Monday Musings...

This is sure a change, isn't it? From mild to sweltering in the snap of the fingers.
Now, I prefer a more gradual change; time for the body (and mind) to properly adjust.
These are days when, if you have anything to do outside (like yard work et al), you get it done well before midday. And take your time. It's easier to get exhausted in the heat as one gets older.

Our Hoosierland weather for today sees a continuance of the heatwave, with sunny skies,  temps reaching up to around 92 degrees, maybe a slight breeze (helps only in the shade) and no rain predicted for today.
Now, what say we get a tall cool glass of iced tea or lemonade to get things started, as we see what else has been going on, hmm?
*** First out of the sweatbox is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JUNE 12 -
---it's National Jerky Day

(oh, they DID but a "Y" on the end of that word...got it)
---It's National Loving Day

(Not exactly what you're all thinking)
---It's National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

(you can always put peanut butter ON cookies, too)
---It's National Red Rose Day

(and by any other name, they would smell as sweet)
*** Next up, one motorcycle-riding dipshit got what he deserved. Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170611/1-dead-after-motorcyclist-rear-ends-car-on-coliseu

You have two guys, obviously racing along Coliseum Blvd around 0400 hrs. One of them stops for a red light, the other decides to run the light, and rear-ends a car turning onto Coliseum. Needless to say, the motorcyclist was tossed from the bike and was killed. The car was badly damaged (due to the speed of the motorcycle).
Well, that's ONE less idiot on our roads. Sorry to be callous, but breaking rules WILL catch up to you, sometimes with FATAL consequences. Karma can be a real bitch.
*** Next, and on the flip side of that coin, there's this story:
http://wane.com/2017/06/11/multiple-motorcycle-crashes-breathe-importance-into-biker-safety-ride/

There's about 500 bikers that are NOT idiots, and prove as much as they rode from the old K-Mart lot near Southtown Crossing to Decatur.
Proof positive that being RESPONSIBLE can also be ENJOYABLE.
*** Next, two people were found dead in a house on the (where else?) SE side of town (5 blocks from the "Fortress", in fact).

Here's that story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170611/2-bodies-found-in-house-by-family-member

This took place around 1000 hrs Saturday at a house located at 4811 Weisser Park Ave. near East Maple Grove Avenue.
Doesn't look like the people there were elderly, because they had a "gathering" there for an NBA playoff game the night before (which should lend a few clues).
If the two victims are ruled homicides, they would be Allen County's 12th and 13th homicide victims this year.
The deaths are still under investigation.
*** Next up, I'm sure you heard that actor Adam West passed away over the weeknd.

Here's his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_West

Sure, he was Batman in the 60s parody show, and he was the mayor of Quahog in Family Guy, but when you look back BEFORE all that, he did a LOT of work, especially on the small screen.

Not bad for a kid from Walla Walla, Washington, was it?
I first remember him from a personal favorite science fiction film, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, and he didn't even star in that movie (Paul Mantee had the starring role).

West played his fellow astronaut who was killed during the mission to the red planet.
Always hard for an icon such as West to leave us.

He was 88 years old.
*** Next, the Pittsburgh Penguins nab themselves their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Sorry, I'm from PA, and I gotta love this, even if it's not the Flyers.
And to end the cup series with a shutout to boot...nicely done.
*** Next up, time to swing on by to see what's happening at "Kitten Corner"...

It may have been quite hot outside, but it was nice and cool inside, and the cats were really enjoying that.

Sure makes watching the world go by a lot easier.
And, it makes napping a lot more comfortable.
What Wifey and I have to be mindful of is when one of the cats decides to jump up on one of us when we're watching TV or catching a catnap. It can be startling sometimes, when you're not expecting it.

At least there's a bit less chasing going on, and that's a godsend.
*** Next up, let's see turn another page of our "Tales of Midnight"...

I didn't need much supervising over the weekend, but when I did, our furry buddy was right there, making sure all went well.
We went out front...he came along. We went to the back yard, there he went.
And then, he goes off for a time by himself, only to come back later for his food.

I change his water often, just to keep it cool for him (in the heat). With that black fur, it must really sap the strength out of him, but he does find shady spots under the garden tree or on the concrete (before that warms up).
*** Last back to the air conditioner...we had some LGBT (q-n-u-s-l-e-g...whatever) rallies over the weekend, and not without some confrontations.

My answer to that is that MAYBE some people don't like such things FLAUNTED in their faces ALL the damn time.
Another story told about how interracial couples are suffering bigotry, even after 50 year.
Interracial marriages became legal nationwide on June 12, 1967, after a landmark case involving a married black woman and a white man in Virginia (Mildred and Richard Loving - Google it and learn a lot).
I think that any bigotry TODAY  with interracial relationships stems from the combination of black men and white women, and how the women get treated (or mistreated as is often the case) by the men.
And that spills over to ALL interracial couples, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Again, this is something that's in everyone's face, and everyone is supposed to "just go along with it".
Trouble with such thinking, is that all too often, we turn a blind eye to behaviors that used to be considered less than social and definitely less than acceptable. This had nothing to do with race...just CIVIL behavior.
We allow people to misbehave, rather than admonish them for not policing themselves, and then pitch a fit when the police do the job these people refuse to (by making them adhere to the laws of the land).
We permit the guilty to go unpunished in our judicial system, frustrating law-enforcement as well as the citizenry, and we are becoming ever fearful of speaking out against aberrant behavior, lest we cause a riotous (and ill-educated) mob to descend upon us for no reason, other than they can get away with it, because we're so "tolerant".

Such tolerance may have a place (in a docile and controlled society), but it sure as hell doesn't win battles, or even wars for INDEPENDENCE...does it?
We can be tolerant within reason, but to be tolerant solely for tolerance sake is self-defeating in it's purest form.
Like anything in life, it must be tempered in moderation.
We can learn to understand that which requires understanding.
We can seek the wisdom to properly apply the knowledge we acquire, and we can take to task those who profess tolerance and yet refuse to tolerate anything but their OWN beliefs and actions.
It's called being able to "get along", and the sooner people get back to having a thicker skin, the better we all become.
It's just a wild notion that just might work.

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