Closer To The Weekend...

Yes, friends, we inch ever nearer with each passing second...can we stand the strain?
Another brisk (and rather invigorating) morning outside which will give way to weather much like it was yesterday, with temps in the Hoosierland reaching close to 70 degrees, and no chance of rain (that happens this Sunday, so we're told).
Yes, if this part of the ghettohood were more like it USED to be, namely a NEIGHBORHOOD,  it would be a great morning to take a stroll.
But, since I value my life, I have to be content with our patio and back yard...helluva way to pass the time, hmm?
Anyway, let's grab ourselves a cup of our favorite morning beverage and take a look at what else in happening...(aside from waiting for the  morning paper, which has NOT arrived as of 0850 hrs.)
*** First up today, is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things."
This was spoken by none other than Theodore Roosevelt (27 October 1858 - 6 January 1919).
And here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

If you've been watching the Ken Burns film on The Roosevelts, you've already learned a lot about this man, who, in my opinion, was the last breath of what an actual "progressive" used to be...(moving forward to help THE PEOPLE)...that's a far cry from what we have come to know TODAY as a progressive.
Not to mention, T.R. was a REPUBLICAN, so it was once possible to be progressive and a conservative.
The WIKI is (as expected) lengthy, but it IS worth a read, to see how a sickly youth could reshape himself into someone much stronger in both body and mind
Much of what he instituted while in office is still in place today. We can thank him for the Panama Canal, the "square deal", which benefited the average citizen (his father was philanthropic to a fault, and Teddy followed in his footsteps). The National Park system was expanded greatly under his watch.
He was also a skilled hunter, taxidermist, and self-educated in many other disciplines.
One might consider him a "renaissance man" of his time.
The Burns film does him great justice and THAT is also worth viewing.

He also served as NYC police commissioner,assistant secretary of the nacy (and yet never served IN the navy), became governor of New York state, and finally vice-president before becoming our 26th president.
Sadly, it was his run for office under the Bull Moose (progressive) Party in 1912 that split the Republican ticket, allowing Woodrow Wilson to become the next president, and Teddy regretted that decision.
He died in his sleep at Sagimore Hill from a blood clot that had entered his lungs, and it was said of T.R. that "...death had to take him in his sleep, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight".
Moving on...
*** And now it's time for: "What the hell happens today, Bob?"
September 18 is NATIONAL CHEESEBURGER DAY.

(Can I haz cheezburger?)

It is also National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and finally...
And, it's AGING AWARENESS DAY.

(cripes, am I ever "aware" of that most days...lol)
But WHY did they lump AGING and HIV/AIDS "together"?
Am I missing something here?
*** I had to laugh at the story they had about the Target building being bought by Lifeline Data Systems (as I mentioned in my post yesterday), and I think by living down here, I have a better perspective (than most) as to why I was bemused.

Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2014/09/17/purchase-of-the-old-southtown-target-could-spur-more-growth-on-south-side/
Now, the operative word used here is COULD (spur growth) down here...and that's a pretty BIG "could", right?

And while the Southeast Side Business Advisory Group, headed by Jin Dortch, look to this as some sort of new beginning, or rather that "first of many" new businesses down here, let's not put the cart before the horse on this one yet.
I liken this purchase of the old Target building as more like a "toe in the water" instead.
Someone got the cajones to test the waters first to see if such a prospect is viable...
This is not the alpha and omega of the return of retail and other businesses to the SE...not UNTIL the city can get a firm handle on ALL THE CRIME down here.
And this has been a (growing) problem for the last 15+ years.
The evidence is damning, in fact.
As crime has gone UP...the number is businesses (retail as well as others) has gone DOWN...simple mathematics.
Hell, we lost an entire MALL (and two movie theaters) thanks to rising crime, but others tend to conveniently overlook such things.
(especially the democrats in office here)
Win Moses had a chance to keep the SE businesses alive...and did nothing.
Paul Helmke had the same chance,...and did nothing.
Graham Richard at least got the ball rolling to get a Wal-Mart and Menards where the old mall once stood...after SEVEN YEARS.
Tom Henry has followed suit with Moses and Helmke...he has done nothing, and still we have lost retail under HIS watch.
(but we are getting a very NICE downtown)
Poor compensation for being a law-abiding citizen living down here, surrounded by the dregs of society, isn't it?
*** Last back to the trash-bin today...it baffles me whenever I see the problems this part of town has, and what little gets done (if anything) to make things better.

Hell, I'd rather have things the way they used to be around 15 years ago...at least we had a lot more places to shop, AND the area was a bit safer than it is these days.
When the police are not enforcing the simplest of things like parking violations, noise, speeding or improper lighting for vehicles at night, it really makes you wonder just HOW safe you are.

When police are showing up AT THE SCENE of a shooting, or robbery, or vandalism, it basically tells the criminals that they can commit a crime, and in some cases, get the hell away with it, because the mooks down here pretty much refuse to "dime" on one another, unless it becomes in THEIR best interest.
Add to that the lack of patrols like we used to have.
That's no way to police any city, but we can thank the TOP DOG in the department for such things.
No one in the city administration wants to dare "ruffle any feathers" in any ethnic community (where all the crimes seem to stem from), because they would rather embrace such diversity, instead of make everyone accountable for their own actions.
That's an often deadly double standard.

But, it's what we come to expect from City Hall.
More hope and change?
Yeah, I sincerely HOPE that things do CHANGE...for the better, and damn soon, too.
The city is losing way too much revenue because of a lack of businesses AND working stiffs on the SE side (where welfare reigns).
Time to change THAT channel, right?

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