Humpday Happenings...
Halfway down the pike towards the weekend...smack dab in the middle of Holy week (for the Judeo-Christian calendar, anyway), and we're cooling down just a tad here in the Heartland today...highs around 60, and NO sign of any turbulent weather, such as what struck in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth areas in Texas yesterday.
That was certainly some BAD tornadic activity with golf ball-size hail.
Our prayers go out to those affected by the storms down there...certainly NOT the best way to approach Good Friday and Easter, that's for sure.
And that reminds me...the other week, here in Ft. Wayne, the city tested their tornado warning sirens, and you know what?
I never heard them AT ALL...either at 1015 hrs, OR at 1935 hrs...imagine that. The (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST side of town gets the sh*t end of the severe weather stick...guess we can ADD that to the REST of the sticks we've been "collecting" all these years.
Nice to know we've plenty of "kindling" (in case of riots).
Meanwhile...back at the Fortress...
*** Today's military quote aka WHO SAID THAT?
"More is not better; BETTER is better.
"So, WHO said that, anyway? Answer at the top tomorrow.
*** It's Spring Break, and that means kids are out of school for the duration, unlike the times they're supposed to be IN school, and decide they just can't get the hell out of bed to GO to school.
And our LIBRARIES are fast becoming the new "gathering place" for kids of those parents that just don't wish to...well...parent the children while they're AT HOME.

Now, don't get me wrong here...I LOVE libraries, but when I was a youngster, I ALWAYS had Dad (or sometimes Mom) take me there to get books out or to return them...until I was old enough to go BY MYSELF, and never to spend ALL day there when my parents wanted a cheap-ass babysitter.
These days, it's a whole other game, and that has library staff chiding these parents for the lack OF parenting.
Here's the story from WANE:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/area-libraries-are-seeing-more-unsupervised-children-due-to-spring-break
The operative word to remember here is...UNSUPERVISED...kinda like the kids we have roaming all over our streets down here in the ghettohood.
It's disheartening to see TODDLERS in the damn street, unsupervised, especially with all the dumbass mooks we having DRIVING along those streets.
And it's only by the grace of God we haven't had any hit and runs OR fatalities...but it IS only a matter of time.
I've yet to be a parent, but I HAVE been a child raised by parents who DID give a damn, and with my folks, it was a FULL-TIME job for them...same goes for ANY parent. You don't clock in and out or pull ONE shift per day with child-rearing.
If you don't want to put the TIME into raising that child (or children) and that means SUPERVISING their activities when needed, than maybe being a parent isn't on your short list of IMPORTANCE and therefore having (and raising) kids might not be the best thing for YOU...OR the children.
*** Next up, another house fire on the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST side of town.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/five-people-escape-drexel-ave-house-fire
And, it would appear from the article that since the fire began near a mattress, one can conclude that someone fell asleep while smoking...well, that's the USUAL gig on this.
If some of these people had an inkling of common sense, they're figure out this isn't some mud hut village in Zimbabwe and that some things you just DON'T do because it places people AT RISK. Maybe they just don't deserve to be handed a HOUSE without first checking to see if they have a functioning BRAIN CELL in that melon they call a cranium.
I understand that ACCIDENTS can (and do) happen, but the frequency we see such fires dictates that some folks are just not "up to speed" when it comes to living in a civilized environment among civilized people.
(that would also account for a LOT of the other issues down here, wouldn't it?)
*** Moving on...
The Fort Wayne neighborhood where the lawyer was shot (last week) is dealing with this as best they can.
Here's the link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/shorewood-neighborhood-coping-after-shooting
The FWPD believe this was an isolated incident and that the victim was "targeted", so there doesn't appear to be any randomness attached to the case (at this time). Well, that's good to know for everyone else...I suppose.
People in the neighborhood ARE closing windows, garage doors, and the like...(welcome to MY part of town, where it looks like Winter all year with all the closed-up houses). You simply can't take ANYTHING for granted where we live, and trusting people becomes a lost art.
You trust in yourself...and those under YOUR roof exclusively.
Everyone else in the area...you keep at arm's length (if you're smart).
It's not really the way we want to live down here...just the way we NEED to live.
It's the old friend SITUATIONAL AWARENESS...
And, you pretty much HAVE to be that way, considering that damn near everyone else is either doing drugs, dealing drugs, or otherwise engaged in some form of dubious activity that could impact on YOUR lie at the drop of a hat (or the kicking in of your door, as is often heard on the police radio).
*** Remember that story a while back about how unfit Fort Wayneans were alleged to be?
No? Well, here's further proof that many of them are indeed in that group:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120404/LOCAL/304049976
The County Allen (in Indiana) is ranked 35th (out of 92 counties) in state healthiness.
(Yeah, and I come from Philly - land of HOAGIES, PIZZA, CHEESESTEAKS, TASTYKAKES and SCRAPPLE...so what's yer point?)
Now, I might not be the HEALTHIEST sum-bitch in the county, but I'm doing okay for someone about to enter their 6th decade on this planet.
I've kept the same weight for about 25-30 years, much of it due to my following of Ben Franklin's quote:
"Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation".
Granted, that Indiana has NONE of the culinary amenities I lived upon LIKE those cheesesteaks (they DO have a Penn Station shop...up NORTH, where everything is freaking at, so we don't get there that often...but it IS damn tasty stuff.)
I pretty much eat what I want...I just never see the need to pig the hell out...OR subsist TOTALLY upon fast-food joints, unlike the ghettohood locals (also being government-sponsored) when it come to THEIR eating choices.
And their GIRTH kind of demonstrates what the result of such habits will do.
I swear, some of these baby-mamas are so large due to improper eating habits, they MUST have their own gravitational field surrounding them...which would explain why their children "orbit" them whenever they walk down the MIDDLE of the streets.
But this report soes have some skewed stats...like they say that 47% of the eateries in ALLEN county are fast food places (yikes!)...okay, I can believe that much.
But, when the report mentions that 9% have low income and no EASY way to get to a grocery store, that just isn't all that truthful.
They ALL have SOME form of transportation to drive their asses around...that's a FACT, and I can testify to that.
If it's not their OWN vehicle (which many times is a rather NEW one at that), it's that of the hundreds of "friends" they have (most of which manage to move into the same house at some point, or at least hang there enough to have you think they DO live there), so that part doesn't wash for me.
And they also have the BUSES..and TAXIS. (if they wish to pay, which they have money enough to buy booze and drugs for)
These people all but LIVE at all the CONVENIENCE STORES that dot the area like pimples on an acne-ridden teenager's face.
And that's when they're NOT going to the fast food places...which is almost EVERY DAY (and sometimes starting FIGHTS inside).
The ONLY divergence from this modus operandi, is when they have a COOKOUT...charred something on the grill.
Thank God they're not attempting anything like REAL cooking...that would mean they could make such things like actual MEALS for their children..or (dare I say it?)...BREAKFAST, and where would the schools be without all those freebie programs for the meals these kids get on YOUR dime.
There are those that DO try to cook...and burn their frigging house DOWN as a result of falling asleep or using tons of GREASE to prepare whatever it is they're trying to make...either way...BAD idea.
The story just made me smile, because a LOT more people used to be a LOT better than this, and these days, they're simply NOT.
*** Lastly today, human nature is an interesting thing, whether you experience it, or just watch it.
Actually, we ALL experience it...and every day, but we often neglect to notice it, because we're busy doing it.
Human nature is what we produce as individuals through our words, actions, and thoughts.
People will always tell you that "It's only human nature"...and that can apply to something GOOD and decent from people, or it can demonstrate the depths of depravity we all can be capable of...depends on the person, the level of intent, and the ease one can achieve it...good OR bad.
What we all have to realize is that we can't avoid human nature, so we'd be better off embracing it.
It's like living out lives...WE are going to spend the MOST time in our own life, so better to make the most of it, rather than shirk our responsibilities.
We can train ourselves, adapt ourselves, and empower ourselves to do better...to become better.
All we need to do is WANT to make it happen, and that's a good way to begin any day.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.