Tuesday Tidbits...
Yes, it's another nice late-summer morning outside - great day to poke around in the garden...or call in "sick"...LOL.
The Hoosierland weather today will be fair with temps again reaching into the mid-upper 80s. Didn't see any fog about, and the sunrise is quite spectacular. No sign of precip, either.
All in all, looks to be a very nice day...until someone comes along and louses it the hell up!
(and we might see some of that "lousing" further down in the post)
*** Now, with that behind us, let's venture forth into our homage to THIS month, otherwise known as:
Bobby G's This Day in AUGUST History.
August 20 - 
1858 - Charles Darwin FIRST publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's SAME theory.
1866 - President Andrew Johnson officially declares the Civil War over.
1882 - Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.

1938 - Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career GRAND SLAM - a record that STILL stands (no steroids THERE, folks)
1962 - The NS Savannah, the world's FIRST nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on it's maiden voyage.

Notable birthdays:
Don King (b-1931)
Ron Paul (b-1935)
Connie Chung (b-1946)
Robert Plant (b-1948) of Led Zeppelin

Mohammed Morsi (b-1951) of recent Egypt infamy
And, just in case you WERE wondering...

YES...today IS...WORLD MOSQUITO DAY, so get out and buy a can of repellent and avoid any diseases.
Meanwhile back at the "Fortress"...
*** We got the estimate for the new roof...just a wee bit shy of $7K, and considering all the "extras" I wasn't even thinking about, like replacing the roof vents and flashing and the dumpster for the tear-off refuse, that's a damn decent price...right in the ballpark of other places.

This will be OUR place in a couple weeks!

I'm just hoping that when the roofers place the dumpster in our driveway, it doesn't become a magnet for the "shirt-dumpers in the area, because they LOVE to drop sh*t off any damn place they want to,...must be a "cultural thang".
It's bad enough picking up the assorted bottles, cans, and wrappers form all the crap dropped from the primate hands of the local morons, but I sure as hell don;t wan to see a bedroom set, large-screen TV or a sofa in "our" dumpster, and I will mention that to the men when they come to do the job.
They will also reuse the existing GUTTERS, so I get me a chance to clean them ALL the hell out. And they will be reattaching the gutter GUARDS we have (glad I bought extras, too for the ones that are broken).
Yeah, it looks to be a good fit for us, not that it will IMPROVE the area...the only way THAT will happen is to remove ALL the refuse, both inorganic AND organic, whether it walks ot not.
Moving on...
*** Yepper, we're back to those overnight shootings down on the...(...altogether, gang)...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE.

Here's the lowdown on the latest one that left on person in serious condition at a local hospital:
http://www.wane.com/news/crime/man-in-serious-condition-after-shooting-on-spatz-ave
Police were dispatched to the 4300 block of Spatz St early this morning around 0100 hrs for a signal 113 (shots fired).
Coincidentally, around the SAME time, a man was being dropped off at hospital suffering from (you guessed it)...gunshot wounds.
Guess these people don't like bothering the AMBULANCE companies.

FWPD confirms that the man was inside the red SUV that was found run up against a guy-wire at al alley near Spatz.
Several bullet holes were found on the SUV, and police retrieved several shell casings near the vehicle.
While police were at the Spatz scene, they also heard about TEN gunshots a few blocks away, and ran in the direction of the shots, but found no one.
Fisteen minutes after THAT, officers heard ANOTHER round of gunfire roughly 5 blocks SOUTH of Spatz and McKinnie, but when officers drove through the area, they were unable to find anyone ('ya think?).
Face it, these PUNKS know a sh*tload MORE about the area then ANY officer than only spends between 8-10 hrs a day chasing the radio through that area.

