And regarding that, all I can say is that THESE young (compared to me, damn near everyone else IS these days...LOL) men are pretty close to the pinnacle of perfection.
Gleave Fencing does a good job with the personnel they have on board.
They've been extremely efficient, well schooled in their trade, and they even like ROCK music...(okay the LAST one was a wish granted unknowingly - I haven't heard Led Zep played in THIS neighborhood OUTside in over a DECADE...a welcome relief to ALL the incessant thumping from the ghetto-fleas).
I did have to feel a bit sorry for our "bunny" friend, though.
He loves to come by and "supervise" what goes on, and with the deconstruction of the OLD fence (chainsaws, saws-all and some grunting), he was beside himself trying to get back to our patio.
After the men left, he DID come back around to get his fill at our "buffet" (no coupons required, BTW).
Today, we get the NEW cedar fence put up and tomorrow, we get to ENJOY a structure that will thumb it's nose at the damn wind we get around here (that had the OLD fence swaying in the breeze like a drunken sailor on liberty).No more of THAT crap for us...no sir!
Gleave even walled off the open perimeter (overnight) with some SNOW-FENCE...the orange plastic grid-like stuff they use a lot around pools and on farms.
That meant I didn't have to sit out on the patio, trying to NOT nod out while holding my shotgun at the ready...!
I have managed to talk with the workers about some things. Hey, I enjoy a good chat as much as they next guy...because around HERE, aside from Wifey, I don't GET THE CHANCE, as no one is up to the "task" of decent conversation.
They DID tell me they've done a LOT of work at our very own Fort Wayne's Children's Zoo...like the upgraded Penguin area, as well as the new Giraffe platform and some of the Outback...most impressive. That's a good contract to have in this city, and these two men are fine examples of good workmanship.
So, I hope you will forgive any tardiness I display today posting this...I'll be outside with the workers in case they need a third set of hands...you never can tell, compiling this blog, doing some laundry, AND having my coffee...just not ALL AT ONCE.
With that said, let's get on to other things...
*** We have an "update" of sorts regarding the LATEST homicide in Ft. Wayne.
Here's the story link from today's paper:
Okay, so now the police are surmising it was a SHOOTOUT...big surprise there, especially with SO many rounds apparently being expended (it sure was qualification day at the FWPD range, that's for certain).
I did get a laugh over the *20* that was mentioned...that the 4600 block of Spatz was NEAR Sherwood Terrace (that tracks) and LAFAYETTE ST (that is not entirely true, unless you consider that the FW airport is NEAR Menards...(which it is not).Someone at the J-G needs to REALLY check thier map or GPS. Spatz is located a LOT closer to HANNA than Lafayette St.
Our "Fortress" IS located near Lafayette...a lot nearer (my God to thee).
Now, if the police are still trying to piece together the scenario, WHY are they not releasing MORE information, in order to alert the public for any tips that could produce solid leads?
And, could THIS homicide be related to that Winter St. shooting 2 weeks back that sent one to hospital?
If you recall, after that story aired, it was buried immediately...no name of the person shot, no followup as to condition or release, and no status as to whether the person KNEW the shooter and/or If this might be drug or gang-related...curiouser and curiouser.
Now, I'm not saying these two shootings WERE related...probably not, knowing the number of "crims and yo-yos" we have down here in the ghettohood...but they MIGHT be, and perhaps THAT is something worth pursuing.
It's also a better chance at lifting a print, which makes the case for "policing your brass" (or using a revolver).
No one ever said these perps were SMART...did they?
(least of all me)
With all the "crossfire" as Off. Raquel Foster mentions, I find it damn ODD that no collateral damage was inferred or mentioned, such as house damage, bullet holes in other vehicles on the street, and so on...
Let's face it, these perps are NO "Top Shots" when it comes to shootings like these....that's why they follow the rule of "spray and pray".
Nothing SURGICAL about their modus operandi...at all.
