Monday Musings...

Ah, yes, there's nothing like getting up around 0415 hrs, especially when the D.I. is NOT flipping your mattress and rousing your ass to go on a 20 mile "nature walk".
More about THAT in a minute, but first, let's tale a look at that forecast.
Our Hooiserland weather will be a lot more stable, and the temps will be nice and mild for late August, with a high into the mid 70s.
Mostly sunny skies will ride along with some mild breezes, and a lot lower humidity.
Now, that sounds like a very good summer day to me.
So what say we all get our favorite drink poured and parked nearby, as we set out on another week-long journey through life...
*** First out of the rucksack is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
August 24 -
---Today is NATIONAL WAFFLE DAY

(what another POLITICAL holiday so soon???)
Oh, c'mon...you know what I'm talking about there.
---And, it's NATIONAL PEACH PIE DAY

(not a real fave of mine...gimme blueberry, or cherry, or Boston cream, or pumpkin, or pecan)
---It's also VESUVIUS DAY
Yep, that baby blew it's top WAY back in 79 A.D., and buried the cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum.

Vesuvius also erupted in 1631, killing around 3500 people, as well as in the years 1660, 1682, 1694, 1698, 1707, 1737, 1760, 1767, 1779, 1794, 1822, 1834, 1839, 1850, 1855, 1861, 1868, and 1872. In 1906 an eruption killed 100, and in 1944, the village of San Sabastian was destroyed.
(Time Lords tend to know this kinda stuff)
Moving on...
*** Had a good birthday...even IF we had an entire MIDWEST Frontier Fios outage that lasted several hours Friday.

Thanks, Mr Wrinkles.

Still, could use a few less birthdays at my age...HA!
Chinese food for dinner, a German chocolate-fudge cake, and two books - One (from my dear friend from high school who lives in Delaware) by David McCullough entitled The Wright Brothers and the other one (from Wifey) was the Bill O'Reilly book,  Killing Patton. Not a bad haul.

Yes, that IS Iron Man on the cake

Also have two books coming in the post.
And I don't "feel" any older (kinda the same, really)...must be getting USED to this yearly thing,...lol.
Like war, we should never get that used to it that we grow FOND of it - Gen Sherman mentioned that, only without the birthday-aging stuff'.
*** A shooting on the city's SE side puts one in hospital in critical condition.

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Gunfire-leaves-victim-critical-8362527
This took place Friday night (as many SE shootings tend to do) around 2020 hrs near the intersection of Baxter St. and Bowser Ave., where police found a male suffering from a gunshot wound.

Bowser Ave. is a"busy" spot for shootings.

Police were told a silver or gray Monte Carlo was seen leaving the area right after the shooting. The car was described as having "shiny rims".
Dozens of shell casings littered the street, and it was said that two GROUPS were involved in the shootout.
(and only ONE person was hit...friggin' lousy shots)

Gang-related? We have a GANG problem down here?

Police think the shooting MAY have been gang-related...
(gee, 'ya think?)
The investigation (as usual) is ongoing.
*** Next, another Dollar General robbery...that didn't end EXACTLY as planned.

Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Police-shoot-suspected-robber-8397954
This took place last night around 2015 hrs at the Dollar General store located at 3121 E. State Blvd.
A pair of robbers tried to hold up the DG right before closing.
They zip-tied one employee and a customer before they left.
Police arrived and confronted both robbers in the parking lot.
At this time, it's said that a weapon was recovered INSIDE the store, so if we follow the M.O. of previous dollar store robberies, there was a handgun presented, according to prior witnesses and employees at other locations..
Police shot one man, who was taken to hospital and remains in critical condition, while the other one fled on foot.
A block and a half away, he was taken into custody. Police say he was shedding his clothes as he ran (made the trail EASY to follow).
That  robber's name is Christopher D. Johnson, 31, of Fort Wayne, and he had outstanding warrants and a probation violation (upstanding citizen, no doubt...LMAO!)

"We need a donut shop here, sarge."

