Monday Musings...
Today is CYBER-MONDAY (cue the Vader theme from the Empire Strikes Back), and that means the largest purchasing day online for the year.
I trust none of you suffered during the mad rushes that permeated Black Friday.
Mrs. Bobby G. and I actually did a little bargain-hunting at the nearby K-Mart (along rt 27 south) on Saturday.
We weren't really going after the Christmas sales (aside from the yearly Christmas bear we purchase...and at HALF PRICE on Saturday - definitely gonna need a BIGGER SOFA to accommodate them ALL now...LOL). I wound up getting a rechargeable spotlight (1 mil candle power) for $8 and a new pair of slippers (moccasin style) for cheap. Wifey picked up some clothing for a needy family they collect for at her school. Nothing wrong with charity.
And I have to say that the store was relatively QUIET, considering the 5-hour (only) sale they had going on Saturday morning.
I was honestly surprised (for a change).
We had a pleasing shopping experience, with extremely helpful store staff.
The next wave comes at us today when everyone goes online to purchase all THOSE bargains...
But more about that as soon as we attend to some other business first.
*** Outrage over shoppers when man collapses in store and later dies (as shoppers walk past and over him).
Here's the link to this tragic story:
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Man_Dies_on_Black_Friday_Shoppers_Unfazed_134507443.html
Amazing what a few LOW PRICES will manage to turn regular people into, isn't it (like uncaring)?
And now you know WHY I refuse to shop Black Friday.
Walter Vance, 61, died at the Southridge shopping center's Target (W. VA) store after he collapsed during the Black Friday rush of shoppers.
The sad part to his death comes from the LACK of concern showed by other shoppers.
There was a nurse and a paramedic who administered CPR until the ambulance came, but Vance later died at the hospital.
Our society has become so wrapped up in themselves that they have forgotten about their fellow man in need.
To me, seeing such unconscionable behavior in ANY environment only serves to piss me off further.
People are only out for "the bargain", and to hell with anyone that gets in their way.
This hearkens back to last year, when a Wal-mart employee was literally TRAMPLED by shoppers when they stormed the doors.
It's more of the MOB-MENTALITY we see, which is seeping into more and more aspects of human behavior.
But wait...there's more...
*** Another homicide in the city of Fort Wayne...this time a POLICE-ACTION shooting.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111128/LOCAL07/311289961
This should make this the 19th homicide of 2011 (for those still betting in the pools at work or home).
Again, we have two conflicting sides to the story. Friends of Antron L. "Fetti" Pearson claim he didn't have a gun when he was shot, while FWPD chief Rusty York maintains the officer followed procedure and that no inappropriate measures were taken by the officer.
Now, you have to take intro consideration the "past" of Pearson...helluva "rap" sheet.
Antron L. Pearson
(addresses from 1999-2010)
-1617 E Washington Ctr Rd
Ft Wayne IN (1999)
-4105 Mayberry #101
Ft Wayne IN
-935 Ridgewood Apt 7
Fort Wayne, IN 46818
-1617 E Washington Blvd
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
-6408 Covington Rd
Fort Wayne IN
-1032 Rivermet Ave Fl 1
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
-2310 Rivermet
Fort Wayne IN
-811 Begue St
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
-818 Lavina Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Other Agency Numbers
-117159 Fort Wayne Police Department,
-60261 Allen County Sheriff's Department
-1617 E Washington Blvd
Fort Wayne, IN 46803 (2010)
***************RAP SHEET BELOW*****************
02D04-9906-CM-003921 Pearson, Antron L 06/08/1999
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided CRIMINAL CONVERSION
02D04-9909-CM-006277 Pearson, Antron L 09/07/1999
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided CRIMINAL TRESPASS
02D04-0001-CM-000593 Pearson, Antron L 01/24/2000
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided CRIMINAL TRESPASS
02D04-0009-MC-001585 Pearson, Antron L 09/28/2000
Allen Superior Court 6 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. THEFT
02D04-0010-DF-000806 Pearson, Antron L 10/03/2000
Allen Superior Court 5 DF - CL D Felony or lesser charge
Decided THEFT
02D04-0212-MC-002253 Pearson, Antron L 12/23/2002
Allen Superior Court 4 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. ARMED ROBBERY
P.C. RESIDENTIAL ENTRY
P.C BURGLARY
02D04-0212-FA-000095 Pearson, Antron L 12/27/2002
Allen Superior Court 5 FA - Class A Felony
Decided BURGLARY
ROBBERY
RESIDENTIAL ENTRY
02D04-0303-IF-002932 Pearson, Antron L 03/12/2003
Allen Superior Court 5 IF - Infraction
Decided FAILURE WEAR SAFETY BELT
02D04-0309-IF-015310 Pearson, Antron L 09/22/2003
Allen Superior Court 6 IF - Infraction
Decided LEARNER'S PERMIT VIOL
02D04-0311-IF-018220 Pearson, Antron L 11/21/2003
Allen Superior Court 5 IF - Infraction
Decided FAILURE TO USE LIGHTS
02D04-0401-IF-000115 Pearson, Antron L 01/06/2004
Allen Superior Court 4 IF - Infraction
Decided OPERATE WHILE SUSP (INF)
02D04-0411-CM-008916 Pearson, Antron L 11/15/2004
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided DISORDERLY CONDUCT
02D04-0506-CM-004147 Pearson, Antron L 06/13/2005
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided DISORDERLY CONDUCT
