Happy New Year, Everyone.

Well, we made it through the gunfire unscathed down here in Ft. Wayne's ghettohood...again.

(talk about perennially dodging bullets)

We begin this year with plenty of COLD here in the Heartland - temps won't even get above freezing, but the clouds will be lifting, so some reflective melting will be taking place.

I trust that all of you rang in the New Year with hopes for a much better year than the previous one.
So, let's see how this year is rolling along, seeing it's brand spanking new, shall we?

*** A man was found shot to death in the Antiques on Broadway shop (Ft. Wayne) last evening around 1700 hrs.

Here's the story:

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130101/LOCAL07/301019976
A regular customer to the shop discovered the body of a dead man and called police from a business next door to the antique shop, located at 1115 Broadway, near W. Jefferson Blvd.
No gun was found on scene, and nothing appeared to be disturbed, leading police to believe that robbery might not have been the motive. Police also stated that the man had not been dead for a long time.
No one was arrested, and the coroners C.O.D. is pending.

This will be HOMICIDE NUMBER THIRTY for the year 2012...(which was my original guesstimate).

If I have to predict how many we'll have THIS year...I think that repeating TWENTY-FIVE would be a safe bet, but to hit THIRTY again would also not be that hard to achieve, given the nature of the way this city has been changing.

*** I know I get tired of hearing certain words or phrases...and most of you KNOW which ones they are...LOL.

Well, some university up in Northern Michigan has done the work FOR YOU when it comes to what we REALLY need to stop using with reckless abandon in our lexicon.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130101/NEWS03/301019953/1006/NEWS
I suppose that not ALL institutions of higher learning are going to waste...OR to the left.
Although this is a tongue-in-cheek decree, I feel it's high time we DO lose these words and phrases, for they are the sort of terms (not of endearment) that become QUITE hackneyed in such a short span of time.

Naturally, MY favorite is there - fiscal cliff.
There is also included: spoiler alert, double down, superfood, guru, job creators, bucket list, kick the can down the road, and YOLO.
I know I have been trying to AVOID the use of these, as well as many others, so as not to become confused with all the lame-stream media pundits and their ilk. What I dread even more is what will be REPLACING these words and terms...(yikes)!
*** Now, as to OUR New Year...it began as New Year Eve's often do with the peel of gunfire in the distance.
And to actually HEAR a radio call go out FOR gunfire was amazing, although it wasn't for anywhere near OUR *20*.
Still, our particular natives were a bit LESS restless than usual...hell, they have the REST of the year to be bothersome anyway, as they always are.
Wifey and I were eating shrimp and deli cheese cubes and summer sausage...kind of a custom around our house.
Finger food beats having to prep a pot of meatballs or sliced roast beef, anyway (like I used to do back in Philly).
But, back in Philly, we celebrated by banging POTS AND PANS...and not shooting off guns.
And that was also a time when people got along a lot better, and the number of folks with criminal records on a block of 50 families could be counted on ONE hand (if that).
Now, I view it as a mark of distinction that Wifey and I are about the ONLY ones around here who DO NOT have a record or arrest between us.
You'd think that would warrant SOME type of award or something...LOL.

-- I'm not one to make ANY sort of resolution...save for resolving NOT to make one, so that takes care of that nicely.

I figure why bother to make some sort of pact ONE day of the year, only to break it a month later?

EVERY DAY should be a day where you challenge yourself to be a BETTER person, and Lord knows, we've PLENTY of aspects of our own lives that we can "fine tune". You can work to improve your memory, be less sloppy, keep better records, pay things sooner rather than later...the list gets longer the more you think about it. That should busy oneself throughout the whole year, right?

-- Putting up the new calendars is always fun, because we have 12 new months of pictures of landscapes, cats, or whatever.
And naturally, it's going to take a spell before we get USED to writing down "2013" on our checks, isn't it?
-- For dinner today, since I didn't really PLAN on cooking, and since the lovely Mrs. Bobby G. volunteered to "cook", that means we'll be dining under the mantle of Mandarin Cuisine...that's right - CHINESE FOOD!
It's a nice way to begin the new year, and according to legend, GOOD LUCK comes with eating long noodles on New Year's Day (cabbage or sauerkraut with peas are a fall back food for luck, as is corned beef).
So there, you've already learned something...if 'ya didn't know that already.
-- If they show the MUMMERS from Philly on TV here, I'll be watching that, too.
I used to know people who marched in that parade as well as officers that used to police the event...and some things, you NEVER forget, and will always be a part of, no matter how far away you are.

*** Getting back to weather conditions...it's interesting to note that our streets STILL HAVE NOT BEEN PLOWED, and since the level of traffic has been greater than usual (thanks to Section 8 housing and all their ghetto friends), whatever snow we received has been PACKED DOWN to the extent that the streets have a wonderful GLAZE to them...great for SKATING...not so good for driving.

That never stops some folks, though.

Saw my share of fishtails over the past few days, with one person unable to navigate a bloody TURN at the intersection.

They just went straight into the curb (until they backed up and tried it again).

So, the city's STREET DEPARTMENT is already on MY short list for ineffectiveness this year.

And, I'm sure that list WILL grow over a short time.

After all, the city's had YEARS to hone such skills.

Be nice if the city would AT LEAST dump some salt at the intersections...and let the vehicles do the rest.
THAT would be a good start.
*** What can I expect of the coming year?

Not all that much, really, and that's not being fatalistic...just a lot more REALISTIC.

The city doesn't give a damn about THIS part of town...not now, anyway.

For, if the city DID care, we;'d have a councilman that would be fighting for EVERYONE, and not just for "his people" (read blacks).
Yes, there ARE those few holdouts like US that want to be able to NOT become victims, or get robbed, assaulted, home invaded, disrespected, vandalized, or otherwise treated like pieces of crap, because WE are the ones TRYING to make the area BETTER...we're just way outnumbered to make any REAL progress.
*** Lastly today...I have a feeling that THIS year will be a year in which we will see some drastic changes to our nation, and little if any of it will be GOOD...for anyone, except those who have become "entitled".

The Obamacare plan WILL cost a LOT more than stated, make NO mistake about that.
Our economy is a ship without a rudder or sails...in rough seas...again, not a good thing.
Those in power refuse to acknowledge that we (America) have a SPENDING problem, and NOT a revenue problem.
Beware of new laws meant to "help" that will instead HURT all real Americans.
Expect knees to be jerked...and in directions you haven't seen before.
Also, you can expect the fear-mongers in both the lame-stream media AND the government to be wanting YOU to cringe in some corner, JUST so they can "rescue you"...don't buy into the BS...you're BETTER than that.
Fear can be more of an ALLY than an ENEMY, but only IF you understand the reason (or people) behind it.
This is a NEW year...a NEW beginning, as it were.

And, although we still have the same old mind and body to work with, we CAN read between the lines, comprehend that which would befuddle others, and question that which requires answers and not mere talking points or catch-phrases.
This is our opportunity to BE better...to DO better...and to MAKE better this nation for ourselves as well as for our future.
Again, may you all have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.