Thoughts For Thursday...

One thought ran through my mind...why the hell do summers seem so much more uncomfortable than when we were kids?
Didn't seem to mind the heat and humidity all that much back then, did we?
Guess we were too busy with our imaginations and all the places it took us as children.
How things change.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will seem a lot like yesterday with cloudy skies, scattered showers, high humidity and temps again trying to reach the 85-degree mark. Wonder how all this rain would translate to snow, it this were December?
(humidity is always lower when it's colder out...it's a weather-thingy)

Anyway, let's take the time to get ourselves a nice refreshing drink poured and parked close by, as we see what else has been going on, shall we?
*** First out of the rain-swollen river is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
This was spoken by none other than Mother Teresa aka Sait Teresa of Calcutta, (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu; Albanian: 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997).
And yes, she has  a pretty lengthy WIKI, found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa

((She was born in Skopje (now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Macedonia for eighteen years she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.))

I never knew she was from the Kosovo region. I figured she was from India, born of European transplants. Goes to show you can always learn something.
((Teresa received a number of honors, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She was canonised (recognised by the church as a saint) on 4 September 2016, and the anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day.

A controversial figure during her life and after her death, Teresa was admired by many for her charitable work. She was praised and criticised for her opposition to abortion, and criticised for poor conditions in her houses for the dying.))

The rest of her story you can read up on for yourselves. And I think you'll find it pretty fascinating.
*** Next up, time for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JULY 13 -
---It's National Beans N Franks Day

(I had this so often as a kid, I really don;t like it today, but I like hot dogs with beans on the side. Go figure.)
---It's National French Fry Day

(any day is good for them, but certain places make them better than others)
*** Next, The Sports and Spirits Bar, once the den of multiple shootings, is being razed (what the hell took so long?), and Frank Gray as a decent story on this, found here:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/frank-gray/20170713/hellhole-bar-to-bepeaceful-green-spot

Another postage stamp park...at this rate, the whole city should wind up as a park by the year 2173...lol.
Which means none of us will be around to enjoy it.
*** Next up, the Children's Zoo has some cool plans (which DON'T involve raising any of our taxes). Here's the story:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/fort_wayne_childrens_zoo_plans_major_renovations_of_monkey_island_otter_exhibit_20170712&profile=1143

This looking to be a really cool renovation - making an underwater viewing area for the otters (my favorite, along with the ring-tailed lemurs). Also included will be waterfalls with about 3 times the space to frolic.
The zoo will also be updating Monkey Island (and no, it won't include anything in OUR part of town...lol).
All this (and more) is possible through fund-raising and contributions.
*** Next up, more people coming forward with letters to the editor in regards to fireworks.

Here's the link to the letters , which are the first and third on the page:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/letters/20170713/letters
I'd have to say that Kenneth Thomas and David L. Nichols both seem to "get it".
The numbers of people fed up with such irresponsible and disrespectful behavior by ignorant dipshits using fireworks IS growing, and that's a good sign.
*** Next, The Little River Wetlands takes on the task of monitoring Monarch butterflies. Here's the story:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/little_river_wetlands_project_helps_with_national_monarch_butterfly_monitoring_project_20170713&profile=1008

Wifey and I attend the Monarch Festival yearly, and find it very cool.
And yes, we have our own milkweed growing, just in case.

Nothing wrong with helping our some REAL monarchs (and not the poser sitting downtown in City Hall...lol)
*** Next up, let's drop by our very own "Kitten Corner"...

I is not spazmo now, iz I?

Well, the kids didn't need any urging to go "spazmo" yesterday, but  it never lasts THAT long. What they find "fun" about chasing each other all over beats me.

Don't need toys...need a nap.

Not when they have ALL those toys about.
I'm still waiting for the two of them to share some of that overabundance of energy they both have...
*** Next, time to drop by for another "Tales of Midnight"...

Jingled keys = chow call

Wherever he goes when the sun sets, sure doesn't deter him from being close enough to hear me jingle my keys to get him running here for his food. Yesterday he was waiting by the back steps.

Okay, who the hell painted THAT house behind me?

Today, he came ambling through the back yard.
He's more regular than a lot of people, and that's without prune juice...heh.
*** Last back to the rain-drenched grass...our neighborhood is becoming a real freak show.

But that's okay...we have a "ring-side" seat, as it were.
Case in point, the "hovel" we have behind us (along Warsaw St). A small single family crib, less than 800 sq. ft, no garage, built on a slab with cinder blocks...we (affectionately) always called it "The Bunker"...lol.
(haven't seen Adolph or Eva there yet)
Well, some Latinos bought it (for less than $5K I'd wager, and have taken to giving it a new look with a coat of paint...
It is now a dark blueish-purple...I shit you not. Poor color choice much?

It's the bunker...

Looks a lot like a house that was painted a similar hue a few years back 2 blocks over on Avondale. Thankfully, someone else painted over that atrocious gag-a-maggot color.

Now, something like this MIGHT be welcome down along the gulf coast of Texas (trust me, it IS), but somehow, I can't see this, in any way, shape, or form, making the rest of the houses around here INCREASE in value. Quite the opposite.
But, you get used to such nonsense (because the city permits it).
Try pulling this off in say some (upscale) NW area development, or (heaven forbid) out in Aboite.
That dog just ain't gonna hunt.

When you see things such as these, you just KNOW that any form of redevelopment is not anywhere close to being on the short list of making our part of the city any better...or even at least as good as it USED to be, say 25 years ago.

The city has had issues with enforcing the ordinances it has on the books, especially in areas like ours, and that's why all the damn NOISE is allowed (mufflers, stereos, etc), and that sends a message to all those curbside drug deals we see each year since the area became "darker" (in more ways than one).
Whatever rules apply elsewhere in the city have taken flight from our area, and that needs to change, and soon, before our part of Fort Wayne becomes unable to come back from the precipice leading to what ails much of Chicago or Detroit.
The city wants to mimic larger cities, and if they're not careful downtown, these politicos just may get what they're asking for, but they might not be glad that they did...in the long run.

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