What Did I Get Myself Into?

With my daughter set to graduate next year, I wanted to do something to help out the group that makes it possible for them to have an awesome Grad Night party. It was so much easier to join groups in grade school; you knew parents for 7 years and the kids usually grew up together. Then they split off in Middle School and some rejoin in High School.

But anyway, I took a gulp and dove in to join. We had our first meeting a few weeks ago. This meeting was only attended by the Moms but I know the Dads jump in when needed. They all seemed to know each other because they had other kids in high school and have done these events before. I felt like a virgin. The overnight party has always been held at the school and no expense has been spared to make sure they have a great time. Some years parents have raised up to 40K and given away prizes such as TV's, X-Boxes, and cash. A few years ago though because of the school renovations they had the party at another location and it was a big hit. The party went back to the school a year or two later.

The pro's of having it at the school is mostly sentimental; the kids will be spending the last time together with their friends on their own turf. But it's more expensive, a lot more. And because of that, it's more work to raise the money. The group is already split on where to have it. And both sides are adamant.

The other location proposed is a brand new Y which they could have all to themselves including the pool. That would only run about 2K and any other money could still be spent on fun things and prizes.

We're supposed to take a vote at the next meeting. I'm scared. I don't know where I stand and feel like I've stepped in the middle of a mine field. I asked the kid what SHE wants, she doesn't have a clue either. She doesn't really like to swim, well because she can't very well and I'd probably rather have her not anyway. So I'm asking her to ask her friends to see what they want.

The woman who is chairing for now said that if it's going to be at the school then she won't chair. Another woman was almost in tears explaining why it should be at the school. I can see the lines drawn in the sand. I know I sure don't want to chair or be a head of a committee, that's not why I wanted to join. As one other woman said, 'I want to be a worker bee'. I don't mind working hard, I just don't want to make the decisions. So I'm sure as this develops over the next year you'll be hearing more about it. If I stay......

Do You Wanna Take A Trip Around The World?

For those of you with a wonderlust spirit, this is a fun blog to follow. His name is Darby Roach and he lived in Seattle, Wa., before he sold or gave away all of his worldly goods to ride his bike around the world. There seems to be no reason for it except for the adventure. He's now 62 and he'll make most of the trip by himself, which he estimates will take 3 years. He did have a partner for the first week or so, but now he's on his own. You can follow his daily posts written from his Ipad and when he can catch WiFi.

I found him through a local news station,  where his daughter is a reporter. He rode through town at the near beginning of his journey and I got hooked on reading about his travels. Before this trip he biked a lot of the areas we have vacationed at, so it's cool to see the perspective of the bikers we often pass on the road.

You can see the route he's going to take and since his trek is only about 3 weeks in, you can start following him now and enjoy the trip around the world.

Oh, I almost forgot another way to travel around the world, but you get to hear the drama unfold rather than read about it. My daughter's long distance boyfriend gave me the link to Radio Reference recently when her school was in lockdown after an armed robbery took place across the street from the school. Each class's door immediately locked and they didn't really know what was going on. She announced it on FB, which alerted him and he listened in and was able to tell her via text what was going on, all in a matter of minutes. I love technology! Anyway, Radio Reference is an online radio communications data provider. Meaning-you can listen to police and fire scanners in your area or around the world.

I haven't totally checked the entire site but I'll tell you how to listen in to your community. Click on the Live Audio tab at the top of the page and choose 'Live Audio Home'. Its default is set to the United States but you can choose other countries in the drop down menu on the right. Click on your state from the map. Then click on the county your cite resides in. Ignore any download buttons. Follow down the page to look for the live feed listing in your area. Depending on the size of your city, not all channels are online all the time. In our area we have the train rail channel and our local county's law, fire and EMS channels. There is another smaller channel from out of town but I'm not interested in that.

Look under the 'player' section and choose from the dropdown list which player you want to hear the feed on. Most people I assume have Windows Media, so that's what I use. Only if you have NO player to listen with, you will want to download their own web player. Once you choose your player, go to the left and click on the speaker and the player will open and you'll be able to hear your local scanner.

