Into the Thirteenth Year...
Okay, so yesterday went swimmingly.
That's not to say that the RAIN we had figured into the mix.
Allow me to give you the rundown.
We arrived at Red Lobster before 11AM - I never "OPENED" a restaurant before, but I do recall CLOSING a few bars and clubs in other cities in years past. Goes to show you're NEVER too old to do something "new".
Kinda nice to have the place all to yourselves...lent an air of intimacy to the day. And I had another "first"...I ordered up a a Sam Adams Summer Ale (along with some great gumbo).
Now THAT will get your day off to a fantastic start.
I said to the waiter (Craig - very nice guy): "Never too early for a Sam Adams."
We ordered appetizers like mozzarella sticks, mushrooms stuffed w/ seafood and covered in melted cheese, and breaded clam strips.
I know SOME of you are already drooling.
But wait, it gets better.

Wifey ordered her lobster tail, king crab claws and butterfly shrimp, while I opted for the grilled shrimp with bourbon glazing, rock lobster tail, and bacon-wrapped sea scallops - with roasted corn and mashed potatoes.
(These are pictures OF those meals - Oh, yeah, you've GOT to be hungry by NOW.)
We also ordered desserts (which we took home with us along with enough food for a later meal). The missus got the chocolate cake (reminds me of the death by chocolate), and I got strawberry cheesecake.
Now, you're probably wondering how MUCH this set us back?
Never fear...that's what those wonderful GIFT CARDS are for that you almost forget to use since last year...LOL.
The tab...came to $80 bucks!
(yes, that was lunch and NOT dinner)
When it comes to special days, we like to not "skimp"...
Besides, Lord KNOWS how many folks we helped out in this economic situation. (Craig did get a nice tip, BTW)
Yessirree...bare-naked capitalism...at it's BEST.
THAT is what makes this country SO damn great!
On our way back, we ran into some really GOOD thunderstorms...had the wipers on "fast" just to see.
Reminded me of the time when Dad drove us up to Presque Isle, PA, and we must have hit a damn monsoon...!
There we were, in a '61 Rambler American, on a small spit of "land" with water on THREE sides, and winds in excess of 40 knots, buffeting our car. That was called a "vacation"...believe it or not. Some things you never forget.
Anyway, we made it back to "Homestead Heights" safe and sound, none the worse for wear.
Even the "locals" in our ghettohood kept their loud asses quiet (for the most part - they hate rain) for a welcome change.
Such was our excellent adventure yesterday.
How we gonna top THAT, hmm?
Got a year to figure it out.
Unfortunately, the world kept on spinning, and some interesting stuff kept occurring.
So dig we now into my basement repository of recently declassified files to bring you some of the "stuff" that just keeps on happening.
*** From the "THIS is How You Play the System" files:
(( Last-minute plea deal leaves gunman facing 10 years
By Aaron Organ of The News-Sentinel
It remains unclear whether Fort Wayne Police detectives laughed about hearing how Jennifer M. Hair was shot and critically wounded inside a bathroom at 1212 W. Main St. on Jan. 20, but it’s now become a moot point after the shooter who predicted they would laugh signed an unscheduled 11th-hour plea deal in Allen Superior Court on Monday – a day before his attempted murder trial was scheduled to begin.
Darvon L. Smith, 34, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to the lesser aggravated battery charge in a deal that drops four other felonies, including the attempted murder allegation and the habitual offender clause that would have added 30 years alone. The agreement places a sentence cap of 10 years for the Class B felony.
Smith will be sentenced July 26.
Smith was arrested less than two hours after the late-night shooting of Hair, when Fort Wayne Police narcotics officers pulled him over near the intersection of Pontiac and Calhoun streets. He was preliminarily charged with aggravated battery.
