Friday Follies...

We DID manage to survive last night's (and early morning's) onslaught by the neophytic pyrotecnocrats infesting this part of Fort Wayne.
More about THAT in a minute, but let's see what the weather holds in store for us today in the Heartland.
Lemme see...highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, cloudy with some sun, chance of showers all day...yeah, it's STILL the same old.
Such repetitiveness falls in step with most of the "locals" around here...THEY also perform the same "things" every single day with little if any change.
Monotony would serve as an apt descriptor of such ilk.
But, let's not dwell...
*** The fireworks we were forced to listen to (and watch whenever one of them climbed higher than the trees in the area) were NOTHING short of an acute annoyance, and I love to watch fireworks.

I just don't prefer to have wall hangings and pictures move all by themselves whenever some idiot sets off a damn mortar round a few houses down.
If you were a combat veteran that had ANY form of PTSD, hearing all the racket last night would have provided you with flashbacks to give you the night-sweats for days...if you COULD sleep, that is.
There really SHOULD be a specified "ban" of such loud devices.
Quite literally, there must have been THOUSANDS of bucks blown (pun intended) on all this sh*t...and WHERE do ghetto-fleas like these get THAT kinda money to "burn"? 

I don't mind the M-80s, lady fingers or roman candles, but all this f$cking "surplus ordnance" from the artillery brigade NEEDS to be addressed.
Wifey was reading the F/B posts, and apparently, WE are not alone in how we feel..
Others posted about how the police DO NOTHING to stop this, and are rarely seen.
I can attest to that.
I NEVER see ANY patrol cars roaming the area whenever fireworks are being detonated. and even if you DO make a call into dispatch, that does not mean the noise will stop, thanks to lame-ass city leaders that feel that everyone is responsible enough to properly use such pyrotechnics.
Just ban the BIG sh*t...no need for it. DO like we used to do...go watch a REAL fireworks show, and no, that doesn't mean hang out down the block at the house where that couple is constantly fighting...lol.
It will take someone being severely harmed or property burned down before ANYONE in city government will act, and that's plain pathetic.
We had one pre-teen using a lighter to set off bottle rockets (it was a BUD bottle, so someone else was boozing it up WHILE setting off fireworks) and not ONE police car cruising the area.
But, let's not dwell...
*** I found a really REVEALING article about GUNS, and how the American public is NOT being told the WHOLE story...imagine THAT!

The funny thing, is that this article smacks back to the late 1990s...!!!
And even stranger, is the fact that the information is JUST as relevant TODAY as it was when Clinton was in office...again, imagine that.
Here's the link to (what else?)...the TRUTH.
http://actionamerica.org/guns/guns1.shtml
Now, the writer, John Gaver is a CRIMINOLOGIST of all things, and delivers a keen perspective to what we ALL need to know.
Some of the sub-headings in the article are:
-- Don't Count on the Police
-- Armed Citizens Make Fewer Mistakes
-- Don't Believe Hollywood
-- Don't believe the Media (except for FOX...my addition...lol)
-- Watch Your Government (This is a biggie!)
-- Do Your Own Research
You get the gist that it's a PRO-2nd Amendment writing, and deservedly so.
The MORE informed people are, the better they can UNDERSTAND what's going on around them...simple as that.
Such notions worked well back in the late 1700s and they work JUST as well TODAY.
We can look to such writings as those of Thomas Paine to know as much.
The part about the police is spot on, too.
They can't be everywhere at once...that much we can plainly see, but they are also NOT required to protect YOU, as an individual.
How's THAT for a mental "sucker-punch"?

The police are there to serve and protect THE PUBLIC...of which you are a very small portion of.
It's the greater good of everyone that's at stake here.
Like I said, this is a very revealing article and if anyone is pondering the safety of themselves or family, or is just thinking about arming up, you NEED to read this.
The government cannot "take care of you" the way you think, and this is part of the proof.
But, let's not dwell...(LOL!)
*** And now a few end-of-week snippets:

-- The para-sailing teens that were injured - a real shame, but any parent that would allow their TEENAGER to partake in something like that needs to reassess their parenting skills.

