Friday Follies...

Well, in spite of the world, it's idiots, and sometimes ourselves, we made it to the end of another week.
Now, all we have to do is survive the weekend itself. That should be interesting.
I'm sure we're all up to it though...right?
Our Hoosierland weather will see us having a toasty warm-up, thanks to prevailing southwest winds. Temps today climb up to around 82 degrees, breezy with mostly cloudy skies (with the chance of an afternoon shower). Looks like rain already.
(good, I don't feel like dragging out the hose just yet)

Now, let's take a moment to get a nice cup or glass of Friday Fortitude as we see what else is going on...
*** First out of the splash pad is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JUNE 9 -
---It's National Donald Duck Day

(looking good for his age)
---It's National Earl Day

(so when is national BOB day, anyway?)
---It's National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

(never was into rhubarb)
*** Next, since we are at week's end, let's see what we can observe over the following 48 hours...
JUNE 10 -
---Saturday is National Ballpoint Pen Day

(well, I know I still use them)
---It's National Black Cow Day

(oh, they mean the beverage...was thinking something else...lol)
---It's National Herbs and Spices Day

(been making food taste better for a LONG time)
---It's National Iced Tea Day

(good ANY day of the year, really)
---It's National Rosé Day

(a little vino would be keen-o)
JUNE 11 -
---Sunday is National Making Life Beautiful Day

(I got plenty of ways to make MY life beautiful - shame they're illegal)
---It's National Career Nurse Assistants' Day

(and who assists the assistants?)
---It's National Corn On The Cob Day

(again, ANY time of year is good for this, pending seasonal availability)
---It's National German Chocolate Cake Day

(did someone say CAKE?)
And there we go then...plenty of stuff to take note of. Just be sure to always take along a designated observer.
*** Next up, more of the death of James Hardy, found dead in the Maumee river:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170609/body-in-river-that-of-star-athlete-hardy

What I find odd is that he was reported missing back on 30 May, and with his fame, you'd think we would have heard something sooner regarding his disappearance, right? I don't recall seeing anything about it.
Something about this situation just doesn't add up, and I hope we find out the truth behind this.
*** Next, there are some people who prefer theft to purchasing...like in THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170609/police-say-woman-using-stolen-card

More TNB, that's for sure. Had to get her ass a big screen TV...on someone ELSE'S credit card.
Good video capture by Walmart (gonna have to smile more when I come and go from there)
Makes the case for NOT leaving such items in your vehicles, no matter where you go or for how long. There are people out there who's only job is to WATCH OTHERS for those crimes of opportunity.
*** Next, those wacky welfare agencies are at it again, and we know WHICH recipients will benefit (and it won't be the disabled or seniors for the most part). Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/indiana/20170609/new-guidelines-expand-eligibility-for-wic

((The Indiana State Department of Health said Thursday that new guidelines set for the program, commonly referred to as WIC, will allow a family of two making $30,044 to qualify. The agency says a family of four making $45,510 can also qualify.))
Wow, to find employment that nets THAT much moolah used to be the stuff of financial dreams...now, it's "mofreeshit" for those raking in that much money (probably through other gub'ment programs).
I just gotta say it: "sooner or later you're gonna run out of OTHER peoples' money" for this stuff.
And that first came from the mouth of a bloody COMMUNIST!
*** Next, an interesting editorial in today's J-G about opioids.
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/20170609/new-war-on-drugs
A new war on drugs they say...with new approaches required.
Let's hope it's not like what is being proposed in Philly - "safe zones" where druggies can shoot up their drugs.
Google it...it's true, I swear.
I'll save you all the trouble. Here's the link to one story:
http://www.philly.com/philly/health/addiction/To-battle-overdose-epidemic-Phila-considers-safe-injection-sites.html
A natural progression from the free needle programs? Sure looks that way.

This is very disturbing and something I trust will NEVER come to Fort Wayne.
The Allen County Public Library already has enough problems with people doing drugs within their four walls, and that's with a needle exchange..
*** Next, a prime example of the down side to relying on grant money. Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/schools/20170609/education-center-cuts-services-after-grant-loss

Grant money is NEVER meant to be like taxes...meaning FOREVER. It's a one-shot deal.
So, you can imagine what happens when that money goes bye-bye, right?
In this case, the educational center has to cut services.
Maybe some education in "doing more with less" is in order?
*** Next, stories like like have me torn between laughing and crying:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20170609/projects-proposed-for-southeast-side
Oh boy...at last, some southeast side "progress" (?)

A U-Haul rental and storage facility (at the old K-Mart) and (another) Dollar General...
((...record-scratch...))
Is that the BEST you mooks can come up with?
W-T-F?

We have plenty of dollar stores as it is (just ask the police as to who robs these on a regular basis).
((Sharon Tucker, a Democratic member of Allen County Council involved in southeast-side development issues, said both proposals were new to her.
She said she'd heard talk of the Dollar General proposal more than year ago at a Southeast Neighborhood Partnership meeting, but “I thought it had fizzled,” she said.
She said it was too early to know whether the developments would be good for the neighborhood.))
Short answer, cupcake...IT WON'T!