With less time to enact ACTIVE PATROLS, officers cannot possibly know ALL the places these thugs can dash in and out of to evade the po-po.
BUT, if they DID cruise all the alleys as well as the streets, checking out houses and whatnot, they would get a much clearer picture of what they have to deal with, geographically-speaking.
You HAVE to "know the territory", and thereby come to "know" the people in that territory...THAT is good policing.
Otherwise, you're chasing specters in the middle of the damn night..every night.
*** That was one helluva fire in the east-central area yesterday, and here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130820/LOCAL07/308209985

It seems that every couple years or so, Fort Wayne has some HUGE fire...now to me that's a LOT of "Jewish-Lightning", or it COULD be some serial arsonist that has yet to be caught, which would explain a LOT of the "vacant-house" fires we see on the SE side.
One possibility might be a "one-pot" that went sideways, starting the fire in some storage area where a person might have been squatting.
It will most interesting to see what fire investigators determine to be the actual cause.
*** Lastly today, it's becoming such a screwed-up world, and sadly, none of are totally immune to the crap that seems to come at us from every direction on too regular a basis.
Some days, you wish for a halt in all the mess, just so you can catch a breath.
(many of us learn to breathe FAST for a reason...lol)

Too much affects us all these days, thanks to technology and a 24/7 news cycle.
And it gets harder to snatch a few brief moments of personal reverie, and that's not to say we're being selfish.
We just need a break from the maelstrom of mindless insanity assaulting us...that's all.
There is much to be said for solace...when you can find it.
And it becomes out job to do so...daily.
That old worn-out expression "stop and smell the roses" never had a greater meaning than it does today.
We should take more time to be aware of the small things in life, because they DO have a cumulative effect, be they good or bad.
But, it's the good, small things that need a few minutes of OUR attention...just so we can maintain our sanity and retain our focus.
Life isn't meant to be easy, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy parts of it when we need to, right?

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

Monday Musings...

I've just sent off the lovely Mrs. Bobby G. to another year of Excellence in Education, and everyone is NOW officially "back to school", so parents have once again traded off one set of issues for another...can they stand the strain?
Our return to the classroom Hoosierland weather will be nice, albeit a bit warmer than the last week ro so, with temps reaching into the mid to upper 80s by late day.
Not a sign of precipitation to be found either, so sit back and enjoy a post that's packed tighter than a cocaine-laden vehicle crossing our southern border.
*** First up, another "three-fer" with our tribute to all the events the media misses, also called:
Bobby G's This Day in August History!
August 17 - 
1863 - The Civil War - Union batteries and ships begin bombardment of Confederate-held Fort Sumpter in Charleston harbor.
1896 - Bridget Driscoll becomes the world's FIRST motoring fatality when she is run over by a Benz car on the grounds of the Crystal Palace in London.
1908 - Fantasmagorie, the world's FIRST animated cartoon, created by Ernie Cohl, is shown in France (France AGAIN?)
1950 - Hill 303 massacre of American POWs by the north Korean army.
1959 - "Kind of Blue", by Miles Davis, the best selling jazz performer of the time, is released.

1969 - Hurricane Camille, a cat 5 storm, hits the gulf coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 BIL in damages.
1998 - The Lewinsky Scandal rocks the Clinton Administration and first admits he had an "improper physical relationship" with the intern, and later states he "misled people" about the relationship.

Oops, he did it again...and again...and again.

August 18 -
1868 - French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers HELIUM (and funny voices).
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
1963 - James Meredith becomes the FIRST black man to graduate from the University of Mississippi
1971 - Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their forces from Vietnam.
1983 - Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 and causing $1 BIL in damages.
August 19 -
1561 - An 18-year old Mary, Queen of Scots returns to Scotland after spending 12 years in France (what is it with France?)
1812 - The American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".

"Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned ship in the navy.

1848 - The California "gold rush" news is broken on the EAST coast in the New York Herald (the rush begins in January)
1909 - The FIRST automobile race is held at the Indianapolis Speedway.
1934 - The FIRST All-American SOAP BOX DERBY is held in Dayton Ohio.
1940 - The FIRST flight of the B-25 Mitchell bomber.

This same plane was at the last FW Air Show.

1944 - The liberation of Paris by allied forces from the Nazis.
1960 - Downed U-2 pilot Frances Gary Powers is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the soviet government for espionage.
1999 - Tens of thousands of Serbs rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugolavia president Slobodan Milosevic.
And now YOU know...a lot more than you did a few minutes ago.
Moving on...
*** I contacted Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control regarding our raccoon problem...

Maybe they need to care a bit "more"?

