Monday Musings...

I take snow to a whole NEW level.

Now THAT was a weekend to remember...if ONLY for the weather we had (and apparently are still having).
Today's Hoosierland weather will be COLD, with a high somewhere not close enough to be ABOVE freezing (what? again?), and off-and-on snow showers throughout the day into this evening, adding perhaps 1/2 inch to 1-2 inches across the winterscape.
Yes...it's time for SNOWFALL... for most of the week, until it warms up by Thursday.
And, if you're looking for the sunrise, you might have to climb to around 30,000 ft to see it today, because we're socked in with solid low overcast early on.
Whatever sun we DO see today will be a bonus, so enjoy it while we have it.
So...WHERE to start, hmm?
Well, let's start at the beginning of this past weekend.
*** The Lovely Mrs. Bobby G. and myself headed out to the grocery around 0800 hrs (Saturday), and since we much prefer going to the SCOTT'S along Bluffton Rd in Waynedale, as opposed to the (very) close-by Kroger's at Southgate Plaza, the drive was pretty rote for me, having driven in a lot WORSE conditions back on the east coast.

We also prefer NOT going to Southgate because:
a) We like to have our vehicle WHERE WE LEFT IT when we exit the store, and not staring at the potential for an empty spot where the car formerly was.
b) We like to NOT GET MUGGED in the parking lot when we either arrive OR leave the area.
A lot LESS chance of that occurring in Waynedale, I can tell you...wonder WHY that IS?
(yes, we all know)
Anyway, after grocery, we headed over to Menards for more shopping, and by then, the snow was starting to come down a bit harder.

We made it there OK, and got everything I had placed on THAT list...simply a-f$cking-mazing, huh?
Then, we headed back to our "Fortress" with our bags of swag, the snow still coming down steadily, and the deteriorating road conditions were proof of that.

GOTTA groove to "Nat"!

I only drifted onto the berm along Decatur Rd twice...but I WAS singing along with Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song" on the radio, so I had an "easy-out" there...LOL.
I would have to say our average speed through all of this NEVER (I repeat never) exceeded THIRTY-EIGHT MPH!
And we did NOT get stuck ONCE, in spite of seeing others less fortunate.
The really good news is that with all that driving around, the number of assholes wanting to share the roads were MINIMAL.
Traffic had picked up considerably when we were on our way home, however.
And the police radio chatter bore that out, listening to all the slide-offs and people getting stuck.
After that adventure, we were home for the weekend.
*** The snow continued to come down...to the tune of about 6.5 inches (total) where we live (we measured as usual...lol)

I had shoveled the sidewalks (didn't know it had such a religious connotation to it either), for all the good it does - no one around HERE knows what the hell they're supposed to be used for.

Sure LOOKS like a big cross...and on SUNDAY, no less.

They prefer the damn middle of the streets, and that's why I tell Wifey that: "That's NOT just a hood ornament on your Car...it's a TARGETING DEVICE"...ROFL!
MY total number of sidewalk cleanings totaled THREE, but that 50 lb bag of snow-melt we got at Menards not only kept the snow build-up to a minimum, but made whatever snow that DID linger a lot easier to move. Never let the snow freeze to the sidewalk...it's a real BITCH to remove.
Wifey and I "double-teamed" to get the driveway cleared.

Perching-room only!

We did have some time to watch the birds at the feeder...
AND see a "new" regular in the area...Mister Hawk.

Nice buffet, Bob - LOVE the ambiance.

No doubt he's here to "get fed" as well...off of the smaller birds that come to feed on our patio.
It's that whole "circle of life" thing.
BTW, I DID send along some snowy pictures of our patio, in case you see them pop up on WANE'S site.
*** Sunday greeted us with more light snow showers, adding to what was already on our streets, which have YET to be plowed as of this morning.

Not plowing...even though we NEED it...!

