Monday Musings...
When it comes to living on the SOUTH side of Fort Wayne, one must always take into consideration that a vast majority of those around you will probably NOT be of the same mindset when it comes to simple things like POLITENESS, CIVILITY, RESPECT, MORALITY, ETHICS, and INTEGRITY. In other words, it's almost like living in WASHINGTON, D.C.
And I mean that in the MOST political manner possible.
Calling things a "struggle" down here is being nice about it.
And if it is ONE thing above all else, it IS a CHALLENGE.
It's a challenge to one's ability to ignore most of what happens.
It's a challenge to one's sanity on a daily basis.
It's a challenge regarding SELF-RESTRAINT.
It's a challenge to REMAIN civilized, when others about you act like animals. For it's been said it's MUCH easier for a civilized person to devolve into an animal, than for an animal to evolve into a civilized man...given the confines of a brief time, such as a year, or even a decade.
And if there is one thing that defines our civility, placing us ABOVE the "lower life forms", it's the fact that we CHOOSE to not act the animal...not today, or perhaps not even tomorrow.
We may so want to go out and just rid the earth of the local scum...but we choose to NOT feed the (often) insatiable appetite of our "mindless primitive" (the ID) which resides in every one of us. Others seem to have problems wrapping their primate brains around such concepts.
That would be a LOT of the people that, for lack of a more descriptive term, we'll call "my neighbors".
I mentioned a LONG time ago, that we used to live at Willow Creek Crossing (for about a year). Now I quaintly call the place Willow CRACK Crossing, because of some of the sh*t I saw go one there...AND the fact that we were burglarized one fine day in June (same week my Mother passed away...talk about a fun-filled 168 hours).
When we lived there back in 1997, I thought it was barely passable as a "nice" place. Sure, it LOOKED fine enough, but, as we ALL know...looks CAN be deceiving. And they most certainly were.
Along with our break-in (complete with feces-smeared carpets), which over $500 of things were "removed" involuntarily by the thieves, we also saw girls urinating between our parked cars, pot being smoked openly at the POOL, assorted loud music and people, and even a wheelchair being pushed into the pool with people "riding" on it, like it was a water park attraction.
Add to that the place has STEEL doors (good for security) on WOODEN jambs/frames (bad for security).
I've been watching the reports for this place since we left, and apparently, not much has been done to make residents SAFER.
Their "security" consisted (back then) of an overweight guy with a radio, driving a CHEVETTE.
(yeah, I thought the same thing, too)
I DO know the FWPD patrols the place regularly, when they're NOT being called there (frequently).
This past Sunday, a 17 year old was shot in a car in the 7300 block of Mill Run Drive (the same block WE used to live on). This occurred at 0300 hours Sunday morning, but it shows how much "better" the place has become.
Kind of makes that commercial they air seem ALL the more "inviting"...doesn't it?
I STILL maintain that inadequate background checks are being performed with regularity, otherwise the incidents that happen there would be a lot less frequent. But hey, it's not MY job to manage the place...(lucky for THEM).
You can plainly see the type of behavior that's allowed, or tolerated...and I consider WCC better (but not by much) than MY neighborhood, so you get an idea what we're up against NOW.
Yesterday, we had THIRTY ONE boomcars (loud enough to shake the windows) drive past the house....that's more than ONE AN HOUR, but this occurred ONLY between 1100 hours and 2300 hours, so it's NOT EVEN a 24 hour span.
That is simply WAY TOO MANY LOUDASSES driving around to suit me (and the dead, who keep calling me. asking why they keep getting awakened by the noise).
I have proposed a "plan" that I believe will get rid of a lot of these acoustically-fueled idiots, and I sent it along to the FWPD quadrant captain, in the hope that it will be able to be implemented. I know it has worked in other cities, and should work HERE, as well. The cost is right in line with any city budget (truly minimal), and would do well to relieve some of the din we have to endure.
Now, you have to realize that this refers ONLY to loud MUSIC (if you can call this crap that). We also have those with MUFFLER issues. Some have these "performance" mufflers (on a POS Honda painted several colors of primer), that sound like a nest of hornets in heat, or the idiots that drive with a damaged muffler (the "motorboat boyz", as I call 'em), and we also have the occasional "WASHING-MACHINE CHARLIE".
Anyone that recalls military jargon know what that is.
It's a vehicle or aircraft with an annoying habit of backfiring, or otherwise making enough noise so as to disrupt normal activity at an outpost or base...(like SLEEPING). And they always used to be the target of small arms fire.
We have such vehicles around my neighborhood...
One guy drives (barely) a pre 2000 model dark green Concorde that sounds like 3 cylinders are MIA, the other 3 are mis-timed, and the baffles in the muffler have collapsed, producing gunshot-like backfires from the exhaust every few meters.
