Now, WHO Would Have Thunk It...
It's a pretty important day here in the Heartland (and elsewhere, I suppose).
Hell, any day I wake up and don't see MY name in the OBITS is a damn good day.
But this day has some significance attached to it.
Today marks this here blog's 1500TH POST!
(Geezus, can that boy jawjack...lol)
Well, no one ever said that the truth would be brief in it's commentary, did they?
And really, I have all of YOU to thank (again) for this.
Oh, and today is also NATIONAL PANCAKE DAY, so get yer butts out to IHOP and scarf some down (they're free but they do ask for a charitable donation...not a bad deal either way).
Personally, I think that IhOP PLANNED it that way...marking my "milestone"...but hey, I'm not complaining one bit (and I DO love pancakes...like LOTS of other "crazy people"...LOL).
*** Every once in a while, I go back through my archives, and see where it all began, and what got me to "here" (today), and I have to say I have managed to fill up my share of the Internet, but I view it as something that needed to be done, as I'm sure YOUR blogs have done for you.
And many times, it's what I read in your blogs that "plants the seed" for future posts here.
As we go through life, and if we're fairly aware of things around us (a MUST down here in the ghettohood), you take in so much information on a daily basis, that it becomes almost impossible to disseminate...so your brain goes and stores it all for later use (hopefully).
Something you read last week or last month might become the impetus for a post you find becomes more timely now than it was that month prior.
I know I find myself listening to Neil Cavuto, or Bill O'Reilly, or Lou Dobbs, or even Glenn Beck, and hearing them talk about something I KNOW I posted here weeks ago.
In some cases, it was something I posted here YEARS ago (has it been THAT long?) that surfaces in the local news.
*** For example, the media (here) recently mentioned that Allen County is in the TOP TEN (let the pigeons loose and sound the trumpets) when it comes to METH LABS in the entire state of Indiana...a dubious distinction to be sure, hmm?
They claim that the "shake n bake" ONE POTS are the reason for the increase...but wait.
Way back on 2 September, 2009 I posted HERE about the one-pot method of mobile meth labs...(astounding, Bob).
Here's the link to the recent story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120226/LOCAL07/302269942/1002/LOCAL
Gee, and to think I said these rolling bombs (one-pots) were an issue THREE years ago...like I was ahead of the curve or something.
I know what I know, and certain "training" in what to look for comes in handy from time to time (even if you don't have to do it any longer).
It's like riding a bike...you never really forget how it's done.
*** I also mention frequently that (like the song says) "The CHILDREN are OUR future"...been saying that since this blog started (back in 2006), and yet we see evidence that whatever future is being planned for our children, it's looking a bit less amicable, and a lot more contentious.
Take the shootings at the school in Ohio yesterday.
What about this story about TWO juveniles?
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120228/LOCAL07/302289940/1002/LOCAL
Or how about THIS story about a 15 year old?
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120228/LOCAL07/302289939/1002/LOCAL
(robbing from St. Joe's Catholic Church parking lot, stealing car stereos - we had something similar back in Philly...and that was in the 1980s!)
This is aside from all the drug and alcohol use, as well as gang "initiations".
It paints a rather sad picture of THEIR future, let alone our society's.
I suppose it has a LOT to do with the breakdown of the traditional family unit, as well as the lack of real father figures, peer pressure (which could be a whole post or two by itself), and a decade or two of molly-coddling...becoming more a "friend" to your child, instead of the PARENT you should be.
And perhaps there are more things one could point a finger at.
To those parents who ARE making a go of it, and doing an exemplary job...for God's sake (and yours) don't stop whatever you're doing, because it's working! And we (America) can use all the help we can get these days.
*** Next up, has anyone ever considered one important reason why our gasoline prices continue to rise?
Sure, we hear about government regs that inhibit permissions to drill here or there, the sheer quantities of EXPORTED fuels FROM this nation to others (last year), I said FUEL was this nation's NUMBER ONE EXPORT...while just a few decades ago, that wasn't even in the TOP TWENTY FIVE EXPORTS...amazing, right?
Think on this (that I haven't heard about yet)...Ben Bernanke went and PRINTED a crapload of money within the past 2 years, as an adjunct to all the bailout stuff Obama was floating past us, and that has GOT to bring DOWN the value of OUR DOLLAR...that's a given, because we don't have anything like GOLD to back it the hell up.
With an (artificially) inflated DOLLAR, the price of EVERYTHING goes up, because it take MORE bucks to buy the same crap.
What USED to cost us $50 at the grocery NOW costs us say...$65 bucks.
That logic HAS to apply to FUEL COSTS as well...but I'm not hearing much about THAT.
I'd have to now include the FED (Federal Reserve Bank) as a "playa" in this clusterf$ck.
And I hope others see this as well.
*** Lastly today, getting back to this milestone (small as it might be)...
Why blog in the first place?
Why do YOU blog?
My reasons are simple (as am I...just ask Mrs. Bobby G., and she'll tell you HOW simple I can be):
I think that many of us have been too silent for too long, and we have to initially share some guilt in not overcoming whatever fear we might have had when railing against the forces of evil in today's world...in whatever facade they clothe themselves with.
But our time has come, and speak out we will, and if there is a point of contention, then that person can go start their own blog.
THAT is what freedom is all about.
Another reason is that I have seen this great nation change over the decades...slow, almost imperceptible at times.
Like a stream eroding the banks that allow those waters to wander through a forest.
Many of us know what this nation needs (or the state or the city we live in), and while we might not have the particular resources to fund what we need to enact GOOD change, we CAN (still) voice our views and opinions.
That's where all of US come in.
I enjoy reading all your blogs, because you ALL have something to say...to contribute, and it demonstrates to me that this nation DOES still have the capacity to extricate itself from the precarious position we find ourselves in today (too damn close to that cliff).
I know many of you take the time to comment here, and that is very much appreciated.
Without YOUR input, much of what is said here would be as those seeds falling upon rocky soil.
And let's not forget all the people that just drop by, without ever saying a word (the page views).
Many are coming here just to read, and that's fine by me.
More seeds planted, as it were.
If the only thing you take from here is having to nod your head in agreement, then my work is not without reward, and again, I thank you all.
Many of you must be like-minded in that respect...(and probably like PANCAKES, too...LOL)
So, here's to the NEXT 1500 posts...may they be as well-received as the FIRST 1500.
Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to turn on a light now and then, and provide some food for thought.
(the smiles and laughs are always free, of course).
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.