Monday Musings...

Welcome to another week of enlightenment (hopefully) coming to you direct from our "Fortress of Reason".
And, as usual, I can always count on our fair city to provide the level of "stuff" you've all come to expect.
More on that shortly.
Our Hoosierland weather for today being us rain. (already heard some loud thunderstorms - great alarm clock)
This rain will continue until midday when we get a slight break until it starts up again for the rest of the day (with a chance of hail, even),l with temps rising to around 53 degrees. Helluva way to usher in the season we call Spring, isn't it?
April showers in March...makes sense at some level.

"S'all I need...good cup o' tea"

Now that we have all that dispensed with, let's get a soothing cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa poured and parked within arm's reach, as we see what the day has in store, shall we?
*** First out of the oven is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
MARCH 20 -
---it's National Native AIDS/HIV Awareness Day

(is this diffrent from the FOREIGN awareness day?)
---It's National Proposal Day

(That's all our city needs, another one of THOSE pricey deals. Oh, you mean THAT kinda pricey deal.)
---It'a National Ravioli Day

(Time to crack open a can of Chef Boy?)
---It's also the FIRST day of Spring

(halle-frigging-lujah and whoop-de-freaking-doo)
*** Next, and speaking of "Spring", our crocuses have already come up and are on their way out (starting to wilt already).

I'm surprised they even survived, given this crazy-ass weather we've had.
Still, they looked good last week.

Also, you KNOW Spring is in the air, because that air is being filled with the lilting resonance of those damnable BOOM CARS.
Yeah, we get to hear all the morons once again for another season (or two) of deafening, disrespectful loudness.
Add to that, those stupid-ass crotch-rocket motorcyclists who think our block is a launch-point to see how quickly one can go from 0-60 MPH (Pettit to Sherwood Terrace).
And the local trash-tossing primates are welcoming the nicer weather with a plethora of items dropped from their paws or thrown from passing vehicles...ah, yes, the wonderful aspects of springtime...again.
*** Next up, and while we're on the topic of STUPID, there was this "State of the 6th District" address given by our own councilman (if you can call him that) this past Saturday.

Not really covered much by the media sources, but still, managed to provide those in attendance with a modicum of humor. Here's the story:
http://wane.com/2017/03/18/councilman-downtown-and-southeast-side-need-equal-development/
Like I said last week, I agree with Hines on a most basic of levels when it comes to how the SOUTHEAST has been IGNORED. He's right there, and that's about it.

When Hines says: "you can't buy a TV here, or stockings"...WRONG!
He SHOULD have said "All we have for retail down here is WALMART...period", and then explained ALL the stores (and other services) we have lost (as I have done over the years right HERE) to show HOW MUCH we no longer have.

Don Steininger - he "gets it".

Then, Hines COULD have launched into the reason WHY retail has fled, and why getting it back won't be that easily accomplished...like the CRIME down here, as (developer) Don Steininger said in an article I linked to a while back, which stated what I've said for years (also)...HERE is the story (again), in fact:
http://wane.com/2015/06/01/developer-crime-deters-business-on-southeast-side/

But, Hines instead touted that Posterity Heights Scholar House for single mother-students...that high-tech, $45 MILLION dollar "toss of the dice", or, as I prefer to call it: POSTERIOR HEIGHTS...lol.
Let's face it, in no time, it will look like the backside of something or someone, unless it's GATED and with 24/7 police protection on site.
Hines (and others like him) need to realize that there is a difference between self-RELIANCE, self-SUFFICIENCY (on everyone else's dime), and self-INDULGENCE.
*** Next up, about that planned outage by Indiana and Michigan Power...

Well, after TWO pre-recorded phone calls from AEP about the outage, I was up before 0500 hrs in anticipation of it...nothing happened.
So, WTF was the deal here?
Around 0600 hrs however, we had a "power-fart" - one of those one second outages, but that's usually due to weather conditions...like the ones outside this morning (thunderstorms).
Makes me wonder if and when we WILL get that 15 minute outage at some unforeseen time?
*** Next, truly this weekend is when a LOT of music DIED.
Rock and roll legend Chuck Berry passed away at the age of 90.

And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Berry

So many of us LITERALLY grew up listening to his wonderful music and the talents he displayed in concert.
In 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its first group of inductees: Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and the Everly Brothers.

That's some damn fine company to be with.
Hey, he wasn't a perfect person...none of us are, but you have to admit that his music brought more people together than set them apart.

And that itself is a pretty good legacy. Keep on reelin' and a-rockin', Chuck.
*** Next, time to stop on by "Kitten Corner"...

"I'm watching the ceiling now."

Our furry felines had a time between watching squirrels, watching birds, watching us, and basically being the cats they are.

"Hey, I'm not chasing anybody."

Plenty of chasing one another, playing with toys, some "clumsy-affection" tossed in for good measure, and enough meals to keep their ball rolling along such lines.
Still can't keep Gallifrey out of the sink, even though the squirt bottle dissuades him well enough.

"I AM the guardian of the staircase."

Have no idea what fascinates him (when it's empty).
As for Violet? Well, she's content to stare at random stuff about the house (when not being chased by OR chasing her "brother".

"My brother's up there someplace."

Wifey always gets an "escort" when she goes to bed. I get a late-night TV partner...lol.
Nice that our cats "share" themselves with us in such a manner.
*** Last back to the stove top...Ever wonder why the people who SHOULD "get it"...don't?

I know that as I grow "more mature", the evidence become overwhelming.
The few people who DO get it are rarely in a position to effect the type of change that is needed in many instances.
And we know who WE are in that regard, right?
Now, ignorance may be bliss, but I think that in the realm of government, the last thing we need are a shitload of blissful politicians, right? We need people who can make the RIGHT calls, and always for the RIGHT reasons.
Well, when it comes to our specific part of Ft. Wayne, that just ain't happening...and hasn't for a very long time.
What has taken the place of reason and sanity is an allowance of this "anything goes" attitude displayed by what are supposed to be residents who have managed to infest our area.

And, like any infestation of a hazardous species, It requires the intervention of someone who can properly remove the harmful aspect...like an ORKIN man for lowlife humans.

Instead, we get a councilman who is not only elected for "life" (apparently), but cannot address the REAL problem. Personally, I think he suffers from "selective blindness" in that regard.
The people themselves have become the major problem (here), when they SHOULD be more of an asset to the city.
I certainly can't change things by myself, although there was a time when I believed we were making some progress.
It's going to take a lot more people who choose to give a damn, if this part of the city is ever to make the type of comeback that city leaders would like to see. And, to be brutally honest, THEIR help would be a godsend, because as it stands now, hardly anyone downtown doesn't want to make the the right call. All they seem to want to do is shake their heads and decry the state of things where we live.
Sorry, I've already been doing that for years...join the club.

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