These Are The Times...

...That try mens' souls goes the quote, and you have to admit times today can be VERY trying on the best of days.
We'll explore that in just a bit, but let's see what the Hoosierland weather is going to be like.
You'll not only believe it's Spring, but actually SUMMER by the time we hit today's high of damn near EIGHTY DEGREES.
And for us in the ghettohood, that means LOTS of too-long, ill-fitting satin shorts with exposed underwear and spindly legs under them...LOL.
(must be a "cultural thang")
We also have a great sunrise staring at us, which is a nice way to begin ANY day (anywhere ELSE that is).
No precipitation to speak of (that comes later this week), so it's going to be a wonderful day to pull some weeds and dandelions off that lawn.
Now, with that said, let's get rolling and see what's been happening...
*** FWPD officers ID'ed in police action shooting.
Here's the story link:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130429/NEWS/130429598/1005

The two officers on admin. leave are Cameron Norris and John Drummer.
(that's two MORE patrolmen NOT on our streets for the next 5 days)
Now, believe it or not, I have an indirect connection to one of the officers.
Officer Cameron Norris was the patrolman that came to our house the day I took some pictures of a suspicious vehicle that the police were "interested" in.
He was the officer I gave that flash-drive to with the pictures on it...and it was he who returned the drive 2 days later.
Refer to my post from 30 July 2012 for that story.
Seemed a congenial enough officer to me, but then again, I wasn't running from him after a 30 T/S with a gun on my person...was I?
In a related story...
*** Community rallies after police shooting.
Here's this story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/community-rallies-after-fatal-police-shooting

Amazing how FAST that community came together for THAT, wasn't it?
(like they were waiting for some excuse to blame the police yet again)
Marcus Haney (older brother of the recently-deceased Tavonte) stated "there's more to the story. Everyone wants to know. I want to know personally."
Well, given time, you WILL find out the truth...be patient.
Some things don't happen for your instant gratification...like you're used to.
*** So, when someone tells you to DO something do you automatically do it...even it's the voices IN YOUR HEAD?

Well, one man did just that yesterday when he took an impromptu "swim" in the St. Mary's river, and I suppose when you're a schizophrenic sitting near a river in Fort Wayne (when perhaps you SHOULD be institutionalized), things like this WILL happen.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130430/LOCAL07/304309987
He was rescued and is in critical condition and after 16 minutes, EMTs were finally able to get a pulse.
What the outcome of this trauma will be remains unclear (but I'll bet those voices won't be back soon).
Yep, we've got ALL kinds on OUR streets...sometimes right beside you...cool, huh?
Well, that's what we have instead of what we were promised...
*** Lastly...Modern times are a far cry from what was once envisioned by people say, back in the 1950s.

We were supposed to have all these cool gadgets to make life EASIER...but nothing was ever said about nuclear proliferation, global pandemics, or radical Islamists both here and abroad wanting us in America DEAD.

There was supposed to be an end to worldwide hunger, and we've taken care of that nicely here in the USA with EBT cards and SNAP programs designed to keep those on the government dole...perpetually on that dole...while other nations STILL have people starving to death.

We DID manage to get in step with information-gathering...Lord KNOWS we got that out the wazoo, and it's been both a boon AND a bane to mankind.

While the advent of computers and online access to damn near anything has grown exponentially, so has online HACKING and IDENTITY THEFT.

I'd have to give this one a washout...no real gain here.

We have fewer people in our churches these days compared to he 1950s, and a push to acknowledge atheists whenever they piss and moan about some prayer at a graduation, in spite of the fact that every morning Congress starts their day with a prayer.
Patriotism has taken it on the chin in our nation's rush to embrace every other nation for whatever reason suits "our fancy".

What we used to call American Exceptionalism, has given way in some instances to overseas plagiarism in technologies and advances.

Where once we were able to take care of every sick person in this country, we are fast becoming a nation that has to "pick and choose" who needs what and how much it will cost, thanks to the "Affordable Care Act"...talk about a mis-named venue.

And while we used to be a lot less IN DEBT as a nation, we have chronic spending for useless people, departments, agencies and sundry other "things" to the point where we are fast becoming a DEBTOR NATION.

So, where is my personal "jet-pack", my flying car, and a world that held itself in much higher esteem anyway?

We must have gotten sidetracked...someplace.

We have so much LESS of what we were supposed to have by now, and so much MORE of what we didn't even want or need.
THAT is what these times are all about, and yes, they are VERY trying to every one of us.
Many of us can't even do simple things like walk down our streets, mow our lawns, or go to a store without being accosted in some manner.
Can't leave the house empty without some sort of ALARM system either these days.

Rather than free us to do more in the world, many have become prisoners in their own homes.
Look around and see all the nice, scrolled BARS on windows and doors...it's all there for SECURITY...not to look pretty.
The only place you SHOULD have bars on doors or windows are PRISONS...and that's to keep the BAD guys INSIDE.
We are a people with less freedom than 60 years ago, and much of it is SO damn subtle, we're not even aware of it.
This is becoming a case for degrees...as in how much freedom are we losing and are we truly safer because of it.

When do we reach that tipping point, and will we even notice?
It was once said by Benjamin Franklin that he who sacrifices freedom for security deserves NEITHER, and when you look around the world today, we're not as free OR as secure as we once were...that's pretty sobering stuff.
Still, we have it within us all to right such wrongs...get back on track and reverse this downward slide into who knows what.
It just takes time...and persistence.
THOSE...we should still have in abundance.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
((See 'ya next month!))