You can make a car do this easily enough, but this is a case of NEGLECT.
Kind of sounds like the way these people manage their LIVES and CHILDREN...with NEGLECT.
And to think that these problems are only the tip of a much larger "iceberg".
Just my luck to book passage on this Midwest Titanic called Fort Wayne, hmm?
Well, it doesn't HAVE to be this way. People have to be SHOWN, in no certain terms, WHY what they do is wrong.
A GOOD neighborhood helps EVERYONE.
Conversely, a BAD neighborhood helps a very few, as crime will no doubt show.
A GOOD neighborhood can often become a SHOWCASE...a jewel in any city's crown.
A BAD neighborhood becomes a PARIAH...a BANE on any city, relegated to the news at 6 & 11.
Thing is...I like the GOOD neighborhood gig a LOT more than the alternative.
Most everyone else around here? Not so much.
Therein lies the REAL problem.
Address THAT, and you CAN effect major change.
Anything less, and you do little if nothing to better the state of affairs.
And to think...it's ONLY Monday.
So much that can be done, and so little time with too few allies.
Still, it IS an ongoing challenge...AND an ongoing "adventure".
Now I sound like Remo Williams...or some military recruiting commercial...LOL!
Stay safe out there, America.

Friday Follies...
Here we are at the end of the week, the start of the weekend, AND the beginning of a new month. Can we STAND the strain?
Tell you one thing...the past week has made the Space Mountain Ride at Disneyworld look about as thrill-packed as sitting in the barber's chair...with the barber out to lunch!
The GOOD news is that we can leave all of LAST MONTH'S BAD NEWS behind us.
The BAD news is that we have that NEW MONTH with which to create MORE BAD NEWS.
Sorry, that's the cynical optimistic pessimist in me again.
But that aside, let's see what's shakin'...
-- Supreme Court Judge David Souter says he's going to retire sometime around JUNE this year.
Okay, can we say PERFECT STORM here?
This retirement will no doubt produce available candidates that will lean more to the far left, and that's the last thing we really need now, not that leaning to the far right is much better.
Too liberal is JUST AS BAD as too conservative. The uber-liberals want to change ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, while those uber-conservatives don't really want to change much at all. At least that's what I've seen over the past decade or two.
If we could only have a government that would busy itself running this NATION, instead of trying to intrude (further and faster) into all our lives, we'd ALL be better served, and THEY would be better elected officials.
Yeah...I know...dream on, Bob.
-- More meth labs have been found in LaGrange and Noble counties in Indiana (big surprise there, huh?), and arrests HAVE been made by the state police.
WTG, people.
Now, IF ONLY we, in Fort Wayne, could get the multi-agency drug task force back our of the ICU and out finding those dealers (hint, the low-level guys on the SE side will take you UP the "corporate" ladder), maybe we could claim similar headlines, depending on whether or not the prosecutor's office thinks it's enough of an "airtight" case.
To that end, I would say that not EVERY case will be a slam-dunk, so hunker down, get ballsy, and take it TO those perps, damn it!
THAT is what makes a good prosecutor or district attorney...the ABILITY to take victory from the jaws of defeat.
Stop caving to the ambulance-chasers, and stop with all the damn PLEA-BARGAINS. This isn't an episode of "LET'S MAKE A DEAL", for God's sake! Monty Hall isn't running the damn show here.
But enough about judicial attributes and rhetoric.
Moving on...
-- The whole Chrysler - Fiat deal just sound so bad to me on so many levels.
And the ONE thing I find totally WRONG about it, is not the fact that they're bankrupt, or that the government does any kind of bailout thing, or even doesn't bail them out. Oh, no.
Sherman, set the WAY-BACK MACHINE for America, circa 1991 - the Chrysler motorcar company.
It seems that a certain MODEL of that era was a perfect CLONE of a JAPANESE car maker, one MITSUBISHI.
The DODGE STEALTH and the MITSUBISHI 3000GT were IDENTICAL, except for very minor differences (headlights and fascia) and name tags.









Don't believe me?
Here's the facts, ma'am (or sir):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Stealth
And this is NOT the first time Chrysler spent some "bedtime" with OTHER car companies. Going back to 1979, the Dodge Charger "2+2" and the Plymouth Turismo TC3 had AUDI engine parts all over the place.
So my question becomes (in his best Horatio Caine)...WHERE are these OTHER car companies when Chrysler was sleeping with them for years, hmm?
Where IS Audi? Where IS Mitsubishi?
Why is FIAT the ONLY "player" in this mix with Chrysler anyway?