If you live in a small town, their might not be much available to you. But it's fun to listen to while surfing the web and if you've got time to kill. Sometimes I listen at night with my earphones so hubby can't hear. He likes to use a regular scanner and if he knew he had this available to him, he'd want to listen in. So ssshhhhhhh, it's our little secret.

Fearfully Aware?

Since I schedule my posts so far out in advance, this is old news but still I'm sure other bad news has taken its place.

There are so many horrible things that have been happening in town and I realize it's not just here, but where you live too. I'm not sure why the citizens of our fair city are so shocked by what is going on. I think it's that we still think of ourselves as a small town; we certainly are in our thinking.

Gangs, graffiti, armed robbery, home burglary, shootings, and stabbings fill the evening news and Facebook news channel feeds. At the time of this writing, we had about a 4 day streak of stabbings. It's so hard to keep up, it makes us numb and one story blends into the other and you find yourself thinking "Wait, is this a new one or the one from the other day?"

Needing money to fill their drug habits, homes and businesses are robbed and people are shot and stabbed over the drugs they want or didn't get. I don't care if the druggies and gang members kill each other off, it's less for the police to take care of. But when a woman is stabbed and killed while walking her dog early in the morning......

She was 55 years old and had just moved to the apartment she lived in about a week prior to her death. Her and her daughter were already uncomfortable in the area and were preparing to move. She took her dog for a walk across the street and was either walking on a trail out of view by the river or was pulled from the road down to the trail. She was stabbed multiple times in the chest but somehow found her way back up to the road where she found a construction worker. She died at the scene with her daughter and neighbors with her. Before she died she was able to give a description of the man. The description was brief but enough to narrow it down to fit not many people. They think he's a transient though and I wouldn't doubt if he's already moved on.

Now people are scared by this random act of murder. Our interim Police Chief tell us not live in fear but to be aware of our surroundings. Huh? We are out trying to enjoy nature with our pets and we still have to be aware? That sounds like fear to me.

I used to carry pepper spray, mostly due to dogs running loose. A few days after the woman died, I had to pick my daughter up at 10:00 pm at the school and grabbed Nellie to walk over. I also grabbed the pepper spray not even knowing if it worked still. I tested it, it does. I think it will be my companion now anytime I go for a walk.

The next morning I went for my usual walk with Nellie and my new found friend, pepper spray. I don't want to carry it, I don't want to be afraid. I see a  happy man starting his very well restored classic car. I see an older man mowing his lawn as well as a woman checking out her flower beds. As I return home my husband is doing some yardwork. And even as I sit here in my chair blogging I see all types of people walking by. They all seem happy and carefree without worry.

Why can't I feel that? I want to; I'm really trying here people. I'm just sad about how our fair city is turning out but there's nowhere to go. It's the same everywhere. Even while looking for the above picture I landed on a blog of a woman, who last fall used the same picture to write a story about a murder across the street from her church. So, it's everywhere.

So what do we do; be afraid or be aware? Is carrying pepper spray being both? That's it I guess, from now on I will be Fearfully Aware.

Who Are They And Why Don't They Speak?

I've been blogging for a little over 4 years now. I have also gathered some followers along the way. Some have come and gone, some are still with me, but most of them have never said 'Boo!'

I've looked at some of their profiles, some are new bloggers, some are not. Some have even stopped blogging with posts clearly a few years old. And quite a few are from foreign countries and I can't understand what they write. They haven't said 'Boo!' either, in whatever language they speak.

I've never really been into the whole stats thing, it could tend to make you crazy if you started following them and where your readers are coming from. Recently I saw I had several traffic sources from a site I wasn't familiar with so I clicked on it. It was a porn site! Huh? How in the heck does that work? It surely isn't a place I've been to so how can they be referring to me? See, all that can drive you crazy real quick.

But what really baffles me is if I can have 1,147 page views last month (or 54 yesterday), why isn't anybody saying anything? Or of those that are following me, I only hear from the usual 4-6 people (who I dearly appreciate). I have gone to followers' blogs and commented but never feel the love coming back to me. So why bother following me in the first place?

