Friday Follies...

And here we are then...end of the week, and almost the end of the month.
(October begins on Sunday)
Sorry for being a bit tardy...things to do, you know.
I am liking this recent cool-down around our neck of the woods, too.
Always nice to NOT have to run the A/C...or the furnace.  That's called being cost-effective when it comes to those nasty utility bills (and doesn't come along all that often).

Our Hoosierland for today brings us partly sunny skies, temps reaching to around 70 degrees, and maybe a small shower early on, but no real rain to speak of. That's not so bad...is it?
Let's take a minute to get ourselves a glass or cup of Friday Fortitude poured and parked close by, as we see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the fridge is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
SEPTEMBER 29 -
---It's National Coffee Day

(Sound the damn trumpets - I can truly say that's EVERY day for me.)
---It's National VFW Day

(For veterans of EVERY foreign war - and that's damn near all vets)
---It's National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

(they just had to go and ruin the day with this, didn't they?)
---It's also the 4th anniversary of the loss of our cat Penelope

(as long as we remember her, she is NEVER gone from us)
*** Next, and because we are at week's end, let's see what there is to observe over the following 48 hours...
SEPTEMBER 30 -
---Saturday is National Chewing Gum Day

(funny, that looks more like BUBBLE gum to me - where's the Beemans?)
---It's National Family Health and Fitness Day

(that bus left the terminal a while ago for me)
---It's National Ghost Hunting Day

(I think I might have better things to do...pass.)
---It's National Hot Mulled Cider Day

(a shot of of rum added never hurts either...trust me)
---It's National Love People Day

(loving them is easier than trusting them...ask Nick Fury's grandfather)
---It's National Mud Pack Day

(gonna take a pass here, too)
---It's National Public Lands Day

(this does include all those state and national parks)
---It's Save Your Photos Day

(isn't that the purpose of photos...to SAVE moments of time in your life?)
OCTOBER 1 -
--Sunday is  National Fire Pup Day

(they still have those, right?)
---It's National Homemade Cookies Day

(can't get much more American than that)
---It's is also the anniversary of my parents, and had they still been alive, would have been married for 68 years.

(they will always be together to me)
And there you have it...enough things to keep you busy (and out of jail) over the weekend. Please remember to observe responsibly.
*** Next up, the yearly traffic tie-up, otherwise known as this city's Fort4Fitness plays havoc with our weekly grocery trip over to the Waynedale Kroger (Scotts).

It's not bad GOING; but coming home, the streets are closed to REAL traffic in order to allow all the fitness freaks passage through the SOUTH part of Fort Wayne.
To be honest, that's the ONLY time of year we see THAT many WHITE PEOPLE in our area (again)...LMAO!
So, Wifey and I have to "amend" our travels.
Some years we catch a break, others...not so much.

We might decide to go grocery shopping TODAY, and avoid the hassle, but that's dependant upon whether she gets a substitute teaching gig today.
If not, then we go shopping (we did)...easy as that.
*** Next, it appears that (yet) another housing project is coming to the SE side of the city.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20170929/work-begins-on-bottle-works-lofts

And, another piece of history within Fort Wayne is destined to become our next ghetto.
This is being called "Bottle Works Lofts", and considering it's the old (and vacant) Coca-Cola Bottling plant on Pontiac St, makes some small bit of sense, I suppose.

This is going to be (mainly) rental units, and by now, we should ALL know how that works on the SE side, right?
But, it's a mere drop in that ever-enlarging buckets far as costs go, hmm?.
((The $14.5 million development will include 31 apartment units at 1631 Pontiac St., as well as an on-site management office, community room, business center, media room, fitness center, outdoor shelter and indoor and outdoor playgrounds.
The development also includes 19 rent-to-own single-family homes with detached garages. Those homes will be built as part of the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood on lots previously owned by the city.))

BTW, Renaissance Pointe is STILL active as far as crime goes (that includes fairly regular GUNFIRE, folks), so personal safety in that area should remain in question.
((Councilman Glynn Hines, D-6th, who represents the district where the development is located, said the project was a long time coming.
“This is again another step and investment in our community,” he said. “It's an investment in the community, but it's investment in families.”))

What is NOT included in this story is what he said in the video over at WANE, where he said while housing is good, what we need down here are BUSINESSES (basic services and retail).
No, Glynn...what you REALLY NEED is a helluva lot LESS CRIME (from the black community)...period.
Start with THAT, and (like I always maintain) the businesses WILL come back...not before.
*** Next up, let's take some time to stop by "Kitten Corner"...

