--Weather today is nice...temps rocking on up to the mid-70s and a slight chance of a passing shower later today.
Tonight's forecast: DARK...continued dark throughout the night, turning to partly-scattered light by morning.
Now, let's get busy with the jobs "at-hand"...shall we?
('cause they ain't getting done on their own)
*** A shooting on the (where else?) SOUTHEAST SIDE leaves one woman in serious condition early Saturday morning.
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120819/LOCAL07/308199919/0/SEARCH
It's the Marathon station at Oxford and Wayne Trace where the woman was struck.
This occurred around 0335 hrs Saturday morning, and I just HAVE to ask the obvious question here:
WHY THE HELL are so many people up at these hours, anyway?
And WHY do we really NEED so many places to accommodate them open as well?
(okay, so that's TWO questions...)
And how many people became targets when they were AT HOME, or IN BED, instead of roaming the streets until the sun comes the hell up?
The short answer would be: A helluva lot FEWER!!!
I'd seriously wonder WHY a person NEEDS to rush out to some convenience store at damn near 4AM for ANYTHING, if they KNEW how to properly stock their OWN house or apartment. And the city LEADERS should be wondering along similar lines...if they had half a mind to.
But wait, that's NOT all...
*** Another shooting on the...(here we go again, folks...all together, now...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE leaves a teenager in critical condition.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120820/LOCAL07/308209958/0/SEARCH
Riding a BICYCLE for God's sake...a victim of an apparent "drive-by"...
I mean WTF is going on here, anyway?
Again, a dark-colored car was seen leaving the area, reported neighbors. They had also heard between 3 to 5 shots, and casings were found and marked at the scene.
The teen, 13 year-old Aquavion J. Manning (of Fort Wayne) was awake and talking before being taken to hospital where hid condition was downgraded from serious to critical.
In both shootings, FWPD has no suspects or motives, and both cases are ongoing investigations.
OK, NOW will someone address the problems we have down here...?
WTH will it take BEFORE something gets done?
*** And along those lines, I did watch THE FORT REPORT (Saturday, 5:30PM, cable public access 2) and Kevin Leininger did a good job of asking some decent questions...
The ANSWERS from both guests (FWPD chief York and Rev. Steven Terry) were verbose lacking the substance I was hoping to hear.
You can tell that although neither guest was lying, there was an air of evasion about the answers...like they were dancing around the REAL issues.
Rev. Terry believes that EDUCATION holds the key to the gang problems...
Another things is that you have to GET the young men INTO the classroom...and KEEP them there.
You can't learn if you don't show the hell up.
Nothing less will ever suffice.
Now, I will say I did see THREE FWPD cruisers in OUR area over the weekend (and not rushing to calls, but PATROLLING), and that kept the noise down from the moron boomcars...a bit.
So far, the new FWPD quadrant deputy chief, one Captain Garry Hamilton, doesn't seem to be getting a good handle on the problems down here, and having been ON the force as long as he has, AND being BLACK, you'd "think" he'd bring a fresh (and proper) perspective to the table.
Sorry folks...ain't seeing anything to that matter at all...yet.
(and if my hunch is right, not much will change until other things change both at the departmental level AND the city level.)
I've LIVED down here for 15 years...most of them HAVE not (and many not at all).
So, I would trust MY instincts (and observations) over theirs most days
*** The N. Anthony Scotts grocery store will NOT reopen...
Here's the link to this story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120818/BIZ/308189975/0/SEARCH
Now, the resident "mouthpiece" from Krogers (Scotts) said they were going to pump about $100 MILLION dollars into the city through renovations of existing stores and building a SECOND "Kroger Marketplace" superstore way out there in the Village at Coventry (SO close to that Anthony store...yeah, right...well, they'll just have to go to the CLINTON STREET store).
One woman even said that she signed a petition to have the Anthony location FIXED and reopened...but it all fell on DEAF EARS.
Welcome to the SOUTH SIDE of town....now, even on the north side.
Now THAT'S progress...NOT!
Get used to being IGNORED, because the city planners are so damn "blissful".
They would prefer we go to the Kroger at Southgate Plaza (and get mugged, like a senior citizen was a few months back)...sorry, I like to go SHOPPING and come home unaffected by human vermin bent on taking MY sh*t.
And that's why we drive out to Waynedale to shop (as do more ghetto baby-mamas...seeing a lot more of those THERE now...and it follows a pattern).
If you can dump $16 MIL into some NEW store to take care of the rich-ass folks in those nice neighborhoods (when they have the means to go anywhere to get anything), you should DAMN SURE be able to REPLACE A DAMN ROOF on a building in an older, ESTABLISHED neighborhood, unless you (the city) WANT that area to become the new "ghettohood NORTH"...which it will at this rate.
That ROOF doesn't cost as much as that STORE...trust me.
*** Lastly today...school is back in session all over, and that means down here in the crotch of Ft. Wayne, those that pass as "adults" will have even MORE time on their primate hands...to get into stuff...and not in a good way.
We've certainly got OUR share of crap that's backing up...causing problems...and creating PAIN for a lot of good, decent folks.
And although prayer can work wonders, praying our way out of any situation without working at it to some degree is kinda futile.
Even Jesus said that faith without works is dead (refer to N/T - James 2:14-26)
You have to do SOMETHING aside from bending the knees and clasping the hands..
When you weight the shootings alone in this city, that's making some bold statements.
Unlike a video game, there are REAL (and often substantial) consequences for implementing the whole "cause and effect" aspect to or lives.
And we all have to be ready to accept them if we do wrong, but perhaps the WRONG is what needs to be NOT done...or UNdone.
In any event, WE are the ones that choose...right or wrong, good or bad...and will be held accountable eventually.