And got stiffed, basically.
They say they can ONLY come and trap (remove) raccoon that are sick or injured.
        (Maybe if I nail some with my slingshot, I can injure them "enough"?)
Yes, folks, this (to me) is our first "WTF???" moment of the damn week!
These raccoon have "set up shop" in a house that's been VACANT for YEARS...and now they've taken to gnawing on OUR roof shingles, prompting a roof REPLACEMENT on our part, which will cost more than a few THOUSAND BUCKS...
But now, WE also have to pay to have a THIRD PARTY come and remove the critters from a house WE don't even own or rent???
What about DNR?
Can't they remove the critters and return them to the "wild"?
Apparently NOT, so what the hell GOOD are any of these agencies if they can't DO what they're supposed to do (like return wild animals to their REAL habitat)?
Nobody's reimbursing US for OUR time and money and trouble, are they?
This is really unacceptable, and I have to say that our contributions to Fort Wayne ACandC will be seriously curtailed (if not halted altogether) as a result.
I used to have a lot of respect for this city department, but when handed the ball, they didn't just drop it, they scored one for the OTHER TEAM!
Gotta love the government, no matter what level you have to deal with, right?
We'll just take our donations and give them to the Allen County SPCA  instead...at least THOSE critters get a home and aren't chewing our roof!
*** There is a good unintended consequence to getting that new roof...they have to REMOVE THE GUTTERS, and when they do, I can clean them ALL the hell out before they are re-installed. This should be happening in about 3 weeks or so, and I hope whatever rain comes, does NO damage to the inside of the house.

And that brings me to the NEXT point in this comedy of errors - our insurance company doesn't seem to COVER critter damage...everything from acts of God to vehicular intrusion, but NO critters...WTH is up with that?
Earthquakes, floods, sinkholes, and volcanic activity are OK, but sorry, we don't do wasps, mice, bats, raccoon, possums, or Burmese Tigers.
They SHOULD at least pay for the extermination or removal OF the damn buggers.
You pay ALL this money every year to make sure you don't lose it all, but the ONE time you avail yourself of a REAL claim...nothing!
Hell, the insurance even pays for damage related to things like GUNFIRE vandalism, which brings me to the NEXT story onboard this ship of fools...
*** There was another "rolling shootout" on the city's...(...altogether, kids...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/news/crime/car-hit-by-gunfire-on-euclid-avenue

South Side vehicle air-conditioning?

Yes, folks, you can't even sit outside on the steps OR porch in SOME neighborhoods in the ghettohood...at least NOT without running the risk of being hit by stray gunfire from people too damn stupid to regard life with any level of respect.
A red car was being chased by a tan car, and the red car's hood was up, damn near blocking the windshield...makes it pretty EASY to spot, right?
The red car finally crashed near an alley south of Euclid and Pontiac Sts.

We REALLY need this!

When police (finally) got there, they found a bag of pot near the car and a .25 cal. pistol (probably a Raven) inside the car.
The weapon was NOT listed as stolen.
Two men ran off, one described as BLACK with long dreads, a white t-shirt and tan shorts, and the other man being HISPANIC with no other description.
That's ALL we need...for blacks and Hispanics to TEAM UP around here. I know of several houses where such people DO congregate all too frequently to get wasted.
No one is in custody and the tan car remains "at-large".
Tell 'ya, the quadrant commander of the SE sure is doing a GREAT job of stemming the flow of CRIME down here...NOT!
*** Next up, a related story about stopping the VIOLENCE down here
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130818/LOCAL/308189941/1002/LOCAL
Right on the heels of the 3rd annual Amnesty-Fest...we have more shootings.
Guess those involved chose not to ATTEND the festival held in McMillen Park, hmm?
Maybe they SHOULD have.
To me, this event was another "bribe" to the lawless down here, and I feel that time has passed.

Kids in fire engine at Amnesty-Fest.

Sure, the kids have a great time, but it is all REALLY helping?
By the stats, I would say not so much, and the numbers don't lie.
Even if the homicide rate would drop, we STILL have all the rapes, the burglaries, robberies, random shootings, vandalism, and so on...
So, instead of scaling back the freebies and handing out punishment, we hold "events"...yeah, that's working real well.
*** Lastly today, you never notice something called mortality until it hits close to home, and none of us are immune to that.
We ALL lose people in our lives, most notably our parents and relatives, but there is a time when friends and co-workers are also lost.
Such was the case for those at Snider High School this weekend.