The name of the shooting victim has not been released.
Here's an update:
http://wane.com/2015/08/24/safety-chief-one-officer-fired-shots-at-robbery-suspect/
Three officers have been placed on paid admin. leave as a result of the shooting.
That means three LESS officers patrolling our streets, folks.
*** In a story related to CRIME in Fort Wayne, especially on the SE side, there's this piece from Frank Gray:
http://www.journalgazette.net/business/Thriving-on-city-s-south-side-8303996
The article is a good read about what we DON'T have down here as far as retail and restaurants, and I've mentioned here about ALL the places we have lost over the years (literally hundreds).

Mr Knight is hanging in there.

But the FACT that crime is not mentioned to the degree that it HAS impacted on businesses, left an empty spot for me.
I will grant you that SOME (few) business owners DO "thrive" down here, but that's ONLY because they are the ONLY ones still around, have stuck it out, and refused to knuckle under to the rising crime on the SE side.
Gee, that sounds all too familiar...wonder why?
What surprised me about the story, is that YEOMAN'S auto service center was NOT mentioned. They've been here forever, and they have no intention of leaving that I know of...and I say good for them.
*** Now, that brings me as to WHY I was awakened SO damn early today.

As you may know, I will take my "Batmobile" down to Yeoman's this morning to get that trans problem looked after and fixed.
They open at 0700 hrs, and I plan to be there at that time.
I also get up early to make sure Wifey gets off to school (work) okay.
But, when I hear LATINO MUSIC blaring close by at 0415 hrs, that is something I WON'T tolerate.
We used to call that "disturbing the peace".
(So much for Mayor Henry's "quality-of-life" crap he's always on about, hmm?)
So, I go out with my million candlepower spotlight, and listen to where the music is coming from.
It's in the damn alley directly BEHIND the property.
I walk to the fence, and there's a car parked...so I did what anyone would do...
I LIT HIM THE HELL UP!
He sure as hell wasn't expecting that, and I kept the spotlight ON HIS FACE until he decided to move the car.
I yelled a few "choice words" in his direction to let him know I was not "pleased" with either his choice of parking arrangements, his choice of music, OR his choice of time to play said music.
And, I committed a cardinal sin for doing such a thing...I was UNARMED!
`Yeah, I left the "hardware" inside, but luckily, the Latino music-maker moved on...to the NEXT STREET OVER, and continued to blast his music.
I called the FWPD to take care of it, and soon after, the jerk had left the area.
Lesson learned (by him)? We shall see.
I, however remain ready.
*** Last back to the repair shed...people can TRY and paint this part of town as no worse than others all they want.

They probably don't LIVE here...WE DO.
And, I have SHOWN all you readers just how "interesting" it can be most days.
Sure, maybe we have a lot FEWER homicides than in years past, but that doesn't translate to LOWER crime all around.

WAY too many

Not by a long shot.
The BROKEN WINDOW THEORY is STILL in play down here, and more windows are broken every damn day.
When you have a police department command staff that doesn't seem to bother with the small things, they not only piss off the decent residents (few that we are these days), but also allow the small things to become the BIGGER things later on...like shootouts on city streets.
You don't have to be a law-enforcement professional to see the signs, either.
All you have to be is OBSERVANT, and know the difference between good and evil.

Lord knows we try.

Consider me knowledgeable with all of the above in this regard.
I know the score, I know the geography, and I know the people.
What is troubling is that this part of town COULD be nice again...damn nice, but, there needs to be an EFFORT made by the city and it's various departments to WANT to make this happen.
We have seen the result of what occurs when the LACK of want raises it's ugly head down here.
We also know the same problems WE have (here) ARE spreading elsewhere, and that should also be addressed.
To do nothing will result in just that...nothing getting done.
And those of us that are TRYING to do something are woefully outnumbered.
We're the GOOD GUYS, for cripes sake..
We WANT (and deserve) a much better southeast side.
We should be winning the battle against crime, not barely breaking even.
It's high time that things change along those lines...and soon.
After all, I like to get some sleep in my OWN home...once in a while.

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