Say anything... try "You suck", or "You're soooo cute and funny Kden", but say something! I don't bite. Don't let the bitchy armour fool you, I'm not all gangsta like I'd like to believe, ha. I'm actually quite shy and reserved and have been told that I'm nice on occasion. 

Maybe I have an inferiority complex but I'd really like to think that if anybody is taking the time to stop by then they can at least say 'Boo'.

Mock Crash

Sometimes it's interesting to live next door to a high school. Last month, with the help of the drama students and city fire/police, two schools in our area put on a Mock Crash demonstration. They've been done for years and depict a night of drinking on Prom night.

I walked across the street as they were setting up and then stayed for the activity.

The first thing I saw, which gave me the willies. They backed it up into the alley so it would be out of sight.

Getting the cars in place, right outside of the main doors.

Getting blood make up on. The man and boys were family of the 'dead' girl on the car.

Juniors and Seniors came outside to this accident, after watching a moving true story presentation.

Mostly somber faces, not counting the fools who thought it was funny.

Friends yelling at the drunk kid (in middle) for causing the accident

Other friends show up and are in disbelief

Fire trucks and ambulance arrive and more yelling at the drunk kid

One victim is removed from the car and the boy is given a field sobriety test.

He fails the test and is arrested for DUI.

The Medical Examiner and hearse arrive

The first of two bodies are loaded into the hearse

This kid is lucky, he only gets a ride to the hospital

These kids get a ride to the morgue

The mournful tune of the bagpiper plays as he parts the crowd and heads into the building where a funeral is held. Each student is given a funeral program with the two dead students' name on them.

Growing up, my high school was small so I don't recall this ever being done. But I do remember one student that did die in an alcohol related death, and his car was left on main street for all to see as a reminder.

Did it help me then, or will this mock crash presentation help students now? I admit it didn't change much for me as a teen. I still drank and drove, up until my 20's probably, even after I was in a horrible accident as a passenger of a drunk driver. I was only 16 and am lucky to have survived. I cringe at my stupidity now.

One person said it will only made an impact for those that wouldn't do it in the first place. I tend to agree with that thinking. When my daughter was in grade school she went to a summer camp and they took a field trip to Juvie Hall. She said it scared the crap out of her. But it only added to her conviction that she would never do anything to get her there in the first place. I don't think the Lemonade Kid, who is now sitting there for arson, would have taken the field trip seriously.

But I think the schools and authorities do the best they can because kids are going to do what they're going to do. But if even a few kids get something out of it, then it's worth it.

Trippin'

We interupt our regularly scheduled blog posts to bring you a special news announcement.

Kden has fallen, fallen hard. No not for another man, or ice-cream, or the new fitness craze. But rather she has fallen on a hunk of cement, which some of us use for sidewalks.

It happned on Monday of this week. Her and her husband were walking one of the many routes they travel with their faithful mutt Nellie. He pointed out up ahead that someone had a dog. They are always alert of dogs on their walk so they can move accordingly. Being alert of what was in front of her instead of what was below her, caused her to trip over a sidewalk which had a raised edge due to large tree roots.

She recalls holding her right arm out to catch herself and yelling, but it didn't work; down she went. Like a stubby redwood she crashed down entirely on her right side. She felt her shoulder smash into the sidewalk and the pain reverberated throughout her entire body. The breath was knocked out of her so she lay on the sidewalk for several minutes telling her husband not to touch her. He's heard that before. All she could see from that position was her husband's feet and the bag of dog poop that he had dropped to aid in her rescue. She wondered if those were the last things she would see here on earth. She has no recollection if she still was holding Nellie's leash or not. Nellie seemed more concerned on why they weren't moving, she hates when that happens.