But, we DID have ONE (as in solitary) city truck drive down the street, but he WASN'T plowing...just dumping some of that blue ice melt (same stuff I bought), as he passed by.
It's like I always tell you folks...the REST of the city gets the GOLD MINE...and the SOUTH side gets the SHAFT.
Sunday we got the Christmas tree up and decorated, with only one hiccup on the lights.
A bulb fell out, killing the bottom third of the light string...no biggie. Put a new bulb in and presto...back in action.
*** That brings me to TODAY...such as it's unfolding.
It seems that EVERY OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEM in the whole damn area had a TWO-HOUR DELAY...except for the FWCS.

Yes, friends, ALWAYS count on SOME part of the city to provide the first "WTF???" of the week.
Jay County had a THREE hour delay (now closed), but they are a lot more rural.
Now, think on this - We have NOT seen a snow plow on the RESIDENTIAL streets...YET, we're also going to add FWCS school buses to that mix, and they ALSO travel a lot of RESIDENTIAL streets)...
So WHO exactly at FWCS had the massive BRAIN-FART this morning, or do THEY believe it's perfectly all right to have buses, plows AND people traveling in the middle of all our RESIDENTIAL streets anyway?

FWCS at it's "best"?

Is THIS a cause for concern, or not?
Obviously, FWCS doesn't seem to give a rip, but with a new C.O.O. there, he must think himself to be one hard-ass.
Wonder if he'd think DIFFERENTLY is HIS kids had to live on OUR streets and have to deal with the lack of "vision" the city and school corporation has demonstrated thus far this morning?
And with more snow coming on top of what we already have, I suppose an early dismissal is out of the question.
I mean, it's not that a 2-hour delay would HARM those damn state test scores...right?
Other schools don't see that as an issue, when compared to the SAFETY of the kids AND bus drivers.
The last light snow event we had last week caused a FWCS bus to be rear-ended, but since no one was hurt, the incident NEVER made the media sources. Guess it'll take something catastrophic to get through to the FWCS admins?
Let's pray THAT never happens.
*** I'm one of those people that rarely suffers from "cabin-fever", so I spent some of the weekend watching WHITE CHRISTMAS and THOR...talk about differing tastes in cable choice movies...

Well, to each his/her own, right?
I grew up with WC, and I make it one of those yearly "must-see" movies.
THOR was a flick I've been waiting to see...and (to me, anyway), it was a good kick-ass movie.

Chris Hemsworth is great in the title role. It's an all-around brilliant adaptation of the comic-book series
Tonight on ABC (8PM) they are airing both of the Disney's PREP AND LANDING shows....love those.

And later this week on TCM, they're showing the Alistair Sim version of SCROOGE (1951) another movie I HAVE to watch.

That all helps me get in the spirit of things.
Hey, it's better than watching those crappy reality shows or some never-ending talent show.
*** Lastly today,those safety tips I mentioned for both shopping during the holiday season AND driving in wintry weather should come in handy somewhere down the road (suddenly, I hear a Barry Manilow song playing someplace...lol).
There was one couple not so fortunate at a NJ mall this weekend.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/16/man-shot-killed-in-nj-mall-carjacking/
All for a 2012 silver Range Rover...the man was killed and the woman hospitalized in this carjacking.
The shooters are still at large, and the vehicle WAS recovered today...in NEWARK, NJ.
Betcha forensics is going over THAT Rover with several fine-tooth combs.. .
-- And then, there is always the year end celebrity TRIPLE deaths...

-- Peter O' Toole (age 81) star of such notable films as Lawrence of Arabia, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Murphy's War,

-- Joan Fontaine (age 96), star of several Hitchcock thrillers

-- and actor-writer-director Tom Laughlin (age 82) of the Billy Jack flicks
We will continue to enjoy their collective works for generations to come.
While still in the throes on this latest winter weather, let's remember to err on the side of CAUTION, whenever possible, unlike a certain city school corporation that will remain nameless (see above), and that means do everything with a modicum of SAFETY in mind.
Doesn't matter if you're cleaning your sidewalks, driving about, or in the case of our law-enforcement and fire departments, serving and protecting the public from whatever dangers we night face.
Police officers and firefighters have to travel the SAME roads everyone else does...shop at the SAME locations we frequent, and face similar challenges whenever they're out and about as WE do. Thing is, they CHOOSE to do this as a career.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.