I'd rather not have THAT kind of burden on MY shoulders these days...life can be complex enough without seeking further angst.
It's just something to think about.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
12 comments:
When I worked the overnight shift, I was at first surprised at how many folks with so little to do were up at 3 am. I did eventually enjoy it as it made sorting out the decent folks from the law-breakers much easier--as there were much more of the latter hanging out.
The back to school air is here as well--at least for 2 of our kids. Enjoy the cool weather Bob.
The Kroger thing revolves around the fact that it was the ONE building they didn't own... Sure it would be a "cheap fix", but if you can get out from under a landlord AND save a Million bucks, why not? Smart business decision, took so long because of the callousness of it. By now, most of those people have gotten USED to driving the extra distance.
Y'know if you WANTED to shop at Southgate, there's an easy way to make it safe. Buy a buttload of disposable cell phones (I'm sure theyre available in your neighborhood), and each week use one to call in a robbery just before you shop. The cops will show up, most likely catch someone in the commision anyway, the bad guys will clear out, and you can shop in peace. Might wanna vary your shopping days, though.
Slamdunk:
Oh, yeah...it becomes REAL easy to play "spot the perp" at 3AM...LOL.
And that old maxim must be still rue:
"An IDLE mind IS the devil's playground", especially in FORT WAYNE.
I'am liking that comfortable weather, too.
(hope you got a shot glass souvenir from SPI...LOL)
Thanks for stropping on by today and commenting.
Stay safe out there.
CWM:
I thought when KROGER took over SCOTTS, they snagged ALL the stores...weird how they "forgot" to buy one?
I think Kroger still COULD have bought the building outright, renovated it and took care of the folks living nearby.
Instead the residents become inconvenienced (as we slowly became DOWN HERE over the last 15 years...store by store, house by house), and pretty soon, those along the N. Anthony corrdor will shop like WE have come to do DOWN HERE - EVERYWHERE ELSE.
(and then the city can put up MORE "low-income" housing...won't that be ducky?)
We KNOW that's coming!
(like a jail-on-wheels)
And 'ya know...I kinda LIKE that idea of yours to shop at Southgate...has the novelty of NOT having been tried...yet.(bwahahahaha)
Nice call.
Or maybe we could EXTEND the "shop with a cop" program to ALL year??
That's ONE way to get more FWPD presence down here...LOL!
Hey, thanks for stopping by today and commenting.
You stay safe up there.
Bob G:
So you put the wife back to work, eh? That reminds me that there have been a couple of interesting stories of late about the happenings at our local schools.
It seems that the new voucher system has FWCS so upset - they are paying $32K to advertise how wonderful the school district is. I don't remember that that budget item was included in the extra tax money they had to have from us wealthy taxpayers.
Then there was the story about the EACS student who transferred to Concordia:
“The respect Concordia students have for teachers was a huge eye-opener,” he said. “There’s a Christ-centered environment here. It’s an all-around nice group of people.”
Hmmm ... Aretha Franklin sang that song.
Babysitting is right.
When I was student teaching, my cooperating teacher mentioned more than once that "we're feeding them breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, and it won't be long until we're putting them to bed at night."
I'll always admire her for her wisdom.
And get this: She's black and protested during the Civil Rights era, and she ALWAYS got onto her students when they used the "N" word as casually as any other word(I student taught at an all-black high school). She always told them that she fought to HAVE that word removed, so that THEY could have more opportunities. She said it hurt her.
Of course, it fell on deaf ears...
Bob G:
The Kroger/Scotts problem had to happen when two chains combine. The Decatur Road store is not the only casualty. The Scotts Store at Coldwater and Dupont, the Scotts at Maplecrest & Stellhorn and the Kroger on US 24 across from Village at Coventry went bye-bye. Auburn, New Haven, Columbia City and Bluffton lost stores as well.
If you recall, when Supervalu bought Scotts, they farmed out the operation of the North Anthony store to a franchisee, but that didn't last.
BTW, the North Anthony store is only a mile from the North Clinton store, so they were too close anyway.
Gadfly:
I read that about the $32K...more aste (imho).
Yeah, Aretha...R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Makes 'ya wonder, doesn;t it?
Jana:
LOL...somehow, I KNEW you'd mention babysitting...!
Maybe all those entitled kids were making TOO MUCH NOISE while being rowdy that they couldn't HEAR her...?
Hey, thanks for stopping by today and commenting.
You and (army) Hubs stay safe out there.
gadfly (pt 2):
:)
I know that when Kroger bought Scotts, the product lines were a bit different.
We STILL have "Flav-o-rite" brands at Scotts and no Kroger brands.
That eventually changed to ALL Kroger stuff (which isn't all that bad for the cheaper price)
The resaon forthe Decatur closure must ALSO have been the proximity of the Southgate Kroger (which most days is a relative "madhouse"...and has the escaped "inmates" to prove it...LOL)
We just won;t shop there for two important reasons:
1) We don't like getting robber on the way out.
2) We like to have our car STILL there in ONE piece when we come out.
I do like CWM's idea of calling the po-po before we go there so they can be "on scene"...(disposable phones might have a GOOD use, after all...LOL).
Thanks a lot for dropping by today and commenting.
You stay safe (and informed) out there.
Before the Marshall's at Southgate closed, I went in the Kroger a few times because I loved the look of it, very 1950's looking! am at IU med center for the week, Kroger here looks the same!
Catererin:
Yeah, I think that having a semi-retro look (keeping things as they were as much as possible) gives a sense of well-being to many people...the look of the "familiar" as it were.
Change for change sake doesn't always have the best results.
We STILL miss that Scotts over on Decatur Rd.
And not one person has come forward to reopening it in ANY venue...a real shame.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment.
Much appreciated.
Stay safe out there.
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