Snider High School

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130819/LOCAL07/308199960
Now, I never met Bruce Crist, but Wifey did...she, other teachers and many students knew him.
He was an English teacher, tennis coach, and recently a history teacher.
In fact, she was chatting with him this past Friday when she and all the other teachers went in to do all the last minute prepping for the school year.
Wifey told me he was a genius when it came to puns...a real master.
I would have liked to have met him...we had much in common, it would seem.
He was only 52, but had an ongoing heart condition that prompted an aspirin-regimen.
And he died at his desk, in his classroom on Saturday, when he was found by a firefighter looking for him.
Certainly not the BEST way to go, but better than so many other ways.

It will be a rough start to the school year for both kids and fellow educators there, but I have also lost people I knew and worked with over the course of a day or weekend...it's one helluva shock to the system, I can tell you.
And, it's in those times, we concern ourselves with our OWN lives...things we might do better, or SHOULD be doing better, so that we can hang on to another year.
Our own mortality hits us like a Joe Louis uppercut.
I know I think about it often...perhaps too much sometimes, but the road I have traveled is longer than those in their 20s, and it's been a hard road on some days, and a pleasure on others.
But each of us HAS to come to terms with what time we have NOW, rather than later, for we never know when we'll be called "back home".
That's not for us to know...but it is for us to ponder.
Have yourselves a good week.

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

Friday Follies...

And the end of another week has arrived.
Can we stand the strain?
Gonna make it short and sweet today...for no particular reason.
(actually, the crims aren't all that busy...for a change)
Today's Hooseirland weather will be partly cloudy with highs reaching the UPPER 70s, and getting warmer the farther into the weekend we go.
Aside from that, it's going to be clear sailing...until someone comes along and louses it the hell up...LOL.
Meanwhile, let's get started with...the rest of the story...
*** First up is our daily edification to the month that nothing ever happens in, otherwise known as:
: Bobby G's This Day in August History!
August 16 - 
1812 - American general William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army. (but even the Brits didn't want it THEN, so we took it back in 1813, and we know how THAT turned out today)
1858 - President Buchanan inaugurates the new Transatlantic Telegraph Cable by exchanging greeting with Queen Victoria. A weak signal forces the shutdown of the service a few weeks later. (and the Brits STILL didn't take back DETROIT...lol)
1954 - The first issue if Sports Illustrated is published.
1989 - A solar flare creates a geomagnetic storm that affects microchips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.

Okay, who pissed off the sun?

2010 - China overtakes Japan as the world's second largest economy
And, yes...it's Children's Day in Paraguay.
(hmm...gotta kinda poetry to it as well)
So there you have it...all the things YOU need to know about today.
Moving on...
*** Getting a new roof on the house is one of THOSE things homeowners dread, and with good reason.

You go and blow more than a few thousand bucks, and it doesn't affect the VALUE of the house anywhere close to the price it cost you.
If we spend say $6K for a new roof, we'd be lucky to see a value increase of barely $2K, and that's being generous, given the nature of OUR part of the ghettohood. But, it's something that HAS to be done...eventually.
But, the alternative of having a leaking roof and interior damage isn't really an option, unless one prefers an indoor "water feature".
I like my waterfalls outside...yeah, I'm a traditionalist.
Any money you put into a house in a blighted area is pretty much wasted )even if the area wasn't blighted when you moved the hell in), because it only means the house is worth more to YOU, the owner, and not the city, thanks to the rest of the properties that are kept in such wonderful and chronic DISrepair.
Even the land the house rests upon isn't worth what it should be, and you can thank the government-sponsored lazy-asses for that as well.

For examp[e, whenever we do have a street-sweeper run through the area, it doesn't take more than a day for the place to look JUST as it did BEFORE the sweeper did it's thing...cans, wrappers, plastic bottles...you name it, and it's back on our streets faster than a perp in our courthouse.

Yet, it's not the AREA that's bad...it's the "people" that infest the area, and I'm certainly NOT talking about normal folks, few as they seem to be.
A blighted area becomes that way due to a group of entitled idiots that have NO vested interest in an area into which the government placed them.
There is no sense of pride...not even in themselves.
They just take and take...never giving anything back.
It's too damn hard to plant a flower bed to them, but's it's okay for them to toss trash on YOUR property...yep, it's another one of those damnable double-standards, because no one seems to call out these mooks for doing what they do and acting the way they act.
So, you always hope for the best, expect the worst and take each day as it comes.

