Humpday Happenings...
Middle of the week, and it would appear to be the start of a mini- "heatwave" here in the Heartland.
Temps are expected reach into the 80s for the next few days with humidity being up there as well.
Guess all this off-and-on again rain showers helped that to no small end, hmm?
Well, let's shake the "tree of life" and see what falls to the ground, shall we?
(and no diving for the "spoiled fruit" - there's plenty to go around, unfortunately)
Those of you who have either been readers since the inception of this blog, or those that peer into the archives over the last 6 years already KNOW that MY neighbo...I mean GHETTOhood is, if nothing else...NOISY.
Don't look at me, I'm not making any of it.
It's EVERYONE ELSE...believe me on that one.
If there is any way to make noise, the human flotsam living around here WILL find that way, make no mistake.
It's mostly the damn boomcars, but we also have banshee-like screams from the "children" (feeding time at the zoo's monkey island is more sedate), random people shouting into their cell phones (like that makes it sound AS loud on the OTHER end by doing so), the occasional gunshots, the muffler-less vehicles, motorcycles and cafe bikes streaking about the area, and the barking dogs ALL combine to make this area about as loud some days as NYC at rush hour.
And since the city allows the local police to "assign" SUCH a LOW PRIORITY to this bane of humanity, not much gets done to quell the din.
Now, you have to remember that misery STILL loves company, and when it comes to misery, the "neighbors" are about as MISERABLE as one can find outside of the state penitentiary.
MY misery is of a different kind, though.
THEIR misery is that they don't have the desire to be a productive individual, parent, worker, or anything else other than a slug on humanity.
And they do leave a slime trail...I call that LITTER. Follow it, and you invariably find THEM.
(not that you really want to, that is)
But, it's this incessant ability to make noise that seems to fascinate their (obviously) primitive minds.
A civilized people would appreciate the fact that OTHERS share the are in which they all reside.
These "ghettohoodians" (new word in Bob's lexicon) do not.
*** Last evening, city council turned down a request to expand the entertainment facility up on Lima Road called Crazy Pinz.
(personally, I hate ANY place or writing that substitutes a "Z" for a proper "S", but that's beside the point - lazy English to me)
What the expansion request dealt with was an OUTDOOR area for "family picnics" (and such)...
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110511/LOCAL/305119976
Crazy Pinz wanted to have an adjoining 10 acres rezoned to accommodate even more "fun"...
((*AHEM* - rolls eyes))
Some residents expressed their concerns...'cause that's what a REAL neighborhood does...
(( Kristen Saurer, who lives next to the entertainment complex, said the facility already causes noise concerns, attracts crime and diminishes neighbors’ quality of life. She said the developer chose to buy land that was not zoned for outdoor activities and now is trying to change the rules after the fact.
"Our current situation is bad," she said. "They would like to make it worse." ))
Wow...NOISE concerns...attracts CRIME...diminishes the QUALITY-OF-LIFE.
Now all THAT sounds just SO damn FAMILIAR...doesn't it?
Oh, that's right...That is EXACTLY the problems I have down HERE....!!!
(that have been totally IGNORED by the councilmen, the city, and everyone else)
Imagine that.
(( Councilman Didier, who represents the area, said the business is hurting the quality of life of nearby residents.
Councilman Pape, however, said most of the concerns seemed to be about the current business, which is running legally.
He said residents are unhappy they are living next to a piece of commercial property but that should have been taken into consideration before buying their homes. ))
Pape would surely feel otherwise if HE lived next to a business property that changed hand over the years and finally became a place where CRIME blossomed, and NOISE grew exponentially over the years...
The people who DID buy homes there I'm sure NEVER envisioned that THEIR lives would be so damn disrupted by something like Crazy Pinz.
In fact, I'm pretty sure the folks living there expected a nice shopping experience, or something a lot more "business-like" and less LOUD, hmm?
When you think about it, look where a similar venue is located, namely THUNDER BOWL.
(out south along rts 27/33..far from the madding crowd, as it were)
Not near enough to ANY homes to make that "quality-of-life" suffer is it, Pape?
That boy needs to think before he opens his mouth, but then again, he's a BIG part of the reason the SE side of town suffers (along with his compatriot, Glynn Hines - aka Mr "spend tons of money to make that sow's ear look like that silk purse" ghetto-lover Hines).
Now, while this victory UP NORTH is all well and good (and deserved), it begs a much deeper investigation into WHY such things (like that quality-of-life) are seemingly NEVER addressed DOWN HERE?
Are there TWO different TYPES of "quality" of that life we're all living?
(one for the decent folks, and one for the slum dogs?)
And what about those decent folks who find themselves all but surrounded BY those slum dogs?
Who speak for them (or US)?
Apparently NOT A SINGLE, SOLITARY SOUL.
But, if we venture outside the city, we also see that people THERE don't cotton to "disruptive elements".
Here's the link to this story:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/Underage-drinking-bust-nabs-dozens
Whitley County has a better handle on teens (from Fort Wayne) drinking than does Fort Wayne itself!
Not saying much about the efficacy of THE LAWS here, does it?
And this "barn-bust" was due to 2 people calling the Sheriff's Department and reporting LOUD MUSIC.
(gee, isn't that what I wind up doing SEVERAL TIMES A DAMN MONTH down HERE?)
Seems out in Whitley, they assign a DIFFERENT (and higher) PRIORITY to those LOUD MUSIC CALLS...don't they?
Well, maybe THEY prefer to stop things BEFORE they get out of hand (out there).
And perhaps, the people in Whitley Cty DO indeed enjoy a LOT more of the "quality-of-life" thing I hear about, but am never privy to.
Just like the people up along Lima Rd...
Now WHY can such things happen in THOSE places, but NOT down here in the ghettohood?
Yes, once again, it all comes down to THE PEOPLE.
We used to call that a COMMUNITY...people WORKING TOGETHER...to ENRICH their lives, and make things BETTER not only for themselves, but also for their children.
Funny, don't see ANY evidence of THAT happening down here at all.
Wonder why our "councilmen" don't seem to see that either?
Or why the city "leaders" can't (or won't) be bothered with enriching OUR lives...by keeping us SAFE...or NOISE-FREE.
Be a nice change down here, I can tell you.
It gets WORSE every year, and our property tax DROP bears witness to the conditions as they devolve.
What was once a nice chunk of EQUITY has become an albatross around a homeowner's neck.
Having a neighborhood change over time is inevitable, but to watch a neighborhood descend into the 10th layer of Dante's Hell is quite another thing.
And it doesn't HAVE to occur...that's the sad part.
It's just ALLOWED to by the lack of intervention of so many city departments and agencies.
That, it turn will cause businesses to leave, or at least refrain from opening there.
What is left after the "fall", is much like Rome, after the Vandals rode through...history DOES indeed repeat itself to a degree.
And sometimes, I get REALLY tired with all this repetition...
Tomorrow is, however, another day...and HOPE doesn't cost nearly as much as a gallon of gas.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.