Humpday Happenings...

Welcome to the Pre-Thanksgiving Day edition of my little slice of the blogosphere.
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with a mostly cloudy day (again?), a few peeks of sunshine (where?) with a high slightly above the freezing mark.
Not any appreciable windage out there, which means there will be no kite-flying today, kids.Sorry.
So, meteorologically-speaking, another mundane late fall day...enjoy it, because if you live on the EAST coast, you're staring at a snowstorm that's sure to impact Thanksgiving Day travel plans there.
Now, with that behind us, let's get a nice hot cup of morning fortitude as we set off and see what else has been going on...
*** First out of the corral is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"For what I received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received."
Now THERE is some food for thought, and from a source that even I was not aware of.
The answer will appear at the top of FRIDAY'S post (taking a day off, folks).
Meanwhile, back in the literature stacks...
*** It's time again for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
November 26 - 

Today has only ONE event, and it's SHOPPING REMINDER DAY...as IF we actually NEEDED reminding, hmm?
(well, some people do...lol)
When you live down here in the ghettohood of the city, there's too few places TO shop, so reminding oneself becomes painfully elementary...shop someplace ELSE!
(and hope the house is still there intact when you return).
Moving on...
*** We had a couple shootings on the (Give 'ya 3 guesses, and the first 2 don't count)...SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne

--Here's the link to story #1
http://wane.com/2014/11/25/witness-shots-fired-shortly-after-kids-got-off-school-bus/
This took place yesterday afternoon around 1630 hrs at the intersection of Hanna St and Pettit Ave.

The empty lot used to be a church.

And that's just a spit and a slide from our "Fortress"...
A school bus (NOT an FWCS bus) had just left off some kids minutes before, when shots were fired from a vehicle near the bus stop.
A witness told police that 5-6 shots were fired from a car that drove off (no vehicle description)

Flow-through ventilation...whatta concept.

Police collected spent cartridges from the scene.
A black Chrysler 300 was struck by several rounds, and it's yet to be determined if that car was a target.
--Here's the link to story #2:
http://wane.com/2014/11/25/police-investigate-late-night-shooting/

The lightbar reflections sure look pretty.

This took place around 2210 hrs last night when FWPD dispatch received multiple "9-1-1" calls about shots being fired.
Police arrived at the location of Barr St. near E. Suttenfield St, where they found a woman in a nearby alley, who was transported to hospital in serious condition, but later upgraded to fair condition.
Police found no weapons, no suspects, and no motive (like these thugs need any), but they did recover at least TEN shell casings from the alley.A parked car in the alley (you're not permitted to PARK in an alley) had it's rear glass shot out.
A neighbor said that there have been a number of gunshots in the area recently (nice job, Garry), Her home was struck by stray bullets last week, and she took to having her children sleep ON THE FLOOR of the house.
(people should not have to live like that...regardless of the neighborhood)
Other residents said they heard a BARRAGE of gunfire, noting that the shots sounded "different" (several calibers involved, no doubt).
Gee, if I didn't know better, I'd think someone was trying to get NEW YEARS off to an EARLY START...!
Sure SOUNDS Like it.
So, lemme get this straight...we have kids getting off buses that barely missed a fusillade of gunfire, then we get a neighborhood that has suffered NUMEROUS shooting "events", and one woman gets struck...like the 9-year old at Waterloo gardens who was struck INSIDE her house, and you can clearly see a PATTERN here...like NOT ENOUGH PATROLS ON THE SE SIDE OF TOWN.
(sound about right?)
Someone needs to buy a clue for our police chief, Garry Hamilton, and get him to put his people WHERE the shootings are, and not downtown, writing tickets...got it?

We got WHAT goin' on? Where? Huh?

And while you're at it, get Rusty York out from under HIS (expensive) desk and get his aging ass up to speed with the growing problems in minority neighborhoods down here.
The ONLY reason we're not seeing MORE homicides, is because these gun-wielding jerkoff thugs can't hit a bull in the ass with a damn bass fiddle.
THAT is keeping the dead pool shallow for the time being.
*** Ferguson had another night of protests, riots and crime, but NOWHERE near the devastation and carnage that totaled entire blocks of that town the night before.

Must be "Riot Season" in Ferguson.

Guess all the National Guardsmen with ARs and full-battle kit made some sort of "impression"?
They SHOULD have been deployed the night prior...that would have kept a lot of stores from getting trashed.

This is NOT a "parking violation"...just a riot.

So far, over 100 arrests, 25 businesses destroyed, several police cars totaled....helluva tally.
Like (former) NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on FOX (my paraphrasing)...it's fine to protest...shout all you want, carry as many signs as you want,. walk around all you want, BUT...when you toss that first rock, or throw that first bottle, basically all bets are off, and law-enforcement should MOVE IN IMMEDIATELY and arrest THOSE people.

You tell 'em, Rudy!

THAT sends a CLEAR message that you're NOT effin' around, and it causes other (would-be) rioters and looters to back the hell off.
You DON'T give these perps a "cooling-down" period, because that becomes a HEATING-UP period and gives them a chance to regroup. It's Tactical Basics 101, people.
 James Q. WIlson had this spot-on as well, and you all remember him, right?
(yeah, he's the Broken Window Theory guy...who was CORRECT beyond belief)
*** Last back to the barn...we ALL have a lot to be thankful for, and it doesn't take all that much to realize it.

BINGO...!

Okay, so we don't have the biggest house, newest car, most expensive big screen TV, or perhaps don't always get the best cut of meat at the grocery...but we're doing all right, not in spite of those things, but because of those things.
Many of us are thankful to be alive, be in rather good health, have relatively few (and manageable) debts, if any at all, and enjoy this journey called LIFE.
And why is that?
Maybe, it's due to a better sense of self...a good upbringing, lessons learned, proper priorities, and a deeper acknowledgment of what words like MORALITY and CIVILITY mean.
That's gotta be it, because if you DON'T have those, you're probably incarcerated or soon-to-be.
Never met anyone yet that did adhere to values and principles passed down by moral people who was a total chronic jerk.
That just doesn't happen.

And yet, we have people who have NO sense of right from wrong...and the worst part is that:
A) They aren't aware of it.
B) They are and still couldn't give a rat's ass.
Something wrong there, hmm?
Maybe if more people took some time (from their meaningless lives of crime and deceit) and saw what they already have including the opportunity to become better people if ONLY they would apply themselves a little bit, we wouldn't have places like Ferguson...or a SE side bus stop.

Try it...you'll like it.

And maybe if these same people realized they are part of a bigger picture that is NOT centered around themselves, there would be a lot fewer problems in the world.
Sooner or later, everyone gets to THAT point in life - time to make some decisions, and hopefully GOOD ones.
We can always hope...and be thankful for what WE have and for who WE are.
Do have yourselves a blessed Thanksgiving...and I'll see you all on the "flip side".

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