Humpday Happenings...

Welcome to our favorite mid-week crisis that we like to call Wednesday.
From here on out, it's all either uphill or downhill, depending on your POV.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will be a continuance of yesterday's fair weather with mostly sunny skies, a bit breezier than yesterday and a high up around the mid- 60s.
That's not to bad a pill to swallow, is it?
So, why don't you get your morning drink and I'll get mine, and together we'll see that's been going on elsewhere...
*** First off of the kitchen counter is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril." 

Sure sounds like something for THESE perilous times in our nation, does it not?
So, WHO said it?
The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back in the "show-me" state...
*** Next up, is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
March 30 -
---Today is NATIONAL LITTLE RED WAGON DAY

(Wonder if litle Timmy is STILL collecting scrap for the war effort?
---It's also NATIONAL DOCTORS DAY

I NEVER get the CUTE ones.

(Open wide and say "ahhh")
---And, it's NATIONAL I AM IN CONTROL DAY

Are we REALLY???

(must be a GOVERNMENT acknowledgement here...heh)
---It's NATIONAL PENCIL DAY

(Ticonderoga #2s of the world UNITE)
---And, it's NATIONAL TAKE A WALK IN THE PARK DAY

(I would if we had a park nearby, AND a lot less crime)
---It's also NATIONAL TURKEY NECK SOUP DAY

(You make that...I'll pass)
---And, it's MANATEE APPRECIATION DAY

(The little mermaid, they ain't)
*** Next up, and since I am awaiting the late receipt of our morning paper (please, not this shit again), we'll have to "take the long way around" to get the news, so bear with me.

They are taking down the iconic GE logo sign atop the former plant along Broadway.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Vandalism-forcing-GE-s-hand-12297083

Back in the heydays

Now the reason for doing this is because there has been vandalism in that "campus", and that the sign has seen damage.

But the solution to this problem is typical Fort Wayne - Take the sign DOWN and MOVE it INTO a building ON that campus (that has been vandalized)!
How's THAT for flawed logic? I thought you'd see it that way, too.
How is that any sort of "win" scenario?

Losing our icons, AND our "identity".

It just means the vandals can break back into a building (apparently at their whim) and destroy the sign INSIDE, rather than be exposed to the elements...yeah, makes perfect sense.
Kinda like having fewer patrols to stem crime on the SE side, isn't it?
*** Next up, more proof that our economy can't make up it's damn mind as to what it's doing.
Here's the first link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/US-stocks-rise-as-Fed-emphasizes-slow-interest-rate-pace-12294802

"Onward, and upward"

Okay, so this tells us that when stocks rise, that's a good thing, right?
Not so fast...there's also THIS link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/business/US-stocks-slide-as-oil-prices-decline--hitting-energy-stocks-12290287
Now, this story paints a more dire picture, and it has to do with energy stocks.
So, which is it, people? Are we in good shape or not?

"Where's my puke-bag?"

This is like riding a roller coaster at Coney Island...blindfolded.
You just don't know what's gonna happen next, right?
Whatta world.
*** Next, our soul music blasting, tricycle riding moron came by FOUR times yesterday.
I called the FWPD on his ass (once), and the dispatcher seemed to be wanting to be elsewhere as she took my call. Not a good start, and some bad "customer service" (imho).

Check out the rear-mount SPEAKER.

First off, they don't even ID themselves - just a simple "hello"...WTH?
Next, when you explain the situation, there is ALWAYS a pause, as if they're deciding to BELIEVE you or not.
I was actually put ON HOLD as dispatch "had to check" on the trike-guy (who was getting farther away).
I told her the direction of travel and described the transportation and the speakers...it's like they never heard of such things.
Down here, you see LOTS of things that stretch the boundaries of BELIEF...trust me.
She came back and said they couldn't do anything but notify officers in the area (yeah, if any).
Thanks for NOTHING, toots.

Sure SEEMS like Fort Wayne

Been a real displeasure dealing with you.

I think she was transferred to FWPD dispatch.

For non-emergency calls, dispatch seems about as useless as tits on a damn bull.
That's changed a lot from a mere 10 years ago.
Welcome to the SE side of Fort Wayne...and people wonder WHY this part of town has become the way it is. Not me.
*** Next, actress Patty Duke has passed away at the age of (only) 69. Here's her WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Duke

I've been a quiet fan of hers since she hit the TV screen (as twins). I first saw her in a decent 1959 movie starring Robert Lansing titled: The 4D Man (check it out...pretty good premise). And everyone remembers her in The Miracle Worker.
BTW, you might know her son...actor SEAN ASTIN (from her marriage to actor John Astin aka Gomez Addams)

Although Duke stated that she believed that Desi Arnaz, Jr was Sean's biological father, it was revealed that the real father was Michael Tell.
*** Next up, yesterday, we took delivery of our new refrigerator.

I got a call around 1020 hrs notifying me the guys were running EARLY and that they would be here in about 15 minutes.

The Fortress's new refrigerator.

Well, that got me to emptying the old fridge in record time. Used BOTH 20 gallon bins as well as two other coolers to stow all the stuff.
And sure enough, the men came when they said they would.
By then, I had the old fridge pulled out, shut off and the cord wrapped behind the unit, ready to leave.
While the guys were taking off the packing on the new one (sorry, no boxes for smaller units like ours to play with), I got to talking to them. Very personable and knowledgeable.
That's a damn good start.
The door hinges were swapped to a LEFT-hand open (that works better in our kitchen), and it wasn't long before the new unit was plugged in and running.
And...it was QUIET!
None of that damn loud humming (and definitely no clunks when it shut off later on).
In fact, one might way the quiet was DEAFENING (and quiet is something we don't get MUCH of these days in THIS part of the ghettohood).
Nice to have some inside the house, though.

The thing that I found VERY cool was the METHOD the two men (Grant and Tim) used to haul the new unit IN, and the old unit OUT. It's something called "forearm forklifts" - straps that are used in place of the old hand-trucks.
I told them whoever dreamed these up is probably kicking back on some estate along a Caribbean island beach, counting his money! I've never seen these before, and, having hauled around my share of appliances, these are just plain AWESOME.
Wish I had them 30 years ago...lol.
Coulda saved some wear and tear in the old back.
When the men left, there was no trash around, everything was done to specs (door swap, leveling the unit), and you would never know that anyone was even there at all.
I'd have to say this was one of the BEST customer experiences I've had since our fence was put up several years ago. Best Buy has that "best" part down pretty damn well.
And both Grant AND Tim showed real professionalism and care when doing the install and haul-away.

Tim                   Grant

I can easily see doing business with Best Buy again.
And I would ask that Tim and Grant deliver whatever we get that needs delivery.
For me, this first foray into the MAJOR ONLINE PURCHASE realm netted a definite WIN for us, and if I were as young as I was when I worked for Circuit City, I'd apply to Best Buy.
As it stands, I'll settle for getting our appliances there.
*** Last back to the breakfast table...a company...ANY company is only as good as it's worst employee.

And that means the GOOD employees have to bring their "A" game on the floor or on the street...every day.
When you hire people that have the right demeanor, give a damn about what they do, and leave you with a good feeling at the end of a productive day, that says a lot about America in general, and those employees in particular.
It hearkens back to days when we could out-produce every nation on the planet, and make quality items as we did so. I wish I could say the same today.
Sure, there are pockets of "resistance" - a few companies that still reflect the ideals of what this nation has to offer, but that's not the majority of cases these days, and that's a real shame.
Places like where we bought our refrigerator from, and the people THEY hire are what is keeping much of this country afloat and a vital part of what it means to live and work here.
And working here is preferable to damn near anywhere else on the entire globe.
Sure, you always have a few bad apples in the bunch, but that's everywhere. They do get weeded out (sometimes taking longer than necessary).
And, you will have a boss or two that always seems to suffer from some form of cranial-rectal inversion, but this does not represent the majority of situations, thankfully.

It's coming. It HAS to.

America doesn't need to be MADE great again (and certainly not by any ONE person or boisterous rhetoric)...we're STILL great.
Our problem is, many of us have been busy allowing ourselves to become so misdirected and distracted, that we FORGOT it. We forgot our greatness, and some days, I don't think we're all that concerned about where we left it. Our nation IS (and always has been) great.
When we all start to remember THAT, things will turn out a lot better for all of us.
We just need to reinvest in OURSELVES and believe that what we set our minds to, we can accomplish.

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