And who the hell wants FIAT? Certainly not I (and neither do you...trust me).
Cripes, some Fiats make the Russian-built TRABANT look like a Lincoln MKZ...LOL!
This is a royal clusterf*ck in the making...
-- OUR local AIR really sucks, too.
(and just when we were working on the water quality...)
Allen County air quality was given an *F* (and that doesn't stand for FINE) for OZONE. You know, that sweet fragrant air that you smell when thunderstorms hit (it's an ionized particle thing)...well, it's not EXACTLY that.We're talking about the "bad" ozone, and not the "good" ozone.
Yes, Martha, there IS a difference!
The "good" ozone is that which keeps harmful radiation from bombarding us in the UPPER atmosphere.
The "bad" ozone is at ground level and causes pollution.
Here's the *411* from WIKI, for all you chemical engineering folks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone
Suffice it to say, it would be NICE if we could somehow gather up all that nasty, polluting and oxidizing OZONE down HERE, and get it up the upper atmosphere, where we could replenish that THIN layer that keeps us all from becoming crispy critters and keeps oncologists rolling in money.
What I'm curious about is how something that HUGS THE GROUND can even GET up into the atmosphere to begin with. Is Delta airlines or UPS giving it a ride or what?
That's like saying that FREON (R-12 & R-22) ruins the ozone layer. Well, if you can tell me HOW a gas that is HEAVIER THAN AIR is mysteriously transported into the stratosphere, I'd say alrighty then, let's do away with that stuff.
Sorry...just not seeing it, though.
Maybe my favorite "environmangelist", Al Gore is using his PRIVATE JET to haul that crap up there...I KNEW it was a conspiracy...LOL!
It's all HIS fault that we have ozone depletion above our planet AND ozone pollution ON our planet.
Betcha those Mexicans are smuggling that damn ozone across our border!.
Tell 'ya...if you spend too much time wondering about ALL the troubles we have with the economy, taxes, the government, the swi...I mean the "N1H1 INFLUENZA A" outbreak, The Middle East, Pirates from Somalia, illegals coming to the USA, drugs, crime, gangs all on our streets, kids out of control, families in crisis, schools that pander to the lazy instead of challenging them, bailouts for banks, car companies going bust, and that ingrown toenail and cavity on your molar...you'd go CRAZY, right?
Well, it's MAY. Time to think about a few other things, and hopefully they will be less fraught with angst.
That's what GARDENS are for.
So wherever you might happen to go, either on foot, by bike, by bus, by horse (by God), in your car (instead of running along beside it), or even in your mind (don't wanna know about that)...
Take it easy, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

Tales From the SouthSide...
Normally, I'd spend this time covering stories of note, but today, I think I'm going to "change" things up a bit.
After all, variety IS the spice of life, is it not?
But before I get into some "change you CAN believe in", let's briefly visit a few stories of "note", such AS last evening's Presidential press conference.
-- Yes, friends, a PRESS CONFERENCE is when questions are asked of the President, and he responds with answers off the top of his head, because he's informed, knowledgeable, has been reading all his staff reports AND has been cribbing notes (mental or written) from those briefings.
Last night was certainly NOT THAT MANY of the above.
What we had INSTEAD, was a waste of good air time.
What we had INSTEAD was only THIRTEEN QUESTIONS, pre-screened and by specified reporters with teleprompter answers.
I mean the name Mr. Roboto takes on a whole new meaning now, doesn't it? Helluva talking head.
Now I WILL give the President one saving grace; he IS rather cool, calm and collected about this. He's got a smooth demeanor, but that is lost in the contrived manner in which this televised "event" was brought to us.
The word SCRIPTED comes to mind. It could not have been better orchestrated if Ron Howard wrote the screenplay, John Williams did the background music, and Stephen King did the novel!
I kept looking, but I didn't see anyone's hand up the President's back as he spoke...now that is some GOOD Special effects!
But with over and done with, maybe we can get to tasks more AT HAND, like preserving our DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC...'ya think?
-- All this flap over Arlen Spector jumping parties (when I thought he liked to jump political sharks) is somewhat DESERVED.
I never thought much of him when I lived in Pennsy, and I think the same of him living in Indiana. He IS one thing above all else...a SURVIVOR. I'd hate to be on the island with HIM during a challenge. And we thought the late LON CHANEY was the man of a THOUSAND FACES!
I say good...let Spector be the problem of the democrats, not that I'm a Republican...I'm neither.
I'm not swayed by ideology or by political affiliation and rhetoric.
I will say that Spector should be the NEW poster child for TERM LIMITS.
-- Interesting thing I heard on the police scanner last evening. Two TEENS were arrested for outstanding warrants (failure to appear) in connection with a citation issued for WALKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!!!