In the distance she could hear three women yelling, "Is she OK? do you need us to call 911?" Kden told her husband to tell them no, that she was alright. She was darn right embarassed!! She was finally able to haul herself up off the ground and she slowly started walking and trying to gather her wits. I think she left some of them on the sidewalk. As they walked past the ladies, they said thank you and they asked if Kden had tripped on the raised sidewalk. At least they had witnesses.

The pain began to set in before they even got home and the poor woman plied herself with Advil, since there was no booze in the house and she still had to go to work. The day was unpleasant to say the least and she was not able to go to her favorite exercise class.

By Tuesday Kden felt a little better and was able to go for three walks that day. Maybe she overdid it because today she feels worse and is now getting a little concerned. Pain and burning sensations in her neck, right shoulder blade, and lower back. Her right hip feels bruised and her brain feels scrambled. No Zumba for her again tonight.

2 1/2 inches of Hell

Her husband and her drove to the house to get the address of the witness and the crappy sidewalk house as well as to take a picture of it. Kden was very nervous and didn't want to get caught by the homeowner so they just took a quick shot and limped back to the car. She has been documenting everything everyday, just in case she needs it. Her memory is not so good you know, and will probably be worse from now on.

Now she is torn, does she wait a few days before calling her doctor? You know she doesn't have medical insurance don't you? What if the doctor tells her she needs x-rays or something. Does she start looking for attorneys? Did you know that these accidents are actually called "slip and falls?". She doesn't know what to do, but today is the first day she cried because it hurts so much.

Since she can't ask this herself, this fine reporter would like to ask her friends if they've gone through something like this and can give her some advice. She realizes she is probably just being a big baby and will probably feel better tomorrow. Her husband said he would use his magic hands on her tomorrow and that should help some.

It's a darn good thing she's got some posts built up because she's feeling neither charming or witty. And this fine reporter noticed that spell check is not working; but we don't care.

Why Do They Make Me Do It?

I'm going to apologize right off the bat; because I'm writing about my neighborhood....again. I know, it gets old for me too. I really do like some of my neighbors, they are responsible adults who care about the state of their yard and what others have to look at and listen to.

Kitty-corner from us is a rental house and I briefly wrote about the new people right after vacation last year. Since last August we've had to listen to their barking dogs and watch their yard fill up with crap. I don't think they work but they come and go more than anyone else in the neighborhood. But can they see and hear? I'm starting to have my doubts.

Not this bad, thank God!

Why can't people hear that their dogs are barking nonstop when I can hear it just fine clear across the street. And get them fixed for God's sake, they're so busy humping each other I don't think they know which end is up. The yard is so full of crap, the two little girls play in another neighbors' yard. But when two large couches landed in the back, where they park their car I had seen enough. I usually do the dirty deed, but I convinced hubby to call Code Enforcement to file a complaint. They sent papers and he filled them out. After they were received they acted pretty quickly. Within a week, the couches were gone and although the Christmas tree is still dead in the yard, most of the stuff is at least stacked neatly against the garage. But, why did WE have to complain for it to be done?

I'm assuming they're half-way smart people, but maybe I shouldn't assume as much if they can't look out the window and see how bad their yard looks. Or maybe they just don't care. It seems no one has pride in their property anymore. When we used to rent, we made our place look just as good as if we owned the place, that's why our landlord loved us and didn't want us to move.

With nice weather coming we're looking forward to being outside or at least having the doors open while in the house. It's so hard to enjoy either while listening to barking dogs. I can hear them with the door shut, sitting in my living room with the TV on. So another call had to be made. Hubby called Animal Control to file a complaint. They're very nice and said they would visit the house within a week. If the barking continues though we would have to take it a step further and get two other neighbors to corroborate the barking with specific days and times. I've tried that before with the next door neighbor and nobody wanted to get involved. But again, why do WE have to complain for anything to be done? What has happened to common decency and being polite to those that live around you?

When the two little girls play outside no one is ever with them. I would guess them to be about 4 and 6. When they come across the alley to the other neighbors' yard, they sometimes come all the way up to the corner, way out of site of their house. It would take mere seconds for someone to pull up and grab them.

So God please let them be responsible parents so I don't have to call someone about that too.