Tales From the SOUTH Side...

It looks to be a nice start to this first Thursday of September. Today's weather will be fair with highs in the upper 70s, lots of sunshine and a mild breeze.

Yeah, I know ...sounds too good to be true, but there it is.
So, without any further delay, let's get busy and see what's going on...
*** First up, the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"I cannot remember a time when the Golden Rule was not my motto and precept, the torch that guided my footsteps."

This is attributed to James Cash Penney, and yes, he IS the "Penney" you might be familiar with.
Here's his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cash_Penney
The venerable J.C. Penney (16 Sep 1875 - 12 Feb 1971) who founded the store chain back in 1902.
And he started out by WORKING in a small chain of stores in the western USA called Golden Rule Stores...probably at MINIMUM WAGE.
(bet they didn't even have such a thing back then)
Goes to show that you CAN work your way UP the ladder.
He impressed the two owners that much with his work ethic that he was asked to go in on a third partnership in a new store, so Penney invested a whopping $2000, moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming, and opened a store there.

Penney bought controlling interest in three of these new stores, and by 1912, there were 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain states.
He moved to Salt Lake City, Utah the following year, and incorporated them into the J.C. Penney Company.
Following the crash of 1929, Penney lost almost all of his personal wealth, became depressed and checked himself into the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
After hearing the hymn "God Will Take Care of You" sung at the facility's chapel, Penney became a born-again Christian.

Suffice it to say, his health improved and his fortunes again rose.
In 1940, while visiting a  Des Moines Iowa store, he taught a young SAM WALTON how to wrap packages with a minimal amount of ribbon.

His is a truly remarkable story, anf proves that America IS a land of opportunity.
Moving on...
*** Yes, another shooting in Fort Wayne, but no fatality.

Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/news/crime/man-shot-drives-self-to-hospital
The only ODD thing about this, is that the man walked into St. Joe Hospital and NOT Parkview Randallia (which was closer).

Clara St off of Kentucky

Other than that, more "bid'ness as usual" in this part of town.
Police did attempt to contact a man at 1109 Clara St, but were unsuccessful.
The victim was shot in the leg and was listed in serious condition.
(( Here's an update from WOWO - :A disagreement with an acquaintance leads to one person in serious condition. According to police, Curtis Henderson reports that he was shot in the leg by Ian 
Leftakes, who was at the Rusty Spur with him earlier in the night. The shooting happened just 
before 4:00 A.M. in the area of Kentucky Avenue and Clara, near Northside Park. Henderson 
then drove himself to St. Joe Hospital. Leftakes was found and was willingly taken in by 
police for questioning. ))
Big surprise - a "disagreement" escalates with booze and testosterone.
And that's about all she wrote for now.
*** My (read our) trip to the urologist yesterday went as well as could be expected.
I WILL say that the Carew Building in the medical area near Parkview is spectacular.

Parkview Randallia main entrance

First of all, there's FREE parking in their own garage (LOTS of it).
The INTERIOR of the place is extremely well thought out - everything off of a "hub" layout, so the architect did a great job there.
They have a fountain/atrium and lots of seating, even outside the suite we went to.
Anyway, we go in, I fill out the obligatory paperwork, and the doc sees me.
We go over the ultrasound, and although the swelling was not "helped" by my accident, there is sign of an infection, either viral or bacterial in nature.
That's where the MEDS come in, thankfully.
I also had to endure a prostate exam...nowhere near as "bad" as the one they give you in the military physical...not as impersonal...LOL.

It's not really THAT bad...lol.

The doc said my prostate was slightly large, but nothing to worry about at my age...typically normal...that's good to know.
But my chest x-ray did show small signs of COPD..so much for running any long events for  a while
Yeah, I should quit smoking, and maybe THIS will shake my tree enough to motivate me into action.
I have to return for another ultrasound next week , plus a followup visit to the doc later on this month.

So far...so good. I'm not in any real pain, but my appetite's not as ravenous as it usually is, but I attribute that to STRESS...plain and simple.
Gotta take meds with breakfast, and I don't usually DO breakfast..a slight "speed-bump" there.
Found out my doc went to UofP Med school in Philly...34th St. I know the location VERY well, as I often visited there to secure copyrights for the publishing company I worked for at the time (W.B,. Saunders), so the doc and I got a sort of "history" there.
Overall, it was as good an experience as could be had, under the circumstances.
*** The drive back was a bit more "interesting", as the Lovely Mrs. Bobby G. was at the helm of the Wifeymobile, and chose to drive down the length of Hanna St. If you want to talk GHETTO...man, that is the place to start.

Felt like two drops of LIQUID PAPER on a damn driveway...LOL
I'd say that every 5th or 6th house was a board-up, but there were a FEW that still tried to look nice. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb.
God bless THOSE folks...I know how THEY feel.
The weird part to the drive was all the places I had seen in the MEDIA regarding SHOOTINGS and HOMICIDES...like every block had SOME location of notoriety, like that Marathon Station, and that VFW post.
Now, just because the people infesting...I mean "living" along there are not the richest around, doesn't mean they have to allow the area to go to hell in such a deplorable manner.
Sweep the streets, mow the lawns, take some PRIDE in where you live, and maybe you COULD have it look a lot less ghetto.

Of course, that would require something called WORK, and we know how those creatures feel about that, don't we?
It's pretty sad, and although I would not recommend driving through the area most of the time, those that care about this city NEED to drive through it, to see the side of Fort Wayne that no one wants to talk about.
I can say that THAT area (Hanna St.corridor) makes OUR area look nice, and that's really going some there.
*** Lastly today, the SAGA of BEOROOF continues...

All of the house seems to be complete except for the FRONT side of the house, which still needs the tear-off and re-papering and shingles.

This photo is two days old.

It should all be completed by either late Friday or early Saturday.
The dumpster is expected to be gone sometime tomorrow, so I'll be able to extricate the "Batmobile" once again, and Wifey will be able to pull out without having me as a lookout.

And not ONE "neighbor" jumped in - damn shame.

This new roof is something we've been meaning to do, and needed to be done, especially in light of the recent raccoon situation, but, as Murphy's Law always reminds us:
"If anything can go wrong..it WILL (and usually at the worst time)". 
Damn shame we can't find that GOOD time to counter that one.
I certainly did not expect this medical condition to stir the already muddy waters here, but you do what you have to do.
You hate to spend money you shouldn't have to, but sh*t happens, and I suppose the manner in which we address it is just as important as the matters themselves.
You can ACT...or REACT.
Both will work, but the actions we take often fare better for us rather than the reactions we are prone to pursue.
One path follows reason, while the other follows emotion.
Therein lies the lesson for today, folks.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.