You would never know by the look of the early morning skies that today will wind up PARTLY cloudy with a high around 87 , would you?
We hear tell of even some FOG in the area...not any I can see, unless you call the perpetual "fog" the locals wander around in noteworthy.
Wait..I think the sun is breaking through.
In any event, today promises to be a "calm before the storm" type of day, as we're expected to get some rain and possibly severe weather by later tonight and into tomorrow. We shall see. Wait..I think the sun is breaking through.
Sure makes mowing the lawns more than a "part-time" consideration.
But, it IS better than a damn drought.
Meanwhile, let's sit back, take it a bit easier and enjoy the day as best we can.
*** First out the barn today - Wifey got her new Droid 4 smartphone yesterday via FedEx. A very charming young black woman delivered it (and she can handle a box truck...very nice) Her voice and demeanor was so UN-ghetto and professional, I was taken aback and smiled the whole time I signed the electronic "pad" for the delivery.
Tell you one thing, if this city could use something positive, it would a LOT more like this woman. Bet the locals down here wouldn't know HOW to appreciate such a fine role model.
WRONG.
The next thing I know, the lovely Mrs. Bobby G. is calling me into the other room to ask if I can remove the SIM card from her new phone.
OOOOooooKaaaayyyy, I'll play the game.
Took me damn near 15 minutes to get the friggin' tiny thing out, (using a toothpick to guide the bugger out from under some dumbass metal plate).
So, mission accomplished, right?
A little later she asked me to see if I could snap the back plate on.
Hell, THAT should be a LOT easier than that damn SIM card...
WRONG!
(I'm seeing a pattern develop here...LOL)
The trick is to slide the back into a "groove" and then it all goes together...not a chance in hell of that happening, and I used to work with electronics (when parts were a lot bigger and went together easier). After 10 minutes of fussin' and cussin', I handed the stuff to Wifey and told her to drive to the Verizon store and let THEM do it.
She did, THEY did, and problem solved (until we have to take that back off again...NEVER!!).
User friendly? Not in your wildest dreams, folks!
Moving on...
*** An update to the latest homicide (number 23 for the "dead pools").
Here's the story, followed by the RAP SHEET of the victim.
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/police-investigating-fatal-shooting-at-american-legion-parking-lot
02D04-9011-IF-033511 Totton, Jabron Q 11/19/1990
Allen Superior Court 4 IF - Infraction
Decided LEARNER'S PERMIT VIOL
02D04-9108-IF-025735 Totton, Jabron Q 08/26/1991
Allen Superior Court 4 IF - Infraction
Decided LEARNER'S PERMIT VIOL
DISREG STOP OR YIELD SIGN
02D04-9204-CF-000199 Totton, Jabron Q 04/23/1992
Allen Superior Court 4 CF - Criminal Felony
Decided ROBBERY
ROBBERY
02D04-9207-CM-018754 Totton, Jabron Q 07/27/1992
Allen Superior Court 5 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided MINOR CONSUMING ALCOHOL
02D04-9403-CF-000145 Totton, Jabron 03/03/1994
Allen Superior Court 6 CF - Criminal Felony
Decided ESCAPE
02D04-9806-IF-010819 Totton, Jabron Q 06/09/1998
Allen Superior Court 6 IF - Infraction
Decided UNSAFE MOVE LANE TO LANE
02D04-0002-CM-001215 Totton, Jabron Q 02/14/2000
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided CRIMINAL CONVERSION
02D04-0101-OV-000075 Totton, Jabron Q 01/17/2001
Allen Superior Court 4 OV - Local Ordinance Violation
Decided VIOL FT WAYNE SPEED ORD
02D04-0107-IF-012695 Totton, Jabron Q 07/24/2001
Allen Superior Court 6 IF - Infraction
Decided FAILURE WEAR SAFETY BELT
02D04-0202-CM-001159 Totton, Jabron Q 02/12/2002
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA
02D04-0310-OV-003355 Totton, Jabron Q 10/03/2003
Allen Superior Court 5 OV - Local Ordinance Violation
Decided VIOL FT WAYNE SPEED ORD
02D04-1006-IF-006371 567966 Totton, Jabron Q 06/10/2010
Allen Superior Court 6 IF - Infraction
Decided EXCEED MAX LAWFUL SPEEDS
02D04-1008-IF-009917 597636 Totton, Jabron Q 08/17/2010
Allen Superior Court 5 IF - Infraction
Decided FAILURE WEAR SAFETY BELT
02D04-1103-IF-002143 603141 TOTTON, JABRON Q 03/08/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 IF - Infraction
Decided 9-19-10-2/IFD: Failure of Occupant to Use Safety Belt
02D05-1201-IF-000854 671512 TOTTON, JABRON Q 01/31/2012
Allen Superior Court 5 IF - Infraction
Decided 9-21-5-3/IFC: Speeding - Exceeding Posted Speed
====ADDRESSES=====
3418 LILLIE ST
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
3209 Lillie St
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
2623 Trentman Ave
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
====================
Gee, and this man doesn't seem to be the saint I'm sure family and friends will say he is, or was.
