Thoughts For Thursday...

I trust you all have a festive 4th yesterday. We, down here in the crotch of Ft. Wayne managed to survive another onslaught from the terminally-stupid and chronically-annoying assholes that infest our area. The cats did okay and are all accounted for this morning.
Now, all we have to do is get through the 9th (when the fireworks "window" for the city ends) and maybe, just maybe we can gather back some amount of normal living.
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us partly sunny skies, as the heat and humidity continue.
Temps will rise to around 90 degrees (again), and we have the (elusive) chance of showers this afternoon, which never seems to show the hell up and cool things down).
There MAY be gusty winds and small hail (seeing is still believing).
So, let's get that first proper (and refreshing) drink of the day, as we see what else has been going on...
*** First out of the junk drawer is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Those who won our independence... valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."

This was spoken by none other than Louis Dembitz Brandeis (November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) who was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis
I've featured him here many times before, and even though he was a supporter of Woodrow Wilson, and considered a "progressive", he had a LOT more common sense than his contemporaries.
As I say, no one is perfect, but he speaks to issues we seem to have long abandoned.
((He fought against powerful corporations, monopolies, public corruption, and mass consumerism, all of which he felt were detrimental to American values and culture.))
AMERICAN culture...that's something we are finding in shorter supplies these days, thanks to the leftists, isn't it?
*** Next, time for the "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JULY 5 -
---It's National Apple Turnover Day

(make mine cherry and we got a deal there)
---It's National Bikini Day

(now THIS is worth observing...a lot)
---It's National Graham Cracker Day

(not to be confused with former mayor Graham Richard, who is a cracker)
---It's National Hawaii Day

(the land of pot, active volcanoes, and no more straws...pass!)
*** Next up, yet another study finds Fort Wayne is NOT "fun-friendly"? Who knew?

Here's the story:
https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/fort-wayne-among-worst-cities-for-fun-report-says/1281643394

Well, it USED to be...about 20 years ago.

Fort Wayne also has THESE other stats going for it:
48th in spending on parks per capita
87th in parkland as percent of city area
67th in bike rental facilities per capita
88th in percent of population with walkable park access
95th in music venues per capita
51st in tennis courts per capita
77th in park playgrounds per capita
78th in swimming pools per capita

Of course if you consider crime and hand-over-fist spending for dozens of downtown "projects" FUN, then perhaps we are doing okay.
I certainly don't see ANY evidence of "fun" where WE live on the SE side.
I guess that our king's jester, John Perlich has to do some damage control on this one, given the statement he issued.
We WERE ranked 98th last year...doing better? I'm thinking not.
*** Next, and since we're looking for FUN, here are some fun facts about the 4th of July:
https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/men-suffer-about-70-percent-of-fireworks-injuries-and-other-4th-of-july-facts/1270980846

Curious how people living near us NEVER seem to get caught up in THESE statistics.
Must be the lack of police patrols whenever the 4th rolls around.
*** Next up, Wal-Mart pulls an "OOPS" moment in the clothing department. Here's the story:
https://patch.com/arkansas/across-ar/impeach-45-shirts-sparks-boycottwalmart-campaign-twitter

Wow...the stores had to pull all the IMPEACH 45 t-shirts from their racks.
Wonder why we never saw any IMPEACH 44 shirts when Obummer was in office?
I can never in my wildest dreams imagine anything like this happening,  say when JFK was in office...or even Nixon.
Another disturbing trend in America...disregard for the office of president of our nation.
*** Next, while we're talking disturbing trends in society, we have this story:
https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/pastors-call-for-fort-wayne-violence-to-end/1283065645

So, local pastors are calling for an end to violence in the Summit City...AGAIN???
Haven't they BEEN doing that for the last 15+ years? And how has that been working SO far, hmm?
I remember prayer vigils, marches and the like, and STILL we have the crime all these fine godly people have been railing against.
Perhaps the criminal element has been too well-established over the last couple decades to make it go away this easily?

To parrot our monarch's words..."Fort Wayne IS a point-of-destination"...yeah, when it comes to drugs and criminals.
Bet'cha couldn't (or wouldn't) see this one coming, your highness...right?
*** Next up, time to stop on by our "Kitten Corner"...
Our kids did fine, until the LOUD fireworks began.

Catching a nap before the noise started

Gallifrey started darting back and forth and finally must have found a good hiding place, because I didn't see him until around 0100 hrs.

"I dozent likes those loud boom things."

Violet wasn't AS bad, but she shied away from interaction with Wifey or myself until we went to bed. They seem fine this morning.
I don't like seeing ANY pet having to endure the ignorance of others.
*** Next, let's do our daily check in with "Midnight and Company"...

I iz relaxing before the boom stuff starts.

Our furry twosome were nearby most all day, and that was a relief. When the LOUD started, Whiskers hid in the "Nam grass", while Midnight hid elsewhere. before I went to bed, I checked out the back door, and he was right there on the top step, curled up.
And he had to have stayed there,

I know where it's safe...right HERE.

because this morning, there he was on the same step.
Like I said at the top...it was good to have "everyone" all accounted for..
*** Last back to the tool shed...this "fireworks window" we have which runs through 9 July  is something that needs to be changed (read shortened).

We're not prepping for the purge, are we?

And it's not because I'm some curmudgeon (well, I actually am in some ways)...it's more of a (dare I invoke our monarch's words once again?) a (real) QUALITY-OF LIFE situation.
Unfortunately, and is typical with society these days, too many people have become DESENSITIZED to problems we never used to have.
What we have allowed is what is continuing, and some of it is about as far from what normal behavior is as East is from West.
More and more we seem to be mirroring the societal behaviors of ancient Rome (and we all know how that panned out in the end for them).
If we go farther back in history, we find cities in Old Testament times that suffered worse judgments.
It's been said that what you sow is what you reap, and today's world is producing a "bumper crop" of idiocy, which will be harvested and placed into a simmering crock pot of stupid.
Is THAT where we want to go? I would think not.
We need to care about that which is more than transient, more than the worldly, and concentrate more on what makes us better people..and that will ensure a better society.

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