If any person didn't have their "jump-wings" on (awarded to airborne soldiers after completing FIVE successful jumps...from a perfectly GOOD aircraft, I might add), they'd best shy away from such "fun"...it CAN be dangerous.

-- Egypt is in turmoil after Morsi is ousted by the military - Well, you get what you PAY for, and the Obummer admins must be dining exclusively on CROW this week over THIS latest f$ck-up.

Oh, and we WERE giving MILLIONS in aid to that former "president".

Sometimes, a COUP can be a GOOD thing.
Don'cha REALLY miss the days of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat?

-- Chicago is starting THEIR July 4th weekend off with a BANG,...well, make that a LOT of bangs, that resulted in SIX dead and TWELVE wounded is various shootings around the Windy City in just 24 hours.

Here's the story link:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=9161933
And we're barely into the weekend...
What makes me laugh is how the reporter says "...the people were killed by GUNSHOTS"...
((...rolls eyes...))
Actually, the gunshots almost NEVER kill anyone...it's those damn BULLETS that come along WITH the gunshots that do.
I hear lots of gunshots down here, but as long as there's no bullet attached to it zipping past me, or trying to embed itself into anything close to our "Fortress", it's just more noise...something these idiots down here EXCEL at.
Someone take that reporter to the range and "splain it" to him!
-- Speaking of shootings, we had another one in Ft. Wayne this morning near W. Creighton and Broadway around 1115 hrs. (amazing - not on the SE side).
Here's the link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/Police-Man-shot-in-the-middle-of-the-street
And a shooting LAST night around 2230 hrs.
Here's the link:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/4th-Of-July-Shooting-On-Bayer-214369541.html
Again, NOT on the SE side...astounding!
But, it's nice to know Fort Wayne IS still a "safe city"...(yeah, right).
*** Lastly today, one of those nice "feel good" stories...the kind that rekindles memories of a great childhood when people were a LOT better-behaved, a lot LESS stupid, and we were ALL a bit more involved with living life instead of meandering through it.

It was a time when GOOD beat evil, usually on a daily basis, and most of the time, in black and white.

Those were the days that were near and dear to my heart...and still are.

It was the days of The Lone Ranger...the ORIGINAL one (except NO substitutes).

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130705/FEAT/307059986/0/SEARCH
To this day, I could not imagine what it would be like to have THE Lone Ranger (the late Clayton Moore) as my NEIGHBOR...!
(lotsa "wow" factor for me, that's for sure)
I would mow his lawn FOR FREE...anytime he wanted me to.

And, it's people LIKE Clayton Moore we need to remember, because of the virtue and civility he displayed throughout his life as "that masked man".
The story goes into Moore's early days, finding his niche in Hollywood, and acting in lots of B-serials (he even played a bad guy in many of them).
But when he, while still a relative "unknown" donned the mask and saddled up that white horse, he BECAME the Lone Ranger...and not JUST for that generation of children, but for many after that.
And to have his "faithful Indian companion" Tonto beside him was also ground-breaking for it's time.

The late Jay Silverheels was the FIRST Native-American to CO-STAR in a recurring series (and several feature films).
Sure, there are those who would call those shows "hokey" and "do-gooder" contrived, but tell me...what the hell is wrong with being a GOOD person these days?
What is so wrong about living a GOOD life (as good as you can at least) and espousing the principles of having good repute?
Clayton Moore lived by "The Ranger's Creed" until the day he passed from this existence, and I can find nothing wrong with that at all.
Here is that creed (from the Lone Ranger WIKI):

I Believe...

-- That to have a friend, a man must be one.

-- That all men are created equal, and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

-- That God put the firewood there, but every man must gather it and light it himself.

-- In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

-- That a man should make the most of the equipment he has.

-- That this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people shall live forever.

-- That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

-- That sooner or later---somewhere...somehow...we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

-- That all things change but truth, and that truth alone lives forever.

-- In my Creator, my country, and my fellow man.

+ + +

Sorry, can't find anything WRONG with any of that..and obviously, neither could Clayton Moore.
Would that we all could be willing to embrace such noble intentions, and be just as willing to be fearless in their implementation.
It would be a much nicer world.
Have yourselves a great weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
((Hi-yo, Silver...AWAY!))