After reviewing Smith’s interview with police - in which Smith responded to Fort Wayne Police Detective Kenneth Clement’s inquiry about what happened to Hair with, "You will laugh about it when you hear what happened" - Allen County prosecutors added charges, including the Class A attempted murder count that could have had him 20-50 years in prison, if he had been convicted.
Prosecutors later added the habitual offender clause to the Michigan felon’s case.
During the interview with police, Smith did not admit the shooting to Clement, though he did reveal seeing Hair "lying on the bathroom floor crying and ranting like ‘dope fiends’ do," adding that "someone should have shot her in the head," according to Smith’s probable-cause affidavit.
Hair, however, did have compelling information for police, who said before surgery to repair her chest wounds that her friend’s friend - Smith – "shot her because he doesn’t like her," the affidavit said.
Hair’s friend told Clement that Smith and Hair were arguing in a bathroom with the door open when a shot rang out, after which Smith ran from the residence, the affidavit said.
Both Hair, who recovered from her injuries, and the friend identified Smith as the shooter, the affidavit said.
Neither Hair nor Smith lived at the West Main Street duplex.
Smith was released from a Michigan prison in April 2009, where he served 11 years for three convictions of second-degree home invasion. ))
Here's the link to the original story:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100127/NEWS/1270357
Now, if you check my archives out, back on 22 January (Friday Follies) I covered this story as well.
Nice to know the judicial system is still "broker than a busted fence".
Plea deals...what a colossal waste of resources. All it does is (basically) reward a LOT of bad behavior (imho).
*** From the "Accident my Ass (or is that my stomach?)" file:
(( Shooting victim upgraded to fair {Holly Abrams The Journal Gazette}
A 20-year-old Fort Wayne man shot on the city’s southeast side Saturday afternoon is doing better, according to Fort Wayne police.
Police say Ebbie Maurice Clark was visiting a friend’s home in the 1000 block of Dawnan Drive when he was shot before 2:30 p.m. Clark was shot in the stomach and was driven to the fire station at 6901 S. Anthony Blvd., police said.
Detectives believe the shooting was accidental, and no charges have been filed in the case.
Clark was initially listed in critical condition at a hospital.
He was listed in fair condition Monday, police said. ))
Wifey and I drive past this street often (whenever we go to K-Mart...or Menards), and although the development APPEARS to be serene enough, I can tell you that looks CAN be deceiving. It ain't all sunshine and lollipops there, folks.
Again, this is what happens when the WRONG people infest an otherwise nice area.
But perhaps this story might convince you further...
*** From the "SWAT needed to get out and stretch their legs" files
(( Police arrest one at Wood Creek Apts - Tense aftermath ends uneventfully
FORT WAYNE, Ind. {WANE}- The Allen County Sheriff's Department arrested one person and is looking for more suspects after several burglaries involving weapons on Fort Wayne's northeast side Monday.
After the three burglaries, police say someone followed the suspect's car from one burglary back to Wood Creek Apartments.
Deputies then arrested a person leaving the apartments with stolen goods around 1:30 p.m.
Deputies believed other suspects might still be in the apartment, and because weapons had been reported stolen, they called the S.W.A.T. team to the scene.
After about six hours of not letting anyone into or out of the complex, deputies determined no one else was actually in the apartment and shut down the incident scene.
Police are still looking for the other people involved in the burglaries. ))
Again...more of the wrong folks messing up a nicer community...and we're OK with this around us?
And this isn't even near OUR house.
Goes to show that crime knows NO bounds, cares not for the innocent, and never takes a damn holiday.
But if those of us that ARE law-abiding DO take the time to keep our eyes and ears open, report suspicious behavior (which I plan to cover in an upcoming post), and keep notes as to what we see "out of the ordinary", we increase our safety factor immensely.
That might not prevent crime from happening altogether, but it will dissuade some, making them think twice about doing something they might regret...for a very long time.
We watch out for one another, and thereby watch out for ourselves as well.
That is the way you reclaim your neighborhood.
Your children deserve as much, as will their children.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.