Now, go back and try it AGAIN.
*** Next, time to stop by our "Kitten Corner"...

Look...mommy's home!

The kids weren't that bad, considering Wifey's return. They had some crazy time, but soon got back to normal (well, normal for cats who are nearly a year old...lol).

Wake me up when it's time to sleep.

Lots of cuteness and of course...cat-naps.
Gallifrey got back into his clumsy-affectionate gig and Violet was adorable as usual.

I can haz adorability?

Nice to have things as they should be.
*** Next, let's turn another page from our "Tales of Midnight"...
Our furry buddy was limping slightly yesterday (late in the day). Today. he seems fine again.

This house is under MY protection!

He did have an "encounter" with another cat that tried to come by  (a nice black and white one). Midnight went outside the patio gate, stood there and growled, after which the other cat left.
Man, talk about possessive. He must own us now.
Before that, he was supervising my mowing of the back yard (again...this crap never ends).

You gonna stop taking pictures and MOW?

He makes sure that everything complies with safety standards, and that's fine by me.
The mower still doesn't bug him. He just watches it (and yours truly). Not a problem. An audience (even of one) can be a good thing.
*** Last back to the patio...ahh, for those "good old days", hmm?

You remember; the days when we could walk around a neighborhood without being assaulted (as is what happens on the SE side regularly), and when you didn't have to worry about everyone else wanting something of yours and then taking it (the little girl's bike on the north side, credit cards, etc). The days when we had a lot fewer regulations on everything and everyone...and we got along a lot better and safer...I remember those.
How about the days when you really DID have good neighbors, willing to help and saying hello just for the hell of it?
It was a time when you didn't need to have a firearm to guard against home invasion or burglary, or even a house alarm system.
It was also a time when people and children knew their place, and it didn't have anything to do with YOUR place.

Yeah, those old-fashioned values and principles like civility, integrity, ethics, honesty, morality...I miss those a lot.
The days when everyone pulled their OWN weight, rather than crying crocodile tears to any and all government agency for "help", when all they needed to do was help themselves (and not to everyone else's money and stuff)...I miss those, too.
We're supposed to be so much "better off" today than in times past...I fail to see it.
Sure, the tech is there (to be abused more than used), but that alone doesn't determine societal progress.
All those aforementioned values seem to be missing from the equation, and without THOSE, we simply cannot move forward.

We really need to stop trying to wrap life around US, and instead wrap ourselves around LIFE.
Becoming more grateful and appreciative of this gift from God would be a great start, don'cha think?
Have yourselves a good weekend.

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

(btw, I just passed 2900 posts...that's pretty effin' amazing)

Thoughts For Thursday...

One day closer to the weekend, and a respite from whatever "grind" you've been going through.
For me, a return of Wifey back home from southern Indiana (yay!).
Our Hoosierland weather finds us with partly cloudy skies (got a decent sunrise today), temps topping out back up around 77 degrees, and less breezy winds than we had yesterday (which were not bad in my opinion).
So, let's take a moment to get ourselves a nice refreshing drink as we sneak a look at what else has been going one...
*** First off of the patio table is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:

"Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself."
This was spoken by yet another newcomer (here), one Walter Inglis Anderson (September 29, 1903 – November 30, 1965) who was an American painter, writer, and naturalist. He was known to his family as "Bob", (?!?)
(I have NO idea WHY they called him that, but personally, I LIKE IT...heh)
And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Inglis_Anderson

Now, this isn't that long a read, but it is quite interesting.
When you look at his paintings, you see more an impressionist than anything else. To me, it seems he has a touch of Van Gogh in him somewhere, considering his use of colors and shapes.
((Anderson worked as a designer in the family business, Shearwater Pottery, founded by his older brother Peter. In 1928-29 he designed his earliest ceramic pieces: pelican and crab bookends, lampstands, peculiar “Resting” and “Sitting Geometric Cats," a "Horse and Rider" and innumerable plates and vases.))

But his life wasn't all scholarships and design work (both here and abroad).
((From 1938 to 1940 Walter Anderson was in and out of mental hospitals, including the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Sheppard Pratt, and the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield. At Phipps, where he spent 18 months, treated attentively by Adolf Meyer and a team of psychiatrists, he was diagnosed with severe depression {"hypothymergasia"} with paranoid trends and schizophrenic {"parergasic"} features.))
Another similarity to Van Gogh. Perhaps that's the curse of such artists.
He was also a writer, keeping logbooks of his travels.
Anderson regarded his art not as a “product”, but: “a process, a means of experiencing the world.” 
He stated writing in this way: “I think writing has a cleansing effect, and although it is easy enough to keep the body clean, the mind seems to grow clogged.”
I tend to agree with him.
((Anderson's work {his family's collection} was partially destroyed when Hurricane Katrina struck Ocean Springs in 2005, and the storm surge penetrated the small cinderblock building that had been built to house his works owned by his family safely after Hurricane Camille.))
Sadly, there is no complete catalog of all his works, but there is a bibliography list, compiled by the Univeristy Press of Mississippi.
*** Next up, time for our "What the hell happens today, Bob? feature:
JUNE 8 -
---It's National Best Friends Day