That blew me the f*ck A-WAY!
And here I thought Internal Affairs shunned such policies by the local police.
I mean it "could" be construed as being racially BIASED, simply because too many blacks DO walk in the street, when a perfectly GOOD SIDEWALK is mere inches AWAY.
Hey, maybe it was a "rookie mistake" issuing that citation, and after a reprimand, all will be forgiven, and the kids can go BACK to being a traffic hindrance....the way it's (apparently) MEANT to be down on the SOUTH side of the city.
OR...we could be seeing a new "era" in community-oriented policing.
And with that, it's time to segue into something I like to call:
YOU KNOW YOU LIVE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF FORT WAYNE IF....
So keep the coffee away from the keyboard, and keep the Windex handy for the monitor...you might just need it.
You just KNOW you live on the SOUTH side of Fort Wayne if:
-Your pistol is always next to the salad fork at the dinner table.
-You have NOWHERE to shop...BUT everywhere else.
-You receive OVER 350 wrong numbers asking for "Ray's Snackbar".
-You weigh your words carefully when using "crack" and "house" in the same sentence.
-A YIELD sign means "keep going", & a through street means "come to a complete stop".
-You have a liquor store within walking distance, no matter WHERE you live.
-Memorial Day doesn't honor the dead...it WAKES them UP due to the loud music.
-You see more CORN-ROWS than ROWS OF CORN in the community gardens.
-You can piss off people in the area JUST by being WHITE ...and BREATHING.
-You know all the X-rated lyrics from the latest rap songs you hear TWO blocks away.
-You value your "concealed-carry" permit MORE than your driver's license.
-You greet almost everyone by pointing an index finger at them and going "bang".
-You're one of a VERY few on your block that ACTUALLY OWNS a house, furniture, AND a car.
-Your neighborhood is becoming the "Sam's Club" of illegal drugs.
-There is ONE lawnmower that is driven around in someone's trunk to cut everyone else's lawn.
-You live by 3 rules: Get up. Survive. Go to Bed.
-The good news in your area is that the HOMICIDE rate is lower than last year.
-The bad news is that all the people that NEEDED to be shot....weren't.
-You find a way to wear your gun in the SHOWER.
-Your insurance agent calls to see if you "need" more coverage.
-You see more TEAM LOGO wear on your STREET than at an ALL STAR game.
-The USPS is looking into "up-armoring" their mail trucks.
-Getting a "neighbor" to shut up means cuffing their hands behind them.
-City code won't allow a permit for you to dig a MOAT around your house.
-Community-Oriented Policing to YOU means becoming a vigilante.
-A Bradley Fighting Vehicle would make a great "second" car.
-You "Shop with a cop" because it's safer than doing it any other way.
-DUB refers to a set of wheels and NOT an audio recording term.
-The basement of your house has been converted to a fortified gun emplacement.
-A SINGLE rental tenant will inexplicably become FIVE people after a month.
-You're getting to know the sector police officers on a FIRST-NAME basis.
-House arrest means the DOG is wearing the ankle bracelet as a collar.
-You ask the police department if they have any "ex" K-9 dogs available to a good home.
-Your area is a "high-crime" area only because there are NO donut shops.
-Someone stole your gazing ball, and then tried to DRIBBLE it down the street.
-A neighbor moves next to a PIG FARM because it's BETTER than THIS neighborhood.
-Ghetto-opoly is your favorite board game.
And...finally:
-An episode of COPS is being filmed ON YOUR LAWN...at 2 AM.
So, there you have it. See all the "fun" you're missing by NOT living down here?
I mean who NEEDS a new ballpark, or even the 3 Rivers Festival when you have all THIS stuff going down...DAILY, hmm?
And if you ever get bored, you can always toss sticks at dead bodies in Reservoir park, like some kids were doing last night, or toss a rock at a robin trying to snag a worm for her chicks.
You can hang out front of the rental crib, smoke a doobie, and not worry about getting busted (until I take a picture of you and forward it to the FWPD). You can boom down the street at 4AM and not get bothered (except when I shine that laser or spotlight into your car window and light up your damn dashboard).
Yes sir...never a dull moment. And people ask WHY I stay here...silly question.
For the TARGET PRACTICE...what else?
Plus, I like to pursue something called NATURAL JUSTICE.
But you'd have to ask Judge Roy Bean or Frank Castle about that.
So, take it easy today, and always...
Stay safe out there, America.

Humpday Happenings...
Wow, middle of the week, AND the 100th day of the Obama administration.
Can we stand the strain?
Where is Millard Fillmore when you NEED him anyway?
Still, it could always be worse...I'm just trying to figure out HOW.
