Monday Musings...
And it's a fine start to a lovely week...most everywhere ELSE than in OUR neck o' the woods.
It's a bit cooler than last week, with a FREEZE advisory for Monday night (who knew?) and naturally, plants have started blooming and the trees are budding. This is gonna confuse the snot out of those plants...'ya just know it will..
*** Now, I'm going to try my BEST to not dwell on ALL the crap that happens around here DAILY, but I must touch on a few things I promised last week, such as the "big dig" results...
Pettit Avenue east of Lafayette St. reopened late Friday (thankfully), and the DROP in boomcar noise was quite appreciable...by HALF, in fact.
Still, the GRAND totals for the several days we had to endure all the drivers (the loudest of the loud) who DID NOT FOLLOW the "official" detour route were:
(...drum roll, please...)
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY BOOMCARS...!!!
For ONLY four, stinking days...utterly amazing!
Since the reopening, we've gone back down to our "usual" number of around 20 or less per day (with some regulars booming past SEVERAL times each day...and still never caught). Guess the quadrant captain is NOT paying attention to MY monthly reports with pictures...not a good thing.
This is ASIDE from ALL the cars that passed by after dark that had "illumination" issues...which were close to 30-40 PER NIGHT.
So, if we take an average COST per citation of say...$100 (nice, round figure - after all, it IS a MOVING violation), and do the math...
Our total amount that the city COULD have received would be...factoring in the boomcars and the blown out license bulbs, headlights and tail lights, etc...oh, and toss in a dozen or so SPEEDERS, and it would come to(approx)...THIRTY ONE THOUSAND BUCKS (that's $31,000.00 conservatively-speaking) ...!!!
That's a nice chunk of change for ANY police department to haul in...LEGALLY.
And, the city coffers would appreciate that to no end, as well.
BUT, the city's "good old boys" got several bugs up their a$$ when it comes to allowing the police (those on our streets) to DO such good (and profitable) work...as well as a nice, healthy disdain for the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE of Ft. Wayne.
That COULD change...with the right people in authority, and if we're not careful, it might become too late TO change.
And THAT...you can take to the voting booths, people.
*** Next up, I mentioned about the warm spell...and that means DANDELIONS...(argh) - the bane of the gardener and landscaper.
Well, we have OUR share popping their little (annoying) yellow heads through the lawn.
Most of it is due...strike that...ALL of it is due to the lack of CARE others show regarding THEIR lawns.
Hell, the COVERINGS on those neighboring lawns in bold yellow FROM all the dandelions speaks volumes as to why some folks need not have a HOUSE to live in...(because they don't know HOW to maintain it, or even make it look presentable).
Face it, when you allow ONE dandelion to grow and go to seed, you've just opened the door to ALL the "relatives" to barge right in and make THEMSELVES at home...(kinda like most all the NEIGHBORS do with THEIR relatives when they acquire a rental property...amazing the similarity there).
I, on the other hand, wage WAR on dandelions...sprays, removal tools, fire...you name it, I'll try it.
Like ANY form of combat..you're IN IT TO WIN IT...period.
(or you shouldn't even BE there in the first place)
I know I get tired removing MY weeds, but when you have to remove everyone ELSE'S weeds (because THEIR seeds blew onto YOUR place), it becomes a bit more "personal" (to me).
Still, we fight, because it's the right thing to do...even with WEEDS.
*** Next up on the agenda, we plopped our down-payment for the new fence...should be going up in less than 2-3 weeks.
Then, we can concern ourselves with a new roof for the house...or new front steps...or a new front door...or windows...or..well, you get the idea.
The hardest choice to make it whether it's really WORTH it all, because the house will NEVER appreciate the costs we're placing INTO it, thanks to the REST of the ghettohood around us keeping the values DOWN in the damn gutter (where mostly all the residents like to hang out).
We could turn this fortress into a damn Camelot-type castle, and it wouldn't matter a damn...if anything, it might RAISE the value of all the hovels in the area, and OUR place would STILL be worth less than the $40K we got it for over a decade ago.
I like having our plants, our garden, and our "critters"...cripes THEY keep much BETTER conversation than most ANYONE living around here for a mile (with perhaps ONE or TWO exceptions).
Thing is, being a RESPONSIBLE home-owner, there ARE certain things you DO in order to not allow YOUR place to devolve into another one of these hovels, and that usually costs some folding money somewhere.
(yeah, the government doesn't help those who can help themselves, like US...NOR rewards such people FOR such actions).
Never an "attaboy"...just a whole mess of "oh, sh*t"s..one usually right after another.
We do all that we do on OUR own.
