
I guess the potential for a backed-up sewer is supposed to be "comforting" to her?
Certainly not for me.
And we're supposed to get rain in the next two days.
Guess nature and the city services (sewer system) will take care of "dem leaves", right?
Coulda saved some labor JUST by raking them all to the CURB-STRIP, and you'd think she'd be all over THAT plan.
(because too many others around here love being LA-ZY...and at your expense).
Hey, everyone's gotta have a "hobby", right?
But, there was proven just a short time later, that there IS definitely something to be said for the phrase "cause and effect".
-- There was a roaming brown pit bull that took a shine to her porch, and we heard the call to dispatch come over the radio. Two officers arrived shortly before Animal Control got there, and it was a bit comical to see.
The neighbor was "trapped" (sorta) in her car, afraid to move a muscle, and the big male officer was a might skittish approaching the dog (who wasn't even barking or growling).
(good reason for ME to get a dog now...lol)
The smaller female officer got closer, but even she didn't seem to attract the dog's attention from that porch.
Animal Control rolled up, and an even more petite woman got out, pole & noose in hand, and proceeded to snag the squatting pooch, walking it calmly to her van (the dog didn't protest in the least). It was only when she got TO her van, and another dog inside was barking, that the brown pit took to getting scared - the tail went down between it's legs.
But, the dog was loaded in without incident, neighbor got to exit her car and enter her crib, and officers took a few to chat with the A/C officer, talking about how one 75-year old woman lost half her arm to another pit bull...gotta love "war stories", right?
(glad this was after we had dinner)
Ah, well...another day, another moron (down here)...you get used to it, even if you never get over finding it all appalling.
*** The Occupy Fort Wayne "movement" is still here.
The group had a permit that was SUPPOSED to expire at 2330 hrs Sunday night...
Well, OUR city decided to "flinch" this time (read Friday's post about NYC, Bloomberg and the Hunt for Red October quote).
Lord knows how long they're going to be there.
But, I have to admit there is ONE major difference (so far) from HERE and other cities...
The protest was a lot better "behaved", and included a lot more people who DO actually work for a living, as opposed to those in NYC who are the spawn of the "flower-power" people.
We only have had 300-400 (max) so far, and I don't really expect that many more (if that).
A dozen or so spent the night at Headwaters Park (next few days will be chilly out there at night).
As to the city's inaction for the expiration of the permit?
Typical.
I would have expected better from the city, but I've come to know how much they "value" certain things.
After all, they've done SO MUCH for my part of town (he said quite sarcastically).
*** Lastly today, if all these protests really want to gain some traction, WHY aren't we seeing ANYONE "occupy" Washington, D.C.?
Isn't THAT the place where CRONY CAPITALISM has a vested interest?
I'm not supporting the protesters, but it makes sense to go to the ROOT CAUSE of the problem, instead of "treating just the symptoms" (read protest on Wall St, houses of CEOs and other cities across the nation), hmm?
You can't eradicate malaria by giving everyone QUININE pills or handing out mosquito netting, can you?
You look to the CAUSE...you attempt to eradicate the MOSQUITOES...THEY are the cause of that problem.
Same has to be said for the protests...I'm not one of that "99%", but rather part of that "53%", and if you;re curious about that LAST number, google it. It represents those that are THE taxpaying public.
Big government is in bed lock, stock, and barrel with big business...that's a fact.
And that hurts small business to NO small degree.
So small business cannot become a bigger business as a result.
You look to wresting power away from those businesses that are determined to run our government.
And you look to government to give up the power it wields that serves no other purpose than to intrude into our lives.
Government is there to PROTECT THE PEOPLE from tyranny, domestic or abroad, and to do that effectively, they need to run the NATION properly, and not run every facet of every citizen's life.
I think it would behoove those in power to remember HOW they got that power in the first place...and how easily it can be taken from them.
It only take one vote from one person.
With enough votes from enough people, change for the better can be effected.
WE, as this nation's people, need to remember THAT.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.