How, indeed...
In the meantime, let's sneak a look at what ELSE is occurring about out happy little planet, shall we?
-- From the "Gee whiz, it's like DEJA VU all over again" Department:
The recent flyover of Manhattan by Air Force One has brought a LOT of criticism, and deservedly so.
I mean these people have been through PLENTY this decade, and the LAST thing I'm sure they WANT to see is ANOTHER honking huge airliner greasing the skyscrapers of their city, right?
Talk about flashbacks!
Everyone from the White House (who advised those corporate shrubs to NOT fly their PRIVATE JETS to the economic hearings recently, and has mandated ways to reduce everyone ELSE'S CARBON FOOTPRINT), on down to the Pentagon and DoD are getting their fingers into THIS pie, as well they should. And it WOULD have been nice to notify the MAYOR of NYC when they decided to pull this stunt. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani didn't have anything nice to say about this, and who can blame him?
-- From the "Another one bites the dust" Department:
I spoke yesterday about PONTIAC going the way of the Passenger Pigeon (after Oldsmobile did earlier this millennium), and now we can add even more "orphans" to the mix. Say goodbye to HUMMER (civvie sales anyway, unless you want to get some old surplus ones), SATURN and SAAB.
Damn shame about them, I like Saturn's no-nonsense approach to sales, and SAAB was always a SAFE car.
I have a friend who is ALIVE today, thanks to a SAAB 800 coupe!
And unless there is a drastic change of the status quo, I don't expect much from CHRYSLER and their "union" with FIAT. Cripes, of ALL the car companies to merge with, they HAD to get FIAT!
This is the Italian car company that has a history of retaining the same model style for DECADES, and produced a series of sub-compacts (that looked remarkably like the YUGO) in the 1980s which had a really bad "flaw" in them. The car liked to rust out and break at the firewall. Not the best way to get that "warm n fuzzy" while tooling down a highway, is it?
My jury is going to be out on these guys until I see something positive.
-- From the "George Patton died way too soon" Department:
Pentagon sources are now saying that the war in Afghanistan is presenting problems unique to the country, and will surely be a lot more difficult to achieve victory there, even on the order of the victory in Iraq.
Well, you DO have more than just "hot and sand" in Afghanistan. You also got those really cool MOUNTAINS (with snowfall even) that make fantastic hideouts for the Taliban. Logistically, it's a nightmare, and that's being way too kind.
You also don't have the urban areas in the size and quantity that you enjoy in Iraq.
Not to mention, you have a population dispersed over an area the size of ENGLAND, and it will present problems. Obama promises another 22K troops and NATO says they're sending 5K.
Makes me see a lot more clearly why the USSR pulled out of there when they did. Maybe they thought their war in Afghanistan wasn't sustainable nor were able to achieve victory.
One thing's for sure, if you figure into this mix the state of Pakistan, this can soon become a lot more volatile area, especially with NUKES figuring into all this. While I'm saying they will most likely NOT be used as traditional weapons such as a Hiroshima device, I will concede that the potential for some radioactive scenario (low yield device w/ heavily distributed toxicity) in some heavily populated area HERE OR ABROAD takes on a new aspect to terrorism.
Couple that with the constant threat of some bio-device and you can sow the seeds of confusion and misdirection VERY nicely.
-- From the "In a pig's eye and pass the bacon" Department:
Cases of SWINE FLU continue to mount, but I strongly caution that all you guys and gals out there DO NOT PANIC.
Listen up, about THIRTY SIX THOUSAND (that's 36,000) people die EVERY DAMN YEAR from INFLUENZA!
Them's the FACTS.
And curiously, we never hear all that much about THAT. So why go and get your undies in a bunch over another strain of flu?
All you REALLY have to do for now is just take PROPER PRECAUTIONS to minimize the chance of contracting the flu (or the common cold for that matter). This is a case where a little COMMON SENSE goes a LONG way.
You don't have to run to the military surplus outlets and grab up some LVL III HAZMAT gear, trust me!
You SHOULD be washing your paws off a bit more frequently.
Those with depleted immune systems need to be extra careful.
And should you come down with the bug, the number one thing I advise is to STAY HYDRATED.
You will get a fever, and fever loves nothing more than to be on the RISE.
When that happens, the body gets water from everywhere else, and that leads to dehydration, and even HIGHER fever.
I know...been there myself, and it's not a pretty scenario.
When your fever gets too high, your body has difficulty holding anything down, which INCLUDES WATER. Also, if your temperature rises above 104F, you run the risk of brain damage...or even death.
Like everything else, your BRAIN likes to stay comfy, and now you know the reason behind the saying: "Keep a cool head".
