Tuesday Tidbits...

Well, well...looks like we in the Heartland are waking up to some shower activity...nice.
Even got a few rolls of thunder and a bit of lightning to go with it...sweet.
Sure won't have to WATER anything today...for a CHANGE.
Still have to run the A/C though...we've got 100% humidity OUTSIDE and it's not really going to be a COOL day in July, so there we are.
But, never fear, we do have plenty of "stuff" going on OUT THERE in Realville to keep us busy...like THIS:
*** Another shooting at the Eden Green Apartments (which is located a spit and a slide where the FWPD HQ USED TO BE, until they moved downtown).

Here's the story link, short as it is:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/two-hurt-after-double-shooting-in-fort-wayne
TWO people shot this time...one in critical, the other in serious condition.
Police are looking for a motive...

(are YOU frigging serious?)
You need a MOTIVE to establish WHY anyone would be shot at THIS place (the Sams Club of illegal activity, much like the apartments down along Serenity Drive) when you've known for DECADES that this complex is replete with dubious creatures?
You ought to be monitoring it 24/7, because it seems to be the "go-to" place when perps want to get away from it all.
Guess the new management there hasn't gotten a handle on the crime either...imagine that.
Welcome to LOW-INCOME HOUSING at it's "finest" (?)...all on the taxpayers' dime...Thank Lyndon Johnson for such things.
But wait, we're just getting started, kids...
*** Another shooting early this morning left ONE person DEAD...

Here's THIS story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/one-killed-in-shooting-on-wayne-trace
HOMICIDE NUMBER 21 (or 22, if you DO count Mr. Frisby's demise, which was NEVER conclusive, according to the coroner) is now in the books, so my "estimate" of 25 is going to be surpassed (it would appear). I would not be surprised to see 30 at THIS rate.

This shooting happened around 0415 hrs, along the 3900 block of Wayne Trace Rd. The location is the site of the Diplomat Aparments complex.
The man the police found was pronounced dead at the scene, and this was ALSO on the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE of Ft. Wayne, as was the previous story's shootings...wow, sure glad crime is going DOWN...that way it will definitely match the neighborhoods...that have ALSO been GOING DOWN, thanks to more "low-income" housing that YOU are paying for.
Your tax dollars hard at work, friends...
Simply A-F$cking-Mazing!
At this rate, we ALL (the decent, tax-paying and law-abiding among us) "might" be brought up on charges of AIDING AND ABETTING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY...I mean we all ARE "paying" for such things to occur, are we not?
Helluva way to "contribute" to society, isn't it?
*** We've got another story about a boy who drown in a pond in an Aboite Township neighborhood.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120724/LOCAL07/307249982

Now, this boy was considered a "good kid"...showed up at school, hung with a lot of white kids, and went missing over the weekend.

It was his mom who found him, and dragged his lifeless body from that pond, after she had reported him missing to police.

Again, we see a CITIZEN (mom) doing the job of the police...helluva way to get acquainted with law-enforcement.

He lived on the East side of town, and attended Snider High School, where he was a junior.

Here we have an example of ONE BAD DECISION...and how it can cost you these days...BIG TIME!
Then again, it all comes down to ONE simple fact:

GOOD kids DON'T SMOKE SPICE...(do they?)
There used to be an OLD expression when we were growing up -
YOU PLAY...YOU PAY!
Some pay more than others...regardless of the time spent at "play".
Parents these days should know EXACTLY who their child's friends are, and if either of the parents have ANY doubt...just say NO!
Screw this "all the other kids parents allow it" BS...it's YOUR child, and the decisions YOU carry JUST as much weight (if not more) than any decision you child might make (because they're still learning), right?
'Nuff said about that...you all know what needs to be done there.
*** Lastly today, America's first female astronaut, Sally Ride, passed away yesterday at the age of 61, due to pancreatic cancer.

I didn't even know she had been ill.
Here's the WIKI on her:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride
And she was also the YOUNGEST person to enter space at age 32 (1983).
But she was not THE first woman into space.
That distinction belongs to Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1963).
Still, Sally represented much to so many.

Interestingly, Sally's two missions were aboard the (later and ill-fated) Challenger orbiter.
Her private life was personal and after a 5 year marriage to fellow astronaut Steve Hawley (1982-1987), and it was later revealed that she had a life partner (a childhood friend) Dr. Tam E. O' Shaugnessey. Sally and Tam co-authored more than a few books together, and the lesbian relationship was announced by Ride's sister and spokesperson after her death.
I would have to say that what personal should stay personal, because what Sally Ride represented to so many young girls wanting to enter the fields of space exploration , as well as the life sciences, both theoretical and applied, speaks much to her legacy, as a professional in HER field.
Let's remember Sally Ride for her accomplishments and achievements, and for her devotion to her profession.
And let us remember that making the right choices in life can have it's advantages beyond belief (like being in space, looking back at Earth), or it the bad choices can bring as much disadvantages all too abruptly.

So always try and make the best good decision you can...every day.

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

Stay SAFE out there, America.