Can't ask for more than that, can you?
Well, you can,for all the good THAT does.
*** Lastly today, I read this story in the paper about a new development up on Gump Rd where they want to build some houses in the $300K range...and that's pretty damn opulent, if you ask me.

But the people living there in houses worth $1 MIL and more are bitching a fit saying it will lower THEIR property values...
Here's a case of the rich-ass NIMBYS in the group, popping a vein over houses that Wifey and I can only dream about, saying they will lower the property values of those million-dollar homes...gimme a damn break.
Are all these rich bastards planning to MOVE next year?
We're NOT talking low-income housing here, folks...it's NOT like in OUR part of the city, where all you seem to HAVE is LOW-income housing...or LOWER income housing...or even NO-income housing..
Those are the choices down here, and it doesn't matter if you buy a house or even rent it...they're all seemingly "low income".
That sense of pride I mentioned should be something that all these "poverty-stricken" people would want to chase after...or at least be MADE to chase after.
Put some "sweat-equity" into that house the government taxpayers got for you and keep it looking nice, instead of breaking out windows, doors and whatever the hell else they bust up on a regular basis.
We always looked at such things a might differently...
We always referred to it as "being a good steward", and it also means being GRATEFUL for whatever it is that you have, rather than lust after things you can't afford, and will gather dust JUST as readily.
And, that worked well enough for most folk.
I think what we really need is a LOT more stewards of the good kind.
It definitely won't hurt, and perhaps people will come to appreciate things a bit more, and thereby appreciate one another as well.
We can but hope, can't we?
Have yourselves a great weekend.

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

We're Almost There...
Welcome to our Thursday edition, folks. The weather outside is reminding me of a Neil Diamond song (September Morning). It's nicely brisk out there, great "waking-up" weather indeed. Temps will top out in the mid-70s and it looks to be a sunny day...with a few clouds to liven things up.
With that, let's begin our journey into this day, and see what awaits...
*** First up, time to find out WHO SAID THAT? from yesterday's Motto of the Week:
"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is attitude; the big difference is whether it is positive or negative."
This is attributed to W. Clement Stone (4 May, 1902 - 3 September 2002), a businessman, philanthropist and New Thought self-help book author.

And here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Clement_Stone
Now, before anyone thinks I went and joined some "cult" with the last 2 quotes spoken by these "new thought" movement supporters, nothing could be farther from the truth...This is just one of life's coincidences...and I don't create these mottoes...LOL.
Again, like Marden (last week), this man grew up without a father (died when he was 3) and was rather impoverished growing up.
Born in Chicago, when he was old enough, began to hawk newspapers on the south side.
At 16, he went to Detroit to help his mother in the insurance agency she had opened there.
He managed to take $100 and run it into millions, becoming a living "rags-to-riches" story of the Horatio Alger novels.
He created the Combined Insurance Company in 1919, and by 1979, that company exceeded $1 BILLION in assets.
It merged with the Patrick Ryan Group to form AON Corp. in 1987.
He gave $10 million to Nixon's campaign in both 1968 and 1972.
Stone always stressed the importance of PMA (positive mental attitude).and explained it best in THIS way:
"A positive mental attitude is necessary for achieving worthwhile success. We in America know what it is for us, for we have inherited the tenets of the Judeo-Christian faiths on which our Constitution, laws and customs have been based...Strive to understand and apply the Golden Rule...Believe that any goal that doesn’t violate the laws of God or the rights of your fellow men can be achieved"
It's a decent read and shows that no matter your circumstance, things are never THAT bad.
Moving on...
*** Yes, we haven't forgoteen that it's once again time for:
Bobby G's This Day in August History!
August 15 -
1842 - TIVOLI GARDENS, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copengahen, Denmark.
1914 - The PANAMA CANAL opens to traffic with the transit of the ship S.S. Ancon

1935 - Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed in a plane crash at Barrow Alaska
(The Winnie Mae was the name of the Post's Lockheed Vega aircraft)
1939 - The Wizard of Oz opens at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood (L.A.)

1945 - The official surrender of Japan to the allies, ending WW2.
1948 - The Republic of Korea is esatblished south of the 38th parallel.
1971 - Richard Nixon completres the break from the GOLD standard by ending the convertibility of the U.S. dollar into the precious metal by foreign investors
(how's that been working out for us since then?)
And yes, as mentioned, today is VJ Day...so go kiss a nurse in Times Square!
*** The whole lame-stream media backlash over this rodeo clown at the Missouri State Fair is another example of people acting in a SBB manner (stupid beyond belief).

