Humpday Happenings...

I trust all of you have acclimated yourselves to the "seasonal" weather outside.
(rediscovering layered clothing perhaps?)
Yes, it IS cold outside, but that's what winter tends to be all abour, right?
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us mostly skies, temps only reaching to around 39 degrees, and a lessening of the windy conditions (to around 30 MPH tops). With that wind chill, it feels more like it's in the teens.

So, what better way to start the day than with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa to warm our innards, as we see what's been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First off the frosty windshield is our WHO SAID THAT? quote for the week:

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." 

 I think this covers a lot of what people are missing in their hurry-up world. And, it speaks to everyone in any situation. 

 So, who said that? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post. 

 Meanwhile, back at Christ's College, Cambridge *** Next up, we bring your the "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
DECEMBER 6 -
---It's National Gazpacho Day

(never had any, but it sounds and looks good)
---It's National Microwave Oven Day

(thanks to the invention of radar, that's every day at our house)
---It's National Miners Day

(no, it's got nothing to do with children...it's the OTHER spelling)
---It's National Pawnbroker's Day

(more legit than in times past)
---It's St. Nicholas Day

(hard to be a saint THESE days)
*** Next up  let's see what the Wonderful World of Crime has brought us in Fort Wayne.

Now, I have to preface this with an observation of mine - the first several minutes of watching the news had me thinking I was in somewhere akin to Detroit...all the lead stories were crime-related and had to deal with blacks in some manner, and one woman who was interviewed said that "you're not safe anywhere, but you have to live your life".
Have to admit she's right...on both counts.
--- An armed robbery took place on the (where else?) SE side.

Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20171206/2-armed-robbers-strike-one-main-financial

This took place around 1840 hrs at the OneMain Financial lending business located at Southtown Crossing (that's near the Public Service Academy where cops can usually be found).
((The two men, one 5-foot-10 and the other about 5-foot-11, were black, wearing black hooded sweatshirts and concealing their faces with black bandannas.))
How about THAT? They're both BLACK (and armed)...now who would have known that?
(where's the black community leaders when you need 'em?)
--- An update on that double stabbing. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20171206/2-charged-in-aftermath-of-stabbing-victim-upgraded

Oh look, THEY'RE both BLACK, too!
One victim was ID'ed as Trayvon Diquan Rogan, 22 (sounds black to me as well). He was taken to Parkview Randalia by David Masterson, 23, of the 4300 block of Tacoma Avenue (in the ghettoosled of choice - a Buick Lesabre).

Masterson                           Britt

Joseph Britt, 19, of the 700 block of Taylor Street, was sitting in the back seat.
There was a brief vehicular standoff, but officers ordered Masterson out of the car and he eventually complied.
((Both Masterson and Britt gave the officers false names, court records said. Fort Wayne police said Masterson and Rogan were both stabbed. Masterson was treated and released. Rogan's condition was initially listed as critical Monday night but upgraded to serious, city police said.))
--- Here's a case of that SPECIAL kind of stupid:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20171206/guns-pot-found-at-crash-site

Yep, when driving drunk (and getting into a crash), always make sure to have your illegal handguns, pot stash and other related items SOMEPLACE ELSE.

((When police arrived at a crash in the 2700 block of  Sandpoint Road about 7 p.m. Saturday, they found Wade Stolte, 20, standing outside his car, smelling like alcohol. Stolte, a convicted felon, had a .38-caliber semi-automatic handgun in his right front pocket that was reported stolen, records said, and there was another gun in the car, a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, tucked in the front passenger door. Stolte told police he didn't have a gun license.))
A passenger in Stolte's car, Tyler Mentzer, was later found to have a severed spinal column, court records said.
Well, THAT'S one helluva way to enter the holiday season. Not very "festive" is it?
*** Next,let's change gears and move onto less nasty stuff.

Wifey took her car into the shop for some winterizing, and it cost about 8 Franklins (and change), but these are things you don't perform on vehicles every year...like a new set of tires (the ones that came with the car had seen their share of mileage), and a transmission flush and fluid change (every 50K miles, and we were 3K past that mark).
So, that is money well spent in preventive measures.

We also got a new addition to the "Fortress"...(for the holidays, mind you) - the 2017 K Mart plush bear.
Wifey chose the pink one with earmuffs (cutest of the three available).
And, we saved $8 in the process, thanks to cyber coupon codes.
Considering the NEAREST K Mart is all the way out in bloody WARSAW (Indiana, not Poland, thank God), it's better to let it come to US, rather than drive 100 miles (round trip).
A penny saved...right?
*** Next up, let's take a minute to stop by our "Kitten  Corner"...

He loves to watch the inside of his eyelids

The kids had an acute case of CALM yesterday, which is always received well.
I had thought someone swapped our cats out, but they were just being extremely nice...and cute...and adorable.
(makes me wonder what they're planning.)

She loves to sit there and watch me.

While I watched TV, they were both in the living room. He was asleep on the one chair, and she was curled up asleep on my jacket (on the floor). And they stayed there utiel it was time for we humans to hit the sack.
*** Next, let's check in with "Midnight and Company"...

...And my plate is empty.

We had another case of "the missing cat" yesterday. Whiskers stayed around while Midnight went on his little patrol. I know neither of them liked all that wind, but she stayed in a shelter.
He was in his "nest" for a time, which provided some break from the winds.

You bet I'm not missing a meal.

As usual, they didn't really miss the main meals for the day.
*** Last back to the bird feeder...it's a welcome pleasure to have our critters around.
While I miss feeding the squirrels, we have the two cats and assorted birds to pick up the slack.

Times change, and we all should adapt to them in some fashion.
Where once we had Mr Wrinkles and Patches come around daily, we now have Midnight and Whiskers.
I wish other aspects of our neighborhood that type of change, instead of the chronic deterioration we've "enjoyed" over the last 2 decades.

To me, change is only good when it results in something POSITIVE, and that goes for most anything.
Technology is fine if it truly benefits us, rather than divide us or sets us at each other's throats.
Society is good when it evolves instead of devolves.
It would seem that what society lacks these days far surpasses that of times past.
You can make your own lists to figure that out, and it's quite easy.
Let's just say we, as a people, we should pay more attention to the current problems and work to solve them with honest solutions. And let's begin with the small things that are rapidly adding up to become big things.
Time won't wait for us to stop and think about changing ourselves for the better.
It has to start today, because we've allowed too many yesterdays to pass without a thought about our future.

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