(be like doing heart surgery with a MACHETE, in fact)
Where are the neighbors who SHOULD be pissing a fit over such happenings?
Where are the BLACK COMMUNITY leaders, decrying the senseless gun play along streets filled with THEIR people?
Where is the MEDIA, who should be interviewing people in and around the area, especially those who have lived there for longer than say FIVE years, and ask them how THEY feel about the area, and what THEY see is changing around them.
There is SO much more news that COULD be properly exploited, in order to shame the city and connected departments into some form of positive action to change the way things are headed.
Face it, SOMEONE downtown has got some dirty hands, and exposing the REAL problems in areas like Spatz might be the impetus to get them to do SOMETHING about it.
What happened to the days when patrolling officers KNEW most residents on their "beat"...got to know store owners, knew who the troublemakers were, and managed to keep a better lid on crime, preventing much of it from developing into the results we see today?
We've spent millions to better TRAIN officers for the changing trends on our streets, too.
So crime SHOULD have been going the hell DOWN all these years...right?
Not really...it's going UP, in fact.
And I will maintain you have TWO major causes for such an anomaly:
1) The ignorance by many departments when it comes to the Broken Window Theory.
2) Officers NOT fully-acquainted with the area they patrol.
When you hear an officer asking for DIRECTIONS on the radio...in an area they should know...that shakes your confidence.
I WILL say that when officers (here) arrive on scene, they DO take charge of the situation ASAP, and exude a fine level of professionalism as well they should.
But many times, this is ALL after the fact (or rather, after the crime).
TO be able to PREVENT crime is not negating the job OF the officer...it exemplifies it.
Investigation has it's OWN place in police work, but it ALSO can be used as a PREVENTIVE tool (if applied properly), as opposed to using it as a follow up to a crime.
And making as many FACTS available to the general public does not automatically force a perp "underground"...
It ALERTS the citizens that perhaps THEY can aid in jailing these criminals, because THE CITIZENS are also the ones residing in the areas of the crimes, while the police officers are usually not.
Look at the difference between the SPATZ and the SHOREWOOD shootings...
Down at SPATZ, the citizens don't appear to be as concerned, and have either accepted this as the status quo, or shrug it off as they have become desensitized to crime itself. They'd rather hold PARTIES.
Time and again, you might hear people lying to themselves in the ghettohood, saying "This is a nice neighborhood...nothing like this ever happened before". Depends on what you define as being "a nice neighborhood"...doesn't it?
Just because you DIDN'T have a shootout last week, doesn't make it "nice and quiet", especially with ALL the unarrested "boomcar boyz" thumping about...does it?
What about that domestic that spilled out into the middle of the damn street? Is THAT part of your "nice and quiet" neighborhood?
Or that constantly barking dog?
Or those screaming kids that are left unsupervised to roam in and out of the streets, tossing rocks at one another?
(Mark Twain always said that DENIAL was not just a river in Egypt)
Perhaps this incident at Spatz was a "neutral" turf shootout...like the Sharks and the Jets from West Side Story...perhaps not.
But until and unless information becomes forthcoming a lot sooner, way too many (in other areas) will be in the dark as to why their neighborhood became something akin to the O.K. Corral the other night.
"A well-informed citizenry is the only true repository for the public will..."
But I didn't say that...THOMAS JEFFERSON did...and he was right.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
2 comments:
Wish I could follow your lead on the fence replacement. Mine's in sad shape. Sadly, I'm going to have to make do with patching it up some for now.
Remember, good fences make good neighbors. :)
John:
I've been "driving down your street" with OUR fence for the past few years, if you catch my drift...got tired of fixing it up, only to have it undone by the next wind storm.
The STEEL posts are the way to go.
And YES, good fences DO make good neighbors!
(and even better platforms for long gun sniping...LOL.)
Sorry...did I say that?
I was just thinking out loud again.
Thanks much for rolling on up today and commenting.
You stay safe out there.
Post a Comment