02D04-0507-MC-001242 Pearson, Antron L 07/06/2005
Allen Superior Court 5 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. RESISTING LAW ENFORC
P.C. BATTERY
02D04-0507-FD-000438 Pearson, Antron L 07/08/2005
Allen Superior Court 5 FD - Class D Felony
Decided RESISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
BATTERY
02D04-0606-MC-001146 Pearson, Antron L 06/07/2006
Allen Superior Court 5 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. POSS CONTR SUBSTANCE
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA
02D04-0606-FD-000478 Pearson, Antron L 06/12/2006
Allen Superior Court 5 FD - Class D Felony
Decided POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA HASH OIL OR HASHISH
02D04-0709-CM-005900 Pearson, Antron L 09/20/2007
Allen Superior Court 6 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided RESISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
DISORDERLY CONDUCT
FALSE INFORMING (B)
02H01-1002-IF-00908 S7199672
S7199672 PEARSON, ANTRON L 02/05/2010
New Haven City Court IF - Infraction
Decided 9-21-5-6/IFC: Speeding
9-24-19-1/IFA: Driving While Suspended
02D04-1004-MC-000776 Pearson, Antron L 04/19/2010
Allen Superior Court 5 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. THEFT
P.C. INTIMIDATION
02D04-1004-FD-000374 Pearson, Antron L 04/22/2010
Allen Superior Court 6 FD - Class D Felony
Decided INTIMIDATION
THEFT
02D04-1005-CM-002837 573445 Pearson, Antron L 05/12/2010
Allen Superior Court 5 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided OPERATE WHILE SUSP (MISD)
**************(whew)*****************
And he was even "homeless" for a time in 2006.
He also has FIVE children, ages 2 to 11, but no evidence of employment mentioned.
His wife says he never OWNED a gun or CARRIED one (doesn't mean someone else got one FOR HIM, does it?)
Many times, the gun may be registered with the female, so there's no DIRECT contact with a firearm (felons aren't permitted to own or carry one...yet we know that RARELY stops them, right?)
And, naturally we hear he a such a kind-hearted person...
So, tell me...exactly HOW does a person become "kind-hearted" when they're arrested for THEFT, INTIMIDATION, operating while SUSPENDED, FALSE INFORMING...and the like, hmm?
Perhaps they're only kind-hearted to a certain FEW people...while hating the rest of society?
(would seem that way)
I mean let's face it...KIND-HEARTED individuals usually DO NOT wind up on the business end of a police officer's GLOCK without a damn good REASON, correct? Officers don't randomly SELECT kind-hearted people to go out and shoot for no reason.
Yet, individuals make no bones about shooting LEOs in such a random manner...and too regularly for my taste.
(another "double-standard" in our society?)
What never ceases to amaze me, is how people like Pearson can continue to commit crime and when their time runs out, and they themselves are killed, they "suddenly" become icons for exemplary behavior....that dog just don't hunt for me.
People CAN control their baser instincts...it might not be easy, but no one ever said that life was gonna be just that...did they?
Life is what YOU decide it will be for the most part.
That would explain why, in over 59 years, I have NEVER been arrested nor detained...and I'll be the first one to tell you that life can OFTEN be fraught with complications...you just man up and work THROUGH them...period.
You don't make OTHERS the brunt of YOUR problems...it's that simple.
(( Ed. note - Officer Joshua Franciscy was the LEO involved in the shooting, and was the officer called to scene when a signal 113 went out (shots fired). He is on admin. leave per department regs. ))
*** Lastly today, we're in the throes of the holiday season now...bell-ringers in front of stores, people ALREADY decorating their houses (rolls eyes), music in the air...and to me, it's always a little too much a little too soon...
I like the holidays to come in their OWN time...at their OWN pace, and not in the manner that RETAIL dictates.
I've been part of the "big box" revolution...worked Store Technical Support for the late Circuit City (in THREE states back east), and it's never all fun and games. We busted our share of perps shoplifting, and even solved a break-in at one store w/ the NJ State police.
And all the while, you have to constantly remind yourself that YOU have to remember what the holidays REALLY mean, and that some people WILL want to bastardize that meaning in whatever way they can.
Maybe it's me getting older, but I like a nice slow ride into the holiday season...
I hate when I feel like I'm being shot out of some cannon towards Christmas, and I have little if any control in the matter.
We DO have control of things...all we have to do is remember that.
Like I said above, LIFE is about what you determine it will develop into.
You can roll along with the masses, get all caught up in the spending the cyber-shopping, the whole "% off" gig, but those are shallow victories, if you can even call them that.
Life should be a lot more than such things....and it can be.
But, it takes diligence on our part...
It takes a willingness to WANT to make the season LAST, and it's not by rushing it into our lives every year.
We make things last by the manner in which we remember them...same goes for those loved ones in our lives.
And I think we can take our time, savor this time of year, and enjoy ALL it has to offer each of us.
Just a little something to ponder this week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.