Why so serious?

Now, harmless mocking of our presidents has been going on since rubber masks were made (well, damn near anyway), and it really pisses me off that the drive-by media has to force this rodeo clown to be BANNED from his occupation, and sending others scurrying to perform "damage-control" to keep THEIR jobs..
Yet, there have been other instances (rather numerous, too) where an Obama-mask was worn, and had NOTHING to do with rodeos, fairs, or even a BULL (if you believe that LAST one...LOL).
I just cannot understand WHY we have all these damn DOUBLE STANDARDS, unless it's to make SOME folks look better than others.

Obama-mask robber

This holier-than-thou BS these leftards force upon us has got to be addressed, because NONE of their closets are "skeleton-free"...not by a long shot!
When did all these people suddenly develop "thin skin syndrome"?
And why can't they just take it all in stride, because we DO have freedom of speech AND expression in THIS nation?
These asswipes need to develop a sense of humor.
Sure was OK to wear a REAGAN mask...or a BUSH mask, though...nothing to see THERE, right?
It's a total CROCK, if you ask me, and that's all I have to say on that.
*** Wow, a neighborhood on Fort Wayne's SOUTHEAST side makes the news...AGAIN?

Here we go again...!

Yeah, and here's the link to the story:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/shots-fired-at-same-intersection-2-days-in-a-row
This is at Avondale Drive (3800 block) and Gumpper St, just above Rudisill. And I've been watching this "corridor" for some time...yes, crime HAS been on the rise there DAILY.

A corner house (nice "fortress"), and a white man gets targeted, either intentionally or not...doesn't matter at this point.
What DOES matter is that we have a group of people (Most likely black, given the ethnic demographics in the area) with NO regard for life, and all damn day to practice their "craft", as it were...to the dismissal of the safety of everyone else.

I'd tell the residents there to start wearing camos (because it seems to me like a damn WAR ZONE) and get themselves "armed up" and start firing back.
Take a few of the mooks OUT, and the rest will think twice. OR, we could have (what I've said for YEARS)...more POLICE PATROLS, especially down the ALLEYS...that's where these perps run and hide.
*** Lastly today, it's always nice to have our "critters" stop by, and yesterday found me prepared to catch some nice photos of our "extended family".

His (feathered) Eminence graces Mr. Squirrel.

It takes away from all the drama that lies just beyond the boundaries of our property, and that's coming from someone who MAJORED in "Drama" in high school, so I can spot the difference between the REAL deal and the feigned.

Drama belongs on a damn STAGE, and not on some city street, living room, department store or parking lot.
You want to get noticed?
Either get FAMOUS...or get STUPID...either will work in this world REALLY well.
And maybe that's why I like our critters...no drama there, except maybe one squirrel chases another from some food, but that's more instinctual than faked or staged. By and large, all these little creatures are here to make us take notice about life when we're too busy NOT to be doing so.

Good food, nice ambiance - I give it THREE stars!

We should take a "cue" from these birds, animals and yes, even insects (butterflies count) and dispense with OUR drama to take a few minutes to enjoy all of what our Creator has provided us...for FREE at that.

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

Humpday Happenings...
It may be the middle of the week and the middle of August, but it feels MORE like the middle of NEXT month outside this morning.
Looks to be a fair and very MILD day with temps climbing out of the low 50s into the mid 70s...not bad at all.
And the sun looks like it will arrive to rise on time today...nice way to end the summer for the schoolkids.
With that said, let's get busy with what all is going on elsewhere.
*** First off, it's time for our Motto of the Week aka WHO SAID THAT?
"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is attitude; the big difference is whether it is positive or negative."
So, who said that?
The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
*** Next up, it is our daily tribute all this month for the events conveniently overlooked by the masses, and we call it...
Bobby G's This Day in August History!
August 14 - 
1893 - France becomes the FIRST nation to introduce motor vehicle registration
(FRANCE???)
1935 - Social Security Act was enacted, which created a government pension system for the retired.
(and that government's been stealing from OUR money from it ever since)

1945 - Japan accepts the allied terms of surrender in WW2, and the emperor records the Imperial Rescript of Surrender
1959 - Founding and 1st official meeting of the American Football League.
1975 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the longest running release in film history, opens in the USA theater in Westwood, California.

