Humpday Happenings...

If you liked yesterday, then get set for more of the same today.
Our Hooiserland weather will again see us with partly sunny skies, mild breezes and an expected high of around the mid-60s.
Actually, I'm kinda liking this version of Spring...could carry it all the way through Summer, and I won't mind one damn bit.
But, we are due for a warm-up starting tomorrow and lasting through the weekend, so be prepared.
Now, let's all get our morning beverages nestled alongside us as we see what else has been going on, shall we?
*** First out of the barn is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"Society questions the police and their methods, and the police say, Do you want the criminals off the street or not?"
I thought this would fit right in with National Police Week.
So, WHO said this anyway? It might surprise you when you find out, and wouldn't be the person you might expect.
The answer at the top of tomorrow.
Meanwhile, back at the Walt Disney Company...
*** It's also time for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 13 - 
---Today is FROG JUMPING DAY.

I'm sure Calaveras County is loving THIS one.
---It's also LEPRECHAUN DAY

...Oops...

So, go grab some of his Lucky Charms...wait, he might enjoy that, unless....
---And, it's NATIONAL RECEPTIONIST DAY.

I guess they still have them...someplace, but not in the numbers they used to.
*** Next up, you must have heard ro seen that train derailment in Philadelphia that happened last night, but if not, here's the skinny:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/13/amtrak-train-crashes-in-philadelphia-several-people-appear-to-be-injured/
Now, you all know I'm from Philly...but what you probably DON'T know, is that this particular area was part of my "old stomping grounds".
The Frankford Junction used to be a hub of activity of both passenger and freight in it's day.

Back in those good old days

Used to have a proper platform and signal tower for the trains coming and going.
Not any longer...everything looks to be razed, with only a small concrete slab remaining along the mainline.
And it's THERE where we, the rail-fans of the day spent time photographing trains.
Interestingly, back in 1943, the Congressional Limited passenger train crashed there with over 150 dead.

Congressional Limited wreck

The maximum speed for the curve leaving Frankford junction used to be 50 MPH...and it's a wider, sweeping turn, that could even accommodate the likes of the old GG-1 electric locomotives as well as the (then new) Metroliners, which could reach speeds in excess of 80+MPH (but never did along there).

GG-1 engine - Pre-Penn-Central days

Of course, that was back in the late 1970s, and the GG-1s were phased out.
This was after the PRR was first merged into CONRAIL (which failed wonderfully) and then later, AMTRAK (that's been bleeding money ever since).
Federal governments need not own railroads - that should be the domain of the private sector.

PFD going through wreckage

But anyway, this crash last night has 6 dead (so far) and over 100 injured.
Both the PPD and the PFD (police and fire departments) did an exemplary job of both getting on scene (200 officers and over 120 firefighters) to assist those passengers who were self-extricating themselves from the carnage.

Philly's Finest helping survivors

Einstein Hospital seemed to be the "go-to" facility for the majority of victims (my Father spent his last days there - and it's a damn good hospital)
The really odd thing about this area...I used to go to elementary school a few blocks from the junction, and my Uncle Joe used to take me up to the platform, and we'd watch the trains come through.

Our school class even went there to see (then) President Kennedy's train come through on it's way northbound...and that was a STEAM locomotive pulling his passenger cars. We couldn't tell which car he was in, but we waved at all the cars...nice "day trip" for a bunch of 4th graders.
Moving on...
*** Next up, back here in Fort Wayne, today marks the start of the WEED PATROL SEASON (cue that ominous music), which means that NCE will be out placing signs on properties that are in violation of the city ordinance.

DEFINITIVELY a violation.

Weeds must NOT be taller than NINE INCHES...why they chose THAT number beats the hell outta me.
So, it's okay for me to have SEVEN inch tall ones?
What if I have no WEEDS, but my GRASS is nine inches tall?
What about ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, which can get well over a FOOT tall?

Annnddd...another one...

What about the dead body behind the shrubs?
(I'm kidding about that LAST one, but down here, you never can tell)
*** Yesterday, I DID manage to again mow the backyard, and I must say, it grew damn fast over less than two weeks.
Must be all that damn rain we had...
(whew)
At least the dandelion problem is somewhat abated for the time being.
I prefer to do the mowing in three stages
1) The back yard
2) The side lawn
2) Out front and the other side of the house
If I do ALL THREE at one time, I'm beat to hell, and I don't like that at all.
I prefer to do one at a time, do it right with no rush job, and make it look nice
(something others around here have no intention of doing)
We DO tend to stand out a bit as a result...they can bite me.
*** Last back to the stable...The old neighborhoods of mine are a far cry from what I remember as a youth, and even as a young adult.

Hard to find THESE anymore.

Places you recall with fondness no longer exist. Many have changed hands so many times, you wouldn't recognize them if you walked up to the doors.
Some of the places have been torn down, others turned into God knows what for whatever reason, and probably no longer have ENGLISH as a primary language.
Nothing stays the same.
And THIS is called "PROGRESS"?
I know there are so many (former residents that passed) who are turning in their graves over such things, and rightfully so.
Those intimate corner grocery and variety stores, the five and dimes, the privately owned drugstores...all gone.

No progress seen here, either.

In their stead are nail and hair places, used car lots, and other annoyances.
Hell, the old corner taprooms are even gone.
The neighborhood elementary schools are all BUT gone, and kids are bused to Lord knows where to get an education in unfamiliar environments.
Not the kind of progress I, or my parents would have envisioned, that's for sure.
You can never go back is the old saying, and that is SO true.
Why go back, if where you came from has become so foreign?
Yet the past is where you were raised...where you learned...where you played.
At least the memories have survived...and maybe some photographs in some dusty album.

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