Windows 95?!?!?!!!???? Yeah, I can dig it, but are you serious?!?!!!?? Windows 95 was developed back in 1895 about the time the Maine was sunk and the Spanish-American War was just getting started!!! Is THAT why your avatar reverted to showing the Steelers as just 5 time Super Bowl champs? Better update that or if Coach Tomlin is looking in here he might get mad. I know a lot of fans will.
And yes, peace and quiet is best. What a post, as usual Vince. Isn't it great having a cousin Vito? Comes in handy. Also when you have friends like Rocco, Sal, a 387 pounder named Boris also with his 416 pound cousin Dmitri, stuff like that. Good to have those kind of friends.
As for me, if you didn't catch it in the lounge, I arrived back here in Puerto Rico last Thursday morning for The Continuing Saga of the mess my father left me. We are experiencing a period of heavy rain and high wind activity here. From what I understand it had not rained in two weeks prior to my arrival, but the day I arrived, the wind and rain followed me in. Even on one of the great late night radio talk shows here, last the night it was about the rain all over the island and the sudden and mysterious resignation of the police chief in Puerto Rico.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the doings here, crime in general is at epidemic rates. Here in town, just literally a very short distance from where I sit in my cousin's house typing this, there has been a rash of recent events, from bank holdups to store holdups and home burglaries, all in broad daylight. The home burglaries are a regular occurrence. Last year, we had 955 murders officially recorded, second most in history. This is perhaps the highest per capita murder rate in the world, or nearly so, comparable to NYC in the late 80's and early 90's.
There is much controversy about the outgoing police chief. He was praised by the governor and many citizens for his crackdown on the drug gangs, which was proceeding well. The local head of the ACLU had criticized him for police behavior at student demonstrations. My cousin says that does not take in to account that it is a known fact, even reported on the news, that professional agitators from the mainland come here to help coach the demonstrators. This coaching includes baiting the police and even the use of concealed weapons such as can openers to be used when the police move in.
So, here we are in what was once an agricultural paradise to the world, but has become a melange of highways, malls and millions of sheeple all too willing to accept government handouts. In the meantime, we live behind bars, drive and walk with apprehension, waiting for the next car accident or crime to occur, hoping it doesn't happen to one of us or our homes.
The shame of it all is that Puerto Rico is still really a beautiful place with wonderful sights and plenty of wide open spaces and many things to see and do. It's the people that make a place. It really as simple as good and bad. The confusion brought about by the cultural revolution of the 60's has left our societies in the Western world paralyzed by moral relativism, the reluctance to call anything good or bad, or to place blame. What a shame, because this is a wonderful world God has given us and life can be so rewarding at times.
There can be beauty and richness found in each day, even if you're having a bad one, but the people who make choices to mess life up for the rest of us ruin it all. And the people who make excuses for them and prevent society from punishing them properly mess it up even worse, for all of us including themselves.
Well, here we are on America's 235th birthday, and I'm going to try hard to spend the rest of the day dwelling on the beauty and goodness. God bless you all, let's hope the new happenings around here will help bring some activity back to the forums. And perhaps The Lord Jesus Christ will bless America with a few more days of peace and safety before the casket of "this once great republic" slips completely into the murky waters of our destiny.
And yes, peace and quiet is best. What a post, as usual Vince. Isn't it great having a cousin Vito? Comes in handy. Also when you have friends like Rocco, Sal, a 387 pounder named Boris also with his 416 pound cousin Dmitri, stuff like that. Good to have those kind of friends.
As for me, if you didn't catch it in the lounge, I arrived back here in Puerto Rico last Thursday morning for The Continuing Saga of the mess my father left me. We are experiencing a period of heavy rain and high wind activity here. From what I understand it had not rained in two weeks prior to my arrival, but the day I arrived, the wind and rain followed me in. Even on one of the great late night radio talk shows here, last the night it was about the rain all over the island and the sudden and mysterious resignation of the police chief in Puerto Rico.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the doings here, crime in general is at epidemic rates. Here in town, just literally a very short distance from where I sit in my cousin's house typing this, there has been a rash of recent events, from bank holdups to store holdups and home burglaries, all in broad daylight. The home burglaries are a regular occurrence. Last year, we had 955 murders officially recorded, second most in history. This is perhaps the highest per capita murder rate in the world, or nearly so, comparable to NYC in the late 80's and early 90's.
There is much controversy about the outgoing police chief. He was praised by the governor and many citizens for his crackdown on the drug gangs, which was proceeding well. The local head of the ACLU had criticized him for police behavior at student demonstrations. My cousin says that does not take in to account that it is a known fact, even reported on the news, that professional agitators from the mainland come here to help coach the demonstrators. This coaching includes baiting the police and even the use of concealed weapons such as can openers to be used when the police move in.
So, here we are in what was once an agricultural paradise to the world, but has become a melange of highways, malls and millions of sheeple all too willing to accept government handouts. In the meantime, we live behind bars, drive and walk with apprehension, waiting for the next car accident or crime to occur, hoping it doesn't happen to one of us or our homes.
The shame of it all is that Puerto Rico is still really a beautiful place with wonderful sights and plenty of wide open spaces and many things to see and do. It's the people that make a place. It really as simple as good and bad. The confusion brought about by the cultural revolution of the 60's has left our societies in the Western world paralyzed by moral relativism, the reluctance to call anything good or bad, or to place blame. What a shame, because this is a wonderful world God has given us and life can be so rewarding at