(few and far between for me at my age - make every one count)
---It's National Name Your Poison Day

(Mine these days is the Pettit-Rudisill neighborhood...wonder why? lol)
---It's National Upsy-Daisy Day

(gleefully greet each morning? Can I get back to you on that one?
*** Next, The Maumee is becoming a "busy" place these days...just not in the manner you'd think whenever we hear about "riverfront development". Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170608/body-found-among-tree-debris-in-maumee

A THIRD body found in the river in two weeks? Helluva "trend" isn't it?
A worker discovered a "smell" (I can imagine), and a floater in a log jam. The Maumee has a lot of those (log jams, that is).
Gonna give the coroner a workout determining the cause of death.
Somehow, I don't think that river is becoming an adjunct for any YMCA swimming classes (or riverboat tours in the future).
**UPDATE: Vic has been ID'ed as ex NFL player James Hardy (Elmhurst grad), 31, who went missing several weeks ago 

Gotta be more here than meets the eye (says my gut).
*** Next up, a very good editorial explaining some of the issues connected with "urban chickens". 

Here's the lowdown:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/20170608/pecking-order

Amazing that "City Council puts neighborhoods before individuals"...(for a change).
((Cindy Joyner, director of Neighborhood Code Enforcement, expressed concern about the coops the ordinance would allow. Amy-Jo Sites, director of Animal Care & Control, said even without legal poultry-raising, her officers answered 50 chicken-related calls last year. “We see chickens running at large already,” she said, adding that “I'm very concerned about irresponsible chicken owners that don't clean up after their pets.”))
These two ladies KNOW their stuff, and I would  be hard-pressed to find any fault in their call on this.

NOT another episode of "Tiny House Hunting".

Mindy Waldron (admin for the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health) chimed in as well, and Councilman Tom Freistroffer, R-at large added that "urban chickens might draw more raccoon, rodents and other pests to neighborhoods".
He's right, because something as simple as an overfilled trash bin draws raccoon and possum (they love all-you-can-eat buffets, too). We've enough two-legged "pests" already.

Yep, that's frigging GHETTO all right!

I see things like this every month around where we live, People (the "locals") are lazy, stupid and uncaring about others (or themselves) when it comes to situations such as these.
*** Next, let's see what's going on over at "Kitten Corner".

I can haz my bell rung?

Okay, so who wound up the cats yesterday? Gallifrey was chasing Violet through the house and she slid RIGHT into the stove. Saw the whole thing up close. Good solid "thud".

Yeah, that's a BAD stove.

She shook it off and dashed away. They both really get up a head of steam.
With all the toys, you'd think they'd have enough to busy themselves.
Nah...

The good part is when they both quiet down and get to napping. Then all is peaceful in the realm once again.
*** Next up, let's take a short trip to our "Tales of Midnight"...

I don't think I can get up early ENOUGH for him, as he is always waiting for me to feed him. He's either on the patio by the door, or at the foot of the back steps, and he knows that it's time to eat.

Then...it's time to rest.
He didn't even notice the hummingbird that came by.

I DID.
I sat outside with him until it got dark, and then, he just walked off to wherever he goes for his overnight stay.
This morning, there he was outside waiting for his food (which he got soon enough).
Guess we won't ever have to worry about chickens near here.
*** Last back to the garden gates...there's nothing wrong with having as pet (or several).

I've had pets all my life, and yes, I admit to having two chickens.
Mom got me two baby chicks when I was little (for Easter) one year. They grew quickly, too.

Let's talk CHICKS, man...

This was IN Philly (rowhouses) in the Frankford section, and we kept them indoors. When they got too big, Dad called a friend who had a farm in NJ, and the chickens went to a new home (guess they were eaten - no one ever said).

Why NO, I don't think he's a duck either.

Also had two ducklings, and they followed me ALL over the house,. Funny to watch them climb stairs (yes, they CAN do that).
They also wound up on that farm in Jersey when they got too big.
Thing is, you can't always train such animals to use a litter pan, or have a specific place for them to have for bodily functions.
Dogs and cats are different in that respect.
It wasn't a case of not being responsible. I did what I could (as did my parents)...it just became more a liability than an asset to our household.
Today, people are not even responsible as parents of their own children, so you KNOW how they are with any pets they have. Walk dogs without a leash down the middle of a residential street, let 'em crap anywhere and never clean up after them. That's typical (and unlawful).
And when they get bored with a cat or dog, they leave them run away, or (better yet) THEY move and just turn the animal out to fend for themselves. Who cares, right?.

That's why we have little friends like Hobo and Midnight that come by, looking for a little love that they might have had once.

And that's why people like us give a damn about such creatures.
Someone has to, and better to have a someone who DOES care.
It's all a part of life, and life is too precious to be tossed by the wayside, whether you have two feet or four.

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