So remain calm, stay positive and focused on the tasks at hand, and you'll get by with as few problems as possible.
-- Finally, I was noticing the memorial for victims of violent crime here in Ft. Wayne, and I was amazed at the LOW turnout, but on the other hand, I can understand why.
The venue could never hold the ACTUAL NUMBER of victims, and with good reason:
We are ALL victims of violent crime.
Sure, maybe some of us don't have it knocking on our door, or dividing our family, but we DO suffer the fallout from such violence, nonetheless.
We ALL share the burden inflicted upon us when we have to hire MORE police to keep us safe.
We ALL expect our streets to be safe and that we will be protected.
We ALL foot the bill for added security, either at home, in our vehicles, or at our workplace and schools.
And still, the violence rears it ugly head.
There will always be those few, misguided miscreants, for whatever reason, will see themselves as some type of perverse "final authority" on earth. And that simply cannot be tolerated by civilized society.
We can pray about it...we can legislate it, we can debate it until the sun sets, and never really come to some point of closure.
What we can do, is be AWARE.
We CAN aid the police whenever possible.
We CAN report behaviors and situations that are contrary to normal, pose an imminent threat to our lives, and deny us the QUALITY OF LIFE that our laws say we are supposed to have as citizens of whatever city, state, or nation we happen to be part of.
Or we can nothing, and when we do that, THAT is exactly what WILL get done.
So, wherever the four winds happen to take you today, please...
Stay safe out there, America.

Rest In Peace...
With the advent of cutbacks, downsizings, and bailouts, the once venerable name of PONTIAC has fallen from the umbrella moniker of General Motors, following the demise of the Oldsmobile line a couple of years ago.
Now, I thought about doing something Shakespearean like Antony's speech to Rome when Julius Caesar got whacked, but I haven't the "panache" that the BARD had. What I DO have is something for you to peruse.
For ALL the thumbnail history of this motorcar division of GM (and a damn good read), here's the WIKI link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac
Now, as most of you regular readers know, I've been a Pontiac driver for close to 26 YEARS...with the SAME CAR (that has yet to surpass the 60K point on the odometer).
Back when I bought my Pontiac, that division was STILL a MAJOR player when it came to automobiles, and was outselling ALL but CHEVROLET.
But that was THEN...and this is NOW.
And NOW...I am officially PISSED THE HELL OFF.
When it comes to General Motors, we used to joke that it was the SECOND LARGEST corporation AFTER the Catholic Church...LOL!
The (soon to be closed) Wilmington, DE plant was quiet testimony to being one of the largest facilities I've ever seen. It would take over 2 MINUTES to pass the place (doing 55) along I-95. That's some big ass plant, people. Acres and acres of spanking new cars would wait for loading onto the rail carriers to the rest of the country (and even the world).
Personally, I've really enjoyed my "relationship" with Pontiac since 1983 (my car was assembled in the Norwood Ohio plant that closed back in 1987 for you historians out there).
Aside from a few (normal, to be espected) hiccups along the way, it's been relatively low-cost and damn fun. But the ravages of time do wear on man AND machine, so the old Firebird needs a little "tweaking" to get it back up to factory specs...no biggie.
Still, the abandonment (what else can one call it?) of Pontiac by General Motors is akin to casting off a productive, intelligent child, and that speaks volumes to our societal state. Nice analogy there.
When you stop to consider ALL the history that Pontiac created over ONLY 83 years of life, it boggles the mind.
Today, we have NO ONE with the talent, the perspicacity, and the balls like GM did when it had guys like Bunky Knudsen and John DeLorean working for their Pontiac motor division.
These were men who TRULY knew what it meant to think OUTSIDE the box (or the realm of probability), and create cars that put a shitload of money into GM's coffers!
Now, I could go into all the innovations that Pontiac pioneered, but if you read the WIKI link, you'll find out for yourselves.
Suffice it to say, that Pontiac was, in many respects, the FLAGSHIP division of GM for years, if not decades.
(And who can argue with such a LOVELY car like THAT, hmm?)
Whatever Chevy, or Buick, or even Oldsmobile did, PONTIAC did it better...and most times FASTER.
Even during the oil embargo of the 70s, Pontiac still produced cars that SOLD...and sold damn well. I'll bet you didn't know that the 75 MILLIONTH car (that's a LOT of cars) to roll off of ANY GM line...was in fact, a PONTIAC!
This was a time when 400K cars of the SAME MAKE were produced...AND bought. AND they were PONTIACS (Trans AM series for one).
Suddenly the music went away, like so many lyrics from a Don McLean song.
It was when all of GM's cars began to become poor excuses for "clones" of one another (as well as foreign imports) that problems started...and flourished.