Can't even rely on neighbors to assist any longer...they either all moved away or passed away, replaced by some of the most ignorant and disrespectful savages the Midwest could dredge up...and that's being a might kind in that regard.
That's why I tend to take each day as it comes along.
*** Next, we have a resolution to "The Case of the Missing Lunchbag".
Wifey stopped by the school she had that meeting at last week, and lo and behold, her lunchbag was STILL there (with all the accouterments included).
So, I had to wash out TWO sets of pudding/applesauce cups, and the sandwich container, as well as two sets of stainless utensils.
But, at least this mystery has been solved (unlike the untold numbers of crimes that happen around the city that NEVER get solved).
*** The neat thing about local public access cable channels, is that you never know WHAT you'll find...like last night.
I surfed into a portion of the (does this sound official or what?) State of the Sixth District Address, originally held 17 March....(gee, that's where WE live -yawn).
We had the obligatory speakers (most of which are about as useless as teats on a damn bull), but ONE speaker DID stand out, and I have to applaud HIS take on the...(...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Ft. Wayne.
Pastor Cedric Walker took the podium and while he appreciated all that the city and state were doing to revitalize the SE side, he said what I've been saying all along...it takes PEOPLE to make the change happen; people who can take PRIDE in what they can accomplish and what they are allowed to have.
He said when you educate the people...THEN the businesses will return and economic revival will take place.
I like this man...a LOT!
Wish HE was a neighbor of mine.
I've ALWAYS said it was about PEOPLE...and not things or programs, or other useless tripe that only perpetuates the whole entitlement mentality.
(maybe HE reads this blog? I can but hope)
Of course, there will be around $50 MILLION bucks dumped into low-income housing down here (like THAT will change anything).
All that will do is create a horizontal version of the old high-rise PROJECTS that failed marvelously in every single city in which they were built.
I know...I saw it first-hand.
Funny thing, not anything mentioned about relieving CRIME, or vetting those who rent into these hovels and apartments.
One glimmer of sunshine (?) was that HUD (and we all know what that spells BACKWARD, right?) is looking to go SMOKE-FREE not only with it's employees, but on it's "campuses" and housing projects...
(...pause for effect...)
You ARE kidding me, right?
You think ANY of these folks will give up their NEWPORTS or KOOLS?
You believe ANY of them will stop smoking WEED...or CRACK, or even METH?
C'mon now...lets be REAL here.
And I will NOT tolerate having OUR corner become the new "smoking area" for the entire neighborhood when HUD moves farther into the area...no way!
Good luck with THAT idea, folks.
*** Lastly today...I enjoy having the birds, squirrels, and rabbits stop by the "fortress"...my feathered and furry "subjects" as it were.
And I'm by NO means some cruel lord of any manor...I take pride in feeding them, providing water and maybe some place to rest a spell, and I do it gladly, with no expectation of compensation.
I also do it because they are more appreciative than all the two-legged creatures inhabiting the "realm".
Our "critters" are there to enjoy...and all they do is what nature intended.
But, they do provide enjoyment in the way of humor.
And, some have names.
The squirrels get that privilege, and maybe a bird or two, while Mr. Bunny is in a class all by himself, and we just call him that - MISTER Bunny...LOL.
I have STUBBY (who doesn't have much of a tail), TAN-TAIL (whose bi-colored tail, which doubles as an umbrella in rainy weather, speaks boldly for itself)
...and one I have named PANCAKE (because he ALWAYS lays FLAT on the ground when he eats...dunno why).
We have one Mourning Dove that I call SPECKLES due to...well, speckling of the colors on it's back (and it's not paint or bird-crap, it's real feathers).
L'IL RED is the woodpecker that comes by in summer for the suet cakes (smaller species than BIG RED, who we used to see at our late Uncle Leo's house in Portland).
And naturally, we have nuthatches, cardinals, wrens, sparrows, jays, starlings, and grackles by the score over the course of the season.
A veritable avian cornucopia, as it were.
They never speak a word, they never listen (per se), they just fly by and eat or bathe, and then go back to wherever, but they provide better company than most anyone else in our area of the human variety. That's got to account for something.
I guess all this smacks back to all that preaching I was exposed to growing up...the whole "If you do this unto the least of my brethern, you do this unto me" thing from the Bible. Or maybe it's the "God provides for the smallest of creatures" and in that manner that is my task given to me by my creator thing.
Either way, I gladly do it.
I suppose that is what I like about this neighborhood, and why it NEEDS to be returned to a place that exemplifies the creation we are meant to enjoy...and perhaps be a little in awe of.
But the hearts and minds of those who should be charged with the stewardship of such a place are the ones that need real change.
I already knew as much...and for quite some time.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.