Friday Follies...
The weekend is finally here, and with it, a brief (albeit a bit chilly to boot) respite from all the craziness that has exposed itself to us for the past 120 hours.
But before we venture forth into several days of relative peace and calm, let's see what kind of chicanery the rest of the world's been up to, okay?
*** An update to the story regarding 2 men being shot in Fort Wayne:
(( Update: overnight shooting victims identified - Police are still searching for suspect
Updated: Thursday, 17 Nov 2011, 8:20 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 17 Nov 2011, 4:56 AM EST
Rod Hissong
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Fort Wayne police have identified two men who were seriously hurt in a shooting early Thursday morning just north of downtown.
Police believe some type of altercation occurred shortly before 4:00 a.m. behind a house in the 1400 block of Third Street. Brian Davis, 19, of Medina, Ohio, and Kenneth Cummings, 33, of Brunswick, Ohio, had been shot and were taken to a hospital in serious condition.
Officers learned that the suspected shooter and a possible accomplice had run from the scene. A K-9 Unit tried to follow their track but lost it in the 1400 block of Sinclair Street ))
I'll say one thing, people claim that NYC is "the city that never sleeps", but FORT WAYNE can't be THAT far behind...
Most every major "event" such as this occurs well into the night or in the early morning hours...as if a certain part of this town is ripe for crime, which it obviously is. NORMAL people tend to be ASLEEP at such hours, with the only exception being those working "third out".
*** Here's another update of sorts that touched on the converter thieves.
And here's the link to the story:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/Special-police-team-caught-thieves-in-the-act-at-two-different-locations
Wow, a "special police team"...that's news to me.
Didn't know the current budget allowed for such things.
Called a "Neighborhood Response Team", this group of officers not only caught the catalytic perps in the act, but earlier in the week snagged THREE other men attempting to relieve a local copper wire company (Shambaugh & Sons) of some of it's product.
Gee, I wonder if such a team could be placed around OUR part of the ghettohood?
Considering the sheer number of traffic & parking violations that occur (daily), this team could easily go through several ticket books, or a few Mb of electronic citations...either way.
Then there's the daily burglaries in the area, the drive-up drug deals, and so on...
Lots to do down here, boys and girls...all YOU have to do is show up, take notice, and start arresting...simple, huh?
*** Remember the days when you drove around with your friends in the car (usually your first auto), and sooner or later would come the obligatory "fishing trip", as in fishing around (from everyone in the car) or as we often called it
..."passing the plate" for some change to pay for some more gas...so you could KEEP driving around to the burger joint, the record store, or to someone else's place?
Well, one company has managed to take this to "the next level"...
Imagine you're on a airliner, travelling from say...India to England, and you notice the plane stopping in VIENNA (which wasn't on the itinerary, but is a beautiful city, nonetheless, and worth a bit of a layover), and then watch as the airline goes down the aisles asking for "gas money" from all the passengers...
(( *WTF???* ))
Yep, you heard me right...already been done.
Here's the source story link:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/314590
All in all, it cost the passengers an ADDITIONAL $31,000 bucks to get them to the final destination.
Talk about being stranded, or better yet, being up the creek without a paddle (or airplane).
I liken this to a form of EXTORTION...plain and simple.
One Comtel Airlines spokesperson says the passengers will receive a refund for their monies.
((note to self - NEVER fly Europe - take the damn TRAIN instead ))
Hey, you just cannot make this sh*t up...
*** This story has to make one stop and think, unlike those that were apparently polled:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/most-say-fort-wayne-on-right-track
About 59% feel Fort Wayne is moving in the RIGHT direction, with 30% thinking the opposite (everyone else has no mind to make up aka "undecided").
That bothers me, because those "401 likely voters" that were asked if our city was headed the right way surely represent those in better areas, unlike the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST side of town.
The recently re-elected mayor states he was canvassing ALL OVER the 5th & 6th districts (which overwhelmingly voted "dumocrat", as usual), and I never saw ANY evidence of this AT ALL. In fact, NO ONE from ANY city electoral race showed up ANYWHERE on our street (Glynn Hines ran unopposed, naturally).
All we DID get were mailings and calls..every damn day...helluva "personal" touch to secure one's vote, I must say.
But all this aside, I would maintain that this city IS headed in the right direction...for the "right" people.
Would that 59% feel the same if they lived on OUR block?
Probably not.
And just because a majority of people are fortunate enough to NOT have their area turned into a haven for humanity's lazy-ass vermin (yet), that doesn't mean that everything's hunky-dory in the rest of the city, because it certainly IS NOT!
They say the most important thing is JOBS...and this comes right on the heels of a local company (ITT) laying off about 100 employees.
Sure the BIG players in town (city government, FWCS, Parkview Hospital, and GM) are going strong for now, but those entities alone do not comprise ALL business in the immediate area.
It's those smaller businesses that are the ones having to lay off (or even close), and all those "pinpricks" add the hell UP.
One bee sting might not be a big deal to the average individual, but multiply that times 100 (or more), and most any person will give up the ghost real fast, because of the ACCUMULATED buildup of toxins in the body.
Fort Wayne (imho) is balancing on a razor's edge these days, and a slip either way could result in some serious "blood-letting" (financially-speaking).
And our city mirrors many other cities across America, given the social and economic climate of the times.
We (all) have to be vigilant, and be willing to question anything and everything that is presented to us, in the interest of moving this city (or any city) forward.
We should never content ourselves with sitting back, and looking ONLY at our assets in this city. We need to give a long, hard look at all the liabilities that can be found here as well.
In many ways, it all comes down to basic accounting...weighing debits against credits.
We have to make an assessment of the good AND the bad of this city, or any city we live in for that matter.
We cannot ignore that which is bad, touting only the good...that's a stupid way to proceed.
You don't buy a car simply because the SEAT is comfy, while ignoring the fact that it only gets 10 MPG (highway), has a crappy heater and no A/C, suffers from poor crash test results, only comes in ugly colors, has no stereo or CD player, no cruise control, is underpowered, and rusts out after the first rain shower. THAT would be a real dumbass move, right?
Well, much the same can be said when we evaluate our cities...
The city is only as good as it's worst representation.
Let that be something we can think about...and act upon.
In the meantime...
Have yourselves a great weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.