Let's do the TIME WARP.......AGAIN!

1980 - Lech Walesa leads the strikes at the Gdansk shipyards.
And now YOU know...the rest of the history.
Moving on...
*** A home invasion on Fort Wayne's SW side leavs an 85 year old shaken.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130814/LOCAL07/308149976

So here we have a man, 20 years my senior, who repairs bicycles, bothers no one, and just wants to do what he enjoys...and his life has to be interrupted in such a heinous manner. Well, I did say that crime WAS spreading outward from the SE side for a while now.
The perps were believed to be WHITE (for a change), but no real definite descriptions of all three of them have been forthcoming.
Kenny Spillers was bound up by black duct tape after he let one of the men inside to use a phone "because his car broke down". Two accomplices ransacked Spillers' house, taking a diamond ring, some collectible coins, his wallet and other cash he had in a bedroom.
The armed robbers (one did have a handgun) left him a pair of scissors to cut himself free as well as his cell-phone, to call 911.
(how nice of them - I'm sure this will be taken into account when they're caught, so they get a light sentence).

Here's the WANE story link with video:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/85-year-old-tied-up-and-robbed-at-gunpoint
Now, if you're thinking that it's "odd" that an 85-year old would be up at 0115 hrs, perhaps you should put yourself in his shoes for a moment.
Spillers has been battling cancer for NINE years, and takes medication for it, not that it's causing a remission.
And when you believe that the time left to you is shorter than once thought, you tend to "savor" every moment you can get, and that means you stay awake more than usual, or perhaps adjust your sleep patterns, if you can even sleep with such things on your mind.
Every hour becomes a precious gift, and you don't want to waste it, so I can understand where Mr. Spillers might be coming from.
I hope that Spillers not only gets back his stolen property, but manages to live long and well enough to see real JUSTICE brought to his situation.
*** The 3 black punks that beat up that one white teen on a school bus had their first appearance in court, and here's the story link with video:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/13/father-florida-school-bus-beating-attack-says-son-is-sorry/

The one boy's dad says "he's not that bad a kid"...typical BS.
That's the problem...they're ALL "good"...as in NO DAMN.
And the boy says "he's sorry"...yeah, THAT HE GOT HIS SORRY BLACK ASS CAUGHT!

At least former Florida representative, Allen West spoke up, chiding Sharpton and Jackson for NOT getting involved.
Jackson said this case was in no way comparable to the Martin/Zimmerman trial.
(nice "out", Jesse...you're just so colorblind)
*** Lastly today, everywhere you look, there are so many double-standards, and the fallout from THOSE double-standards produce their OWN set of double-standards.

If blacks rob someone, or beat someone, or kill someone, it's because they're poor, or they're "just kids acting up".
If whites do likewise, it's a vicious crime against society, or even a hate crime.
Crime is crime...period. And stupidity in the commission OF those crimes is just that...stupid.
But, there should be equal treatment of the crimes, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, etc.
And there must be EQUAL PUNISHMENT for those crimes...
That's where our society falls flat on it's ass.

When liberals go after the NYPD's use of "stop and frisk" in certain neighborhoods that are almost exclusively BLACK or HISPANIC, don't try to whitewash it out of existence by saying that the police are "targeting minorities"...don't insult my intelligence, please.
Those neighborhoods ARE black and Hispanic, and the likelihood of stopping a suspicious person IN those areas will almost always result in a MINORITY being stopped...that's just the damn law of averages, people.
It's like I said about OUR part of the Fort Wayne ghettohood a while back when I stood up for the police as they were taken to task by certain minority pundits, claiming the FWPD was pulling a "driving while black" tactic, and were racially-profiling.
Hell, the areas the FWPD were covering while making the traffic stops were 90+ percent BLACK.
It doesn't become a black and white issue be it here, or in NYC...it becomes (and will remain) a BLACK AND BLUE issue.

Some people don't LIKE authority...don't WANT authority, and will do anything to keep that authority OUT of their sub-culture
Again, we come back to double-standards, and that's a damn shame.
We, as a society...as a nation are capable of so much more than this petty crap.
Like I am always saying these days...it should not be about double standards...but BETTER standards...for everyone.

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