Thing is, NOBODY comes close to being perfect, but when you are in the court system SO often, that they all know you by either your FIRST NAME or correctional facility NUMBER, you're a bit FARTHER from perfection than the rest of us, and that's just FACT.
I don't know any of these victims, and personally, given their "stellar" records, I wouldn't WANT to know them.
But in certain cultural circles, such people are lauded as WONDERFUL individuals...never hurt anyone, the life of parties, good fathers...well, you get the drift.
And to me, that's sailing a leaky boat into DENIAL.
*** There was a time when such dubious family members were actually SHUNNED by others in that family...they were considered pariahs, or "black sheep".Then again, that was a time when a lot FEWER people were arrested for doing things they weren't supposed to be doing.
Today, we give such people that "free pass"...as if to say "everyone's a WINNER", when it fact, they are most certainly not.
I make no bones about the fact that I have NEVER been arrested in over 60 years (yet), and it's not because I have led a perfect life.
Far from it, actually.But, I have managed to make distinctions when it comes to certain behaviors...AND when it comes to following the laws.
Sure I drove my cars shit-faced a few times in younger days, but after a SEVERE dressing down by Dad after bragging about it once to him, that was enough to set me back on the right path.
And, I've always attempted to reason my way out of arguments, rather than resort to physical confrontations, but I never shot anyone dead if that failed, either.
Yet, in days such as these, being able to reason with MOST ALL of these mooks simply is not the desired option (for them). They do not WANT to reason.
That requires something we call EFFORT!
And if we're not escalating to some level of violence, we're definitely increasing the level of suing one another...again, for the most trivial of things in life.
So, in some ways, it's like being caught between the sh*t and the fan.
All of this, performed by all of US is a far cry from the more civil manner in which we USED to conduct our lives.
As I said, when a drunk was argumentative, they were "86'ed" and then escorted out the door (and always back home, sometimes in the back of a patrol car). These days, you just go shoot 'em in the parking lot, because SOMEONE cannot reason and make a much better decision regarding the PROPER use of violence.
Yes, violence DOES serve a purpose (war is the prime example), when applied in the right manner for the right reason, and it, like a few other things in life, is meant to be used SPARINGLY. It's NEVER to be considered a universal panacea for every little thing, or a means to a frivolous end.
When you come to DEPEND on violence to solve any and every problem, the "efficacy" of violence diminishes, and we will become more desensitized to it's presence, and it's results.
And I make the claim that the wholesale manner in which life has become cheaper than the American dollar as a case in point.
If ANY of these homicide victims, as well as all the shooters involved were busy NOT doing the things that either got them shot dead, or made them shoot someone dead, how would crime be affected?I have said that we are on pace to have FORTY homicides this year...and I might be WRONG in that assessment.
(a refreshing change, even for me)
A story on WANE says we're on track to see FIFTY HOMICIDES this year in Fort Wayne, and that would break the old record of 42, which occurred back in 1997, I believe.
Here's their story link (by Megan Reust) and it's a good read:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/fort-wayne-on-pace-to-have-50-homicides-in-2013-mreIt's easy enough for me to do the math, even if I UNDER-estimated the total by 10.
Now, we here can look to those other cities and see what they've done wrong (or right) and attempt to learn from them to fully address the problem we have here and now, but whatever this city does to decrease the crime and deaths, it HAS to understand fully what the ROOT cause of the problem is.
And it's NOT guns...or poverty...or even gangs.
They are but results (or tools) from the SYMPTOMS of a larger issue, and one can say it's cultural or societal in nature.
THAT is where you begin the process of fighting crime.
*** We have become an IMMATURE CULTURE..simple as that.
Our society has changed significantly since the 1960s. Some changes were good, while others were purely counter-productive.
We have been slowly devolving, while technologies around us have been evolving. Not a good mix.
Family breakdowns, the lack of morality, disregard for authority, lack of personal responsibility have been one side of the coin, while on the other you've had an overabundance of tolerance, political correctness, forced self-esteem, lack of proper punishment for crimes committed, and the emergence of the entitlement mentality.
Add all these up and it's little wonder we find ourselves in the situation that we've allowed to happen.
We can fight these things, but given the roots they have sunk into our society, it won't be easy to yank it all out like some dandelion, and call it done.
It will take a LOT of things we still have within us, such as courage, persistence, and vigilance, along with our decision to make GOOD choices, rather than bad ones, to speak the truth whenever and wherever we find it, and take the heat from those who live under the umbrella of ignorance whenever we DO speak the truth..
And like I always say, we can do it in the smallest of increments...little by little. "With enough people properly performing the smallest tasks, the largest of results will be seen straight away."
(yes, you may quote me)
Stay SAFE out there, America.
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