Thoughts For Thursday...

Hope all of you have your umbrella today, because you WILL be needing it.
We won't see anything dry outside until late Saturday, according to the reports.
And, I heard that we might even see some snow over the weekend (I wouldn't sweat getting the shovel back out).
Our Hoosierland weather for today will bring us...RAIN, followed by more rain throughout the remainder of the day. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy (oh look, there's the sun). Temps will climb to around 60 degrees, and we'll have some light breezes.

Now, let's get a comforting drink to begin the day, as we see what else has been going on...
*** First out of the rain barrel is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:

"By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community."
This was spoken by someone we all studied in high school English class...Oscar (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) who was an Irish poet and playwright. And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde
I loved his "Picture of Dorian Gray"
And NO, don't confuse Mr. Wilde with Tom baker as the 4th Doctor in the Doctor Who series from the mid 70s...heh.

"Fancy a Jelly-Baby?"

Two TOTALLY different people.
When he wrote his only political essay, The Soul of Man Under Socialism, he argued political conditions should establish this primacy - private property should be abolished, and cooperation should be substituted for competition.

This put him in disfavor with the Fabians (intellectual socialists who advocated using state apparatus to change social conditions).
But, his writings created controversy, as well as allegations of homosexual behavior, sodomy and gross indecency, and he was imprisoned for two years (25 May 1895 to 18 May 1897).
I know he'd probably never see a jail cell in say...FRISCO (or in the Greenwich Village section of NYC).
It's a very interesting read, and worth the time.
*** Next,  let's look into our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
MARCH 28 -
---It's National Black Forest Cake Day

(i had me at "cake")
---It''s National Something On a Stick Day

(could we be more specific with this?)
---It's National  Triglycerides Day

(well, if we find them in cake...that'll work)
---It's National Weed Appreciation Day

(got 3 words here - NO...EFFIN...WAY!)
*** Next up, there's another good Bob Rinearson column:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/opinion/2019/03/26/allen-county-a-step-ahead-in-prevention-of-school-violence/\
Bob makes an excellent point when he speaks about training school "employees"...that's NOT just educators.
Let's hope that any "live drills" don't include "shooting" teachers with rubber rounds.
That tends to leave a mark (and creates lawsuits).
Also, just because we have adequate resources locally to  create a better sense of security at schools, doesn't mean we can sit back and take things easy.
Such criminals don't usually advertise in advance when they're coming.
*** Next, an update on the latest homicide in FTW:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20190327/WEB/190329812
The victim was ID'ed as Felton Oneil Walker, 23 of Fort Wayne.
Address was listed as 4424 Smith St.
On the rap sheets, he has to be a "junior", as there's another male with the same name with crimes going back to 1990. , and THIS Felton Walker would have been a child. The younger Felton had a couple misdemeanors for DUI driving w/o a license and insurance.
The "elder" Felton did have drug possession (pot and cocaine) arrests.
Must run in the (SE side) "family"?
*** Next up, another house fire on the (where else?) SE side:
https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/teenager-pet-dog-safely-escape-house-fire/1882381350

This took place around 0030 hrs this morning at 2812 Drexel Av.
A teenage boy and his dog got out okay.

Fire crews determined the fire began in the bedroom OF the teen...imagine that.
No one else was home at the time...curious. That boy got some "splainin" to do.
*** Next up, time to see what's going on at our "Kitten Corner"...

"I'll let daddy have the sofa...this night."

The kids did fairly well yesterday...not that much going on, but eating, snoozing, and looking out various windows .

"I see WEIRD stuff."

Why either one wants to view the "locals" eludes me, but to each his/her own.
At least I got the sofa in the living room back last evening...lol.
*** Next, let's do our check in with "Midnight and Whiskers"...
Our furry duo spent all day around and near the house, and that kinda surprised me.

"C.mon, I'm not THAT hard to spot."

When I went out for the lunchtime feeding, I nearly tripped over Midnight.
He was snoozing in a shadow near the table. I didn't expect him to be there.

"Yippee...another nice day out here."

Whiskers was alongside the house and came out to roll around.
He just soaked up the sun while it lasted.
*** Last back to the downspout...I saw a news story mentioning a survey stating that the majority of people (in another survey) feel that not enough is being done for blacks in America.

Well, I didn't know whether to roll my eyes, laugh my ass off, or elevate my blood pressure due to anger.

The people in that survey must NOT have been in my part of the ghettohood, for we seem to have more Cadillacs than at the local dealership (as well as many other new vehicles), and there is obviously plenty of money, because few if any blacks down here actually WORK for a living.
And of those that do, some are of the "street pharm distributorship" variety.
They all enjoy cable or satellite with he obligatory big screen television, and can afford enough meat to have regular cookouts (when not burning down a house from cooking at 3 AM).
And they have plenty of friends that do likewise, because they're always over to various houses daily.
I mean, what MORE can be done for the richest "poor people" on the whole planet?

Many of them receive subsidies out the wazoo for food, housing, utilities, child care, college...you name it.
And the way they shoot each other in such a cavalier manner, one would think their ammunition is ALSO subsidized.

I think if anything, they should start doing more for themselves, and have less dependency upon everyone else. That mindset seems to work quite well for others.

When they can appreciate and be thankful for what THEY can achieve, then they can create a better life for themselves and their own communities. Charity surely begins in the HOME. Besides, it sure beats taking from everyone else, doesn't it?

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