Humpday Happenings...

Yes, friends, it's the middle of the week and another day that looks JUST LIKE MONDAY.
This is kinds like Deja Vu, all over again.
At least what rain we do get is tolerable for the time being.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will see us with rain moving in this morning, turning to scattered showers, temps reaching to around 55 degrees,  steady breezes, and some partly cloudy skies later on. Told you it all sounded familiar.

I think they already know.

Now, let's get that morning beverage poured and parked nearby, I have a feeling many of us may need it in order to get our day started...
*** First out of the voting booths, is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent. "
Truth be told, there is something terribly wrong with this country, and after last evening, I can see part of the reason.
Sometimes, silence can be deafening, can it not?
So, WHO said it? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back at the Reformation...
*** Next up, it's time again for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 4 -
---Today is BIRD DAY

(didn't we just have an Audubon day?)
---It's also NATIONAL CANDIED ORANGE PEEL DAY

(we used to toss the peels)
---It's NATIONAL ORANGE JUICE DAY

(yep, toss the peels and hold the pulp)
---And, it's NATIONAL RENEWAL DAY

(bet that has nothing to do with Logan's Run...or DOES it?)
---It's NATIONAL WEATHER OBSERVER'S DAY

(that must mean all of us, because that's what WE do)
---It's also NATIONAL BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY

(or get your bike stolen at school day)
And, it's NATIONAL STAR WARS DAY

(may the FOURTH be with you)
*** Next up, can't say there was THAT much "joy in Mudville" after last evening.

Stayed the course and held to America's values.

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz is suspending his campaign after his defeat to Trump last night in the Hoosier state.
Funny thing, Cruz DID carry Allen County (by 500 votes), not that it mattered.

Sanders defeated Clinton in Indiana, not that THAT mattered, either.
To me, it would appear that the "fix" is in, and the contestants have been set (for some time)...so much for all the people who believed that "their vote mattered".
Talk about dashing the hopes of our citizens.
The loudest bully in the schoolyard has his day (again).

Tell 'em, Captain.

Don't want to hear any condescending rhetoric after the facts, either.
Words are like bullets - once "out of the barrel, you can't call 'em back".
Can't help but have this feeling that what we allow is what will continue in this country.
*** Next up, the FWPD do something right...in a big way.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Officers-foil-sex-trafficking-plot-12884782
Pimpin' on the SE side...who KNEW?
Well, the police did AFTER they noticed a car with Ohio plates parked illegally along Winter St.

No mo pimpin', dawg!

This took place last month and yes, we're finally being told about it. Better late than never, I suppose.
Here we have this black guy, one Patrick Davis, wanting to take a 14-year old and turn her into a whore for money.
A novel and perverted, if not ancient idea, right?
Certainly not what we'd call NORMAL behavior, is it?
I have to commend the officers who "happened" to notice this vehicle, as so many more DO GO UNNOTICED down here. Double-parking, wrong way parking, out-of-state plates frequenting certain houses, and even if you do report it as a possible drug or gang house, NOTHING comes of it, at least nothing I have seen.
Just another example of how well The Broken Window Theory works as far as these two officers go and how to properly handle questionable activity.

They acted upon the small things (like a parking violation) and in the process stopped something bigger. Nice job.
*** Next, and something I've mentioned here often enough, is this OP-ED in today's paper, and it hits home for me. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/Past-imperfect-12879758
Yes, the America we (of my age) remember with a lot more fondness is falling by the wayside, but Indiana still reflects "that America that no longer exists".
Perhaps in more rural areas, it still does.
As for here in the crotch of Fort Wayne, kinda looks like the badlands in Philly, only without the row houses...perhaps Camden, New Jersey then.
It's a pretty good read and shows how some aspects of "Americana" are still embraced, but I take exception to the person mentioned in the column. They state that America , in the 1950s "was much whiter, younger, and less educated than today".
Well, it's agreed we were ALL younger, and we had the "greatest generation": as our PARENTS (and examples), and we did GRADUATE more from our schools back then.
I would also argue that we had areas that were more black than white, but I don't want to drag a racial component into this...that's another post for another day.

The education part cracks me up. Sure, we had less technology, and as a result, less DIVERSION from tasks at hand. We also had FAMILIES, which today, the lack of such is the cause of too many of our modern-day problems, from education to work ethic to morality to criminal activity.
Prove me wrong there, I dare you.
We do need to step back and do a reality check, if not for nostalgia's sake, then for future's sake.
*** Next, Kevin Leininger makes a good point on the preservation of Fort Wayne's past in order to proceed into it's future. Here's the link to his column:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Parks--obscure-but-historic-pedestrian-bridges-link-city-s-past-and-future

Wells St. Bridge (renovated)

This has to do with pedestrian bridges we have across our rivers.

Modern pedestrian bridge - IUPU. Not as "quaint".

And while the iron and steel bridges are not as durable as one would like, considering their age )still, not bad for being OVER 100 years od, they are useful and help to recall times when people used them a lot more.

Spy Run - Lawton Park bridge

All these old bridges are on the National Registry of Historic Places. And to let them rust away without care is a crime (imho). A good point is made about their tie to the collective past and our common future.
*** Last back to the polling place...people can argue whether or not we, as a nation are headed in the right direction until the cows come home, but with every passing day, more becomes obvious that we are not.

It's okay to back up, too.

The past 8 years would be a decent guidepost with which to judge our "direction".
And the current election cycle only places more nails in our coffin, if history is to be any teacher along such lines.

I would love to believe that we have turned the corner and are back on the right track.
But, I feel we're not...at least not at this moment in time.
This country is losing it's identity, it's place in the world, and it's status as a world LEADER, and I know neither you nor I had a damn thing to do with it.
We've given the youth more technology than they can handle (and it shows) while all the time, proceeding to dumb them down (and THAT shows). We're becoming less bound by laws, and driven by what is sensational.
We've allowed a few to dictate to the masses what agenda needs to be forced upon us all, just so someone can "feel better". Our majorities have become the minorities in this nation...and we allow it to happen time and again.

Personally, I see nothing at all wrong with taking the BEST from our past and carrying it forward into our future, but this country's not even trying to do that, although there are some "pockets of resistance", and kudos to them.

Midwest charm - nothing wrong with that.

The best barometer we can have for this future is the past, if we are to learn anything and indeed, move forward.
All this "for the moment" crap is just that - CRAP. We learn nothing from it, discard it like a disposable diaper and turn to the next faddish thing that is tossed at us, like so many scraps for a chained-up dog in the yard.
That is not the America that I remember,
We USED to be so much better in so many ways, and I would want nothing less for our country.
Maybe what this country needs is a good five cent candy bar and a twelve cent comic book...again.
Maybe all it will take will be the right person...if they ever decide to show up and be the leader WE need.
Time will tell, right?

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