One Thing Different...One Thing The Same

The Bums Are Gone...

One bit of news that may interest you guys who have followed this blog (and of course Patti and Gary, my new friends from Creve Coeur, who have just started) for awhile. What do you see in these pictures?

The City of St. Pete has banned the bums from peddling at the street corner. I wrote rather extensively on this issue last winter, explaining that it is a lucrative profession. Most made around $45,000-55,000 by begging around here. You couldn't go very far without seeing another bum claiming homelessness/joblessness/and general hard times. St. Pete Times had a major spread on them, and they were very well off with their chosen profession. They all had hard-scrabble card board signs that they alternated depending on the day and traffic.
I am very pleased about this legislation. They have all gone over to Tampa and I hear they are having turf or corner wars with existing entrepreneurs over there. Likewise, other more reputable endeavors are banned as well like the MDA firemen on Labor Day and Sunday newspaper hawkers.

...But The Loons Are Still Here.

First day back and this dumbass is walking in the middle of the road and wouldn't get over. We had to wait for him and the Hindenburg to drift so we could get past. I was about to light it with my Bic and let history repeat itself. "Oh the humanity...". I wish Tim would have been here: he would have done something memorable with Joe Zeppelin here.

He was still messing with it when I checked on him later.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

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Tuesday Tidbits On Wednesday

This week I will be heading up to the Cabin in the Woods. I think I have come up with a long list of things to do and take care of. As is usually the case, however, it won't take long till I miss the girls. It's kind of a Stockholm Syndrome in reverse, or circle. My primary concern is Alfred and her substitute situation for the next few weeks before I head back for a Dr.'s appointment and do a little sitting to help Kenzie out. But I suppose we'll all adjust and do nicely. On my part I am looking forward to no diapers and some rec time. ++++++++++ This is me when I am heading up to the Cabin In The Woods. ++++++++++ Oh yeah. ++++++++++ Poor Alfred. It'll get easier, I swear. ++++++++++ One of my dreams is to find something like this or an old car tucked away in a barn somewhere. That is the closest corollary we have nowadays for finding a buried treasure....

Existing In BFE

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