There was no longer notable model lines like CATALINA, TEMPEST, LE MANS, or even the iconic GTO.
The FIREBIRD/TRANS AM had it's wings clipped back in 2004, and the BONNEVILLE followed a year after that, only to be supplanted with more "catchy" nomenclatures like G6, and G8...(GEE WHIZ, Wally, what the f*ck is that supposed to be? A car?).
The GRAND AM was even gone.
And what EVER happened to the FIERO?
The mid-engine sports coupe (seen here) with the "enduraflex" body panels and "space frame" construction?
Gone, after only a handful of years.
Thankfully, the Pontiac VIBE is still about, and that's a damn practical vehicle. The missus was even thinking about getting one.
So much for THAT idea, eh?
The phrase USED to proclaim:
"PONTIAC - WE BUILD EXCITEMENT"
Today..not so much, unless we're referring to the times when cars were REAL CARS, and not some cookie-cutter stamping that was sub-assembled in Mexico with parts from 35 other countries.
Yeah, it sure is NOT the motoring world I used to remember.
And to think that Pontiac was pretty much the last "horse out of the stable", as it were, regarding (new back then) GM divisions.
So maybe they weren't AS CHEAP as a CHEVY...or not AS OPULENT as a BUICK, not AS LARGE as an OLDSMOBILE, and certainly not in the same class AS a CADDY, but the division found it's OWN niche nicely, and consistently surpassed the sales of other divisions within GM.
Yeah...I'm pissed off alright.
I get pissed off at short-sighted namby-pambys that can't see past their damn billfold. I get pissed when REAL innovation is sidelined in lieu of competition numbers, kissing other nation's automotive asses, and profit margins. Sometimes you have to take a dive into the red, or go out on a limb for a year or so, until you get back in the black...Pontiac did just that, oft times blowing away the competition (within theri OWN company to boot), and surprising the hell out of the heads of GM.
I get pissed when I see good, old-fashioned AMERICAN ingenuity get tossed out the window with the bath water.
That WAS what Pontiac was all about.
They were about doing the improbable, even behind the "bosses" backs, in order to show the people what a car company (read division) WAS CAPABLE of doing. And the bosses couldn't get the thank yous off of their lips FAST enough when these engineers and workers produced cars that were at the top of their game.
But it's time to put that all to rest.
The patient has expired, the plug has been pulled, and little if anything will really be said on the patient's behalf.
We'll just let it all fade into another sunset...
Or will we?
Pontiac will live on, if ONLY in the cars produced before it's untimely cessation, along with the drivers and car-lovers that preserve as many as they can, and will ensure that happens.
In many ways, PONTIAC might even become BIGGER than it was when it was part of GM.
People are funny that way...they embrace much of what is good...and so often, for the right reasons.
As for me?
I'll keep tooling around in my PONTIAC, and should it eventually expire, I will feel as if another member of MY family has passed. Driving will definitely be missing something when that day arrives.
So, where ever you travel today, and no matter HOW MANY Pontiacs you might happen to pass...
Stay safe out there, America.

Monday Musings...
OK, so it's NOT July in Indiana...but it sure FEELS like it, doesn't it?
Never fear, though. We're supposed to return to more "seasonal" weather by tomorrow.
But I guess it COULD be worse.
We COULD have gotten TEN INCHES OF SNOW, like people did last week in Wisconsin.
Still, it's weather like this that reminds me that I'm no longer a spring chicken, when it comes to temperature tolerances.
When we were all young, we thought NOTHING about how COLD it was...or how HOT it was.
We'd go outside in below freezing weather, play for a few HOURS, then come back covered in snow, to which Mom would chide us for our folly.
During the Summer, we'd spend hours in the blazing sun, getting charred several ways to Tuesday and looking like some dinner special at RED LOBSTER!
And we didn't mind one damn bit.
Today, it's a whole other story.
We tend to only go outside in the winter when it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, like to shovel the walk, or run up the car in the garage. We're quite content to remain in our "caves", safe and WARM, all wrapped in our "Snuggies", sipping some hot chocolate, and hibernating until Springtime, like some bear in the woods.
It's not as bad in the Summertime, though...
We might actively seek out the nearest store/mall/restaurant with A/C, when we dash from our AIR-CONDITIONED VEHICLES, which we drove from our AIR-CONDITIONED HOUSES. Yessiree...nothing says comfort better than a nice 72 degree house/car/store/theater with a relative humidity of about 35% on a day where the temps are up tickling the CENTURY MARK, right?
BUT...there are those times we (as men, anyway) have to exercise our prerogative to devolve into primitive man for a brief time, and fire up the GRILL for a cookout!