Who's down there?

Our "kids" were doing okay yesterday, and few were the times they got crazy. And they're always wanting to see the outdoor cats when we go out to feed them.

Who's up there?

Both our cats (inside) do some "dancing" for their food...standing on their hand legs.
No, we're never going to be ready for Vegas...LOL.
The kids like sleeping too much for that to ever happen.
*** Next, it's time to check in with "Midnight and Company"...

The "changing of our guard".

Well, our furry twosome were both on the patio, awaiting their food. Midnight stayed by the house damn near ALL day yesterday, which made up for his "absence' the previous day.
Whiskers stays close, but is starting to roam a wee bit herself.
And yes, both were there for "last call" yesterday evening.
*** Next up, the Ken Burns series The Vietnam War wrapped up last night, and (for me), it was a moving episode.

It began with our pull out of combat troops, Nixon's resignation in the aftermath of Watergate, and turning over the war to the government of S. Vietnam (which had been so damn corrupt for decades prior).
The evacuation of our embassy staff and civilians who had every right to leave (as they worked for us, were loyal to us and had proper documentation allowing them to leave) was highlighted.

The NVA had planned their siege of Saigon very well, and rolled (Russian-made) tanks down route 1 into Saigon as the last helicopters were ferrying out as many embassy staff, security forces and civilians as time could allow.

Thousands were left behind, breaking a promise America had made to the people there.
The episode then focused on the fallout from the war...for our returning troops, our nation, and Vietnam itself.

With a communist takeover, all remnants of capitalism were banished, and this led to the disintegration of the economy there, with inflation topping 700% per year immediately following the fall of Saigon with the "unification" of the north and south of that country. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, and poverty reigned right alongside the communists, so we could see clearly that such socialist programs and communist rule didn't help those in the south one damn bit.

The episode then focused on the creation of the Vietnam Memorial in D.C., and how profound an effect it would have on both our vets as well as our citizens.
I have to say, it was an excellent series, and even though ken Burns is a liberal, his presentation of the Vietnam war was outstanding. There was no leftist slant to any of this, and all sides were presented with an objective viewpoint. The facts and people surrounding and involved in this war were stories that needed to be told.
How that war affected our nation can still be felt after all this time.
How we remember it should be a point of learning for us all.
We should permit history that dignity, if nothing else...
*** Last back to the counter-top, why does it always seem that we never learn from history?

And why some people want to rewrite it to suit them or their agenda?
We can''t really change that which has already happened (unless we had a DeLorean or a TARDIS), so why not take that which has taken place and study it, so as not to repeat such things?
Time and again, we wind up with the same old "song and dance", and if you do follow history at any length, you KNOW that the song is off-key, and that dance is full of missteps, right?
After the French failed in Indo-China (Vietnam) we went in and failed in like manner. It was politics that did us in - NOT our military forces

In more recent times, after about 10 years in Afghanistan, the Russians pulled out, and here we come in to do the same thing the Russians tried, only we're STILL there with a huge footprint in the Middle East.

We are not the world's police force, nor should we be. I do believe we have the ability to assist in promoting democratic rule in any nation, and help any nation to secure freedom and liberty for their people, but we do not have the right to fight any war FOR that nation.
We fought our OWN war for independence, and won (with help from France).
We fought our own civil war, and got our country put back together after the secession. I won't say "we" won, but rather America won.
We fought in TWO world wars, and won, especially against the onslaught of global fascism and national socialists, as well as the Japanese Empire.
We fought in Korea, and secured a separate nation in the south of that country, which is thriving today. Can't say as much for the north, except that they have a dictatorial rule by a nuke-tossing delusional despot.
We fought a cold war...and won that. No more USSR.

But, when it came to Vietnam, the only victors were all the troops who fought for each other (and died for each other).
They weren't in it for Vietnam...or even our country, unless it was to say that communist rule would not happen HERE. They fought to bring each other back from the type of hell no one should have to endure.
Those who returned are with us to remind us all that we need not engage in every fight for any reason, unless it is to preserve OUR way of living...our freedom and our liberty..

They also returned to tell the story of those who did not return...for the same reason.
That is what war is all about.
Therein lies the lesson for today...and for every day after that.
Do have yourselves a good weekend.

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