Monday Musings...

July might be winding itself down, but the London Olympics for 2012 are, if anything winding UP.
More about that a little farther along, but first, we've lots of other items to take a peek at, so let's get rolling.
Today's weather expects to be none of what England been having (that would be RAINY), although we DID have a brief spot of drizzle earlier this morning. Temps are supposed to reach the upper 80s and yes, there IS always a "chance" of rain...just as much as there's that chance of that bank error in YOUR favor (shades of Monopoly) that dumps a few thousand bucks into the account...right?
*** We had ANOTHER round of shootings in the Summit City over the weekend...AGAIN.

This time THREE (count 'em, 3) men were sent to hospital; two in good condition, and the third one in stable condition.
Here's the lowdown:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120729/LOCAL07/307299895/1043/LOCAL07
The first shooting occurred Saturday around 1500 hours in the 2100 block of Drexel Ave, on the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST side of Fort Wayne. In that event, witnesses saw a man shooting at a green vehicle. The shooter and vehicle left the scene by the time police arrived. A short time later, the green vehicle arrived at a hospital with a gunshot victim who was listed as stable. Several parked cars were also hit by gunfire and several shell casings were found on scene, and a pistol was also recovered.

In the second shooting which happened around 2000 hours at the Chapel Oaks Apartments in the 1000 block of Oaklawn Court, responding officers found two men who had been shot. They were transported to hospital in good condition.
Police believe this shooting originally took place near Pontiac and John Sts., and that the victims were then taken to the apartments in a Ford Escape (gotta LOVE the IRONY there with using THAT vehicle...LOL).
Again, this ALSO occurred on the city's SOUTHEAST SIDE...amazing how THIS side of town gets the "bad rep"...
(no, it's not amazing...it's JUST THE FACTS)
It IS interesting to note that the SE side is going through a "changing of the guard" with the (yet to be officially named) quadrant captain for the FWPD, and the crims seem to have picked up on this, because the level of crime seems to have risen markedly.
But wait, we're not quite done yet...
*** Here's a situation where you never overlook the small sh*t...

Around 1500 hours yesterday, I see this car that parked on the block for a second time...didn't see who was driving it at first, but on the second time around, I got a picture of the driver...never saw him before in the area (that immediately sends up a flag in my mind).

Plus, the OTHER car this guy gets into backs up the whole length of the block and is acting really "weird" (well, more weird than usual, even for THIS area). SO, I get the tag numbers and vehicle description, and call it into the FWPD dispatch.

Done deal, right?

Not quite.

I get a CALL BACK from the FWPD ("WTF???") and they ask me a few questions about the vehicles...no problem, but I'm now thinking something "bigger" is going on (you just get a knack for such things after a time).

Seems that the black vehicle was a *39*(stolen car), and the po-po were looking for it.
I told dispatch I took some pictures if the responding officer was interested...and he was.

When two officers came by, they went over that car with a fine tooth comb. One of the officers came to the house, and I told him I was the initial caller and I proceeded to show him the pictures I took.

He seemed to recognize the one person ("...he looks familiar" ), and wanted to know if I could print the pictures out for him.

I would have gladly done so...IF we have a decent printer, so I opted to dump the pics onto a blank 1Gb flash drive, so they could upload them and then print out the pictures (I imagine to show the person whose car was stolen to see if they KNEW the perp and to detectives handling the case).

I'm supposed to get the flash drive BACK...and I'd like to, because it belongs to the lovely Mrs. Bobby G (gift from school).

The stolen vehicle was then hooked to a flatbed an hauled away (I'd dust that baby for prints and then when I find the perp, do a comparison check...bet'cha we get a winner, there).

So there 'ya go...my "good deed" for the day...week...month...whatever.

(It's what I do...)

Goes to show that paying ATTENTION means more than you think, and that many times, the PUBLIC is one of the best resources a police department can have. Never overlook the simple stuff, or dismiss it...it might be a big deal...kapeesh?

*** Now, about those OLYMPICS...
Can you say...WOW?

The opening ceremonies blew ME away (and that isn't easy to do at my age...lol)
The Bond/Queen bit was EPIC.
I mean, Her Royal majesty had to arrive at the game in a PROPER manner, right?
And who better to accompany her than MI6's own best double-O agent himself...Bond...JAMES BOND (Daniel Craig).
Wonderfully staged and played out.

And then, the Rowan Atkinson/Mr. Bean - Chariots of Fire bit was BRILLIANT.
Also, the manner in which the history of Britain was portrayed was astounding, and Danny Boyle, who directed this deserves a bloody KNIGHTHOOD.
Seeing the literary characters of children stories as well as the Industrial Revolution was a masterstroke.
To think that was only the setup...

The game THEMSELVES have been a real pleasure to watch, even IF NBC time-delays the damn events (bad idea), and is not showing as many different events as they could. Ever hear of SPLIT-SCREEN..or PICTURE-IN-PICTURE???
 (and...it's NOT all about basketball, for cripes sake)

I DID watch both the men's AND the woman's bicycle road race...MAN, was I impressed at the athleticism displayed over such a LONG period of time by SO many.

I mean, I've done my share of bicycling (maybe a 20 mile stint here and there, through wooded and macadam areas), but to endure such a LONG haul with such endurance and machine-like precision was amazing.

The ladies did it mostly in the damn RAIN, to boot...and Marianne Vos of the Netherlands deserved to with that one, believe me.

Lizzie Armistead made a great run for England into second place for the sliver medal.
The mens' event was won by Alexander Vinokurov of Kazahkstan the previous day. (not bad for a 155 mile ride)
I think I found a new sport to enjoy...LOL.

It's always good to see the USA do well in swimming and gymnastics, too...we've got a great crop of talent this go-around.
And we also won a gold medal in double trap shooting with Kim Rhode taking the medal with a score of 99 out of 100...!
Currently, we stand in SECOND place in overall medals behind China, and ahead of Italy.
We have 3 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze thus far.
For some reason, I've not enjoyed the Olympics as much in the past as I have THIS time...
Must be getting older...LOL!
*** Lastly today, I admire those that push themselves to strive for the best they can be...I know I attempt to do so, and sometimes, I fail marvelously.

But the ability to get BACK up and try again is what drives every one of us...or it should.

If you ever doubt your talents or need a motivational "push", look no farther than these Olympians, who sacrifice far more than we could ever...just for the opportunity to take a shot at being the BEST at their chosen sport.

Maybe that's the REAL underlying theme to much of this...to challenge OURSELVES...to TAKE that extra step...to GO that extra mile...to DO the one more thing we all need to do in life.
I've always said that there's nothing wrong with wanting to be better today than you were yesterday...
Do just THAT much, and tomorrow will have a way of taking much better care of itself.

Have yourselves a great week.

Be well, make a difference t someone, and...

Stay SAFE out there, America.