THEN, and ONLY then, can we suffer the heat, the humidity, and the bugs, ALL for the sake of those "properly prepared" bits of charred animal flesh.
Nothing comes even close.
Like I said, my tolerance for extreme temperatures is too often tested these days.
I usually like to get out and mow the lawn EARLY, and that would mean ASAP after day's break.
I see others who are out in the heat of the day, and that's simply not right. That's like taking someone with COPD and forcing them to shovel the sidewalk when it's near zero outside in January!
Now I have spent time in environments that were "less than ideal" on MANY occasions, and that's everything from factories to other cities, to being in a foreign land, and I did it all without nearly batting a eye. You just suck it up and work through it.
Then again, we were all "indestructible" once, were we not?
These days, I'm content to PACE MYSELF, although I do stray from the path from time to time.
I'm happy with getting things done when ALLOWABLE, and not dictated by a calendar or clock.
I look at it as nature's way of saying "SLOW THE F*CK DOWN, BOB".
I will always finish what I begin, though...that's a given.
Dad always told me that "If you don't plan to finish something,. don't even try to start it"...and he was right there (again)..
Ahh...the wisdom gleaned from parents. You could write volumes on that.
I mean it's not like wisdom is to be avoided like the SWINE FLU, right?
(uh, oh...I smell a segue coming)
-- Yep, we've got a SWINE FLU outbreak in six states, as well as British Columbia and Mexico (imagine that).
The WHO (not the Pete Townsend group...geez) and CDC have even mentioned the word PANDEMIC...and whenever I hear that, I'm figuring it's an honest-to-God REALLY BAD outbreak with global implications...OR... I'm just watching another episode of this season's *24* on FOX!
Makes me wonder how JACK BAUER would handle this?
He'd probably just take 'em all OUT...and we're not talking DINNER and a MOVIE!
I mean it's not as though one of those (millions of) ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS have ANYTHING to do with this...or did they?
Swine flu, indeed.
I'm still not giving up MY bacon!
Would it mean that SAFER BORDERS could have stemmed the tide of this or caught it SOONER?
Betcha those people in TEXAS are keeping THEIR "hoglegs" REAL close now.
Still, if you were of the conspiracy-theory persuasion, you could "believe" that this might be an "attack" on the USA. It's not beyond the realm of reason to think that someone could have a biological agent LIKE swine flu. There is no law or protocol that dictates that ANY & EVERY bio-weapon HAS to be anthrax...does it? Why not use something that doesn't so much kill off a lot of people, but rather renders them incapacitated for a time (so "things" can slip on past us while we're busy with this flu outbreak).
The direct attack is ALWAYS suspected, and consequently watched for, but it's the "covert" ops are the ones that get the job done.
While I wouldn't call this flu pandemic COVERT, I would say it came out of left field at us, so it wasn't really OVERT either.
I read about instances of flu outbreaks over in the UK late last year that were offing folks, and they were not ALL old people.
Hell, the (Spanish) flu outbreak back in 1918 killed about 50 MILLION people worldwide...and scientists have used the decoding of THAT flu strain to prepare us for subsequent outbreaks ever since.
So you can't just say that getting the sniffles does not have serious repercussions. We ARE looking at Summertime...and mosquitoes (the bringers of disease).
And anyone that has had a bad cold in the SUMMER knows what I'm talking about. Nothing is worse than running a FEVER when it's already in the 80s outside, with the humidity keeping pace nicely.
God forbid if you get dehydrated.
And back in my youth, having an A/C unit in ONE room of a house was a upper-middle class LUXURY, and NOT one's God-given righ or entitlement!
We had little somethings called OSCILLATING FANS...and that was about it, aside from ice cubes wrapped in wash cloths.
It's hard to sweat out that fever when you've been sweating for weeks, thanks to the summer heat. Get's hard to tell the difference.
But I think we'll get a handle on this outbreak soon enough.
We'd BETTER, anyway.
As for the seasonal changes?
Well, for me personally, I'll take SPRING and FALL...any day.
Spring is a time of rebirth, and the Fall colors are fantastic. Can't argue with either one.
The only problem is that neither season is ever LONG enough, but it could always be worse...
It could be a case where we only have TWO seasons (like in Indonesia):
1 - The DRY SEASON
2 - The RAINY SEASON
(with no break in between to adjust for either one)
Or we could be in Wisconsin..shovelling snow in April.
Damn global WARMING.
So, in the meantime, stay away from people who are coughing (I like to hold my breath, so I'll be the guy with the blue face in line behind you), tell people to cover their damn mouth, get a Kleenex to wipe the schnoz, and don't forget that it's perfectly OK to get a little "OCD" by washing one's hands frequently to avoid the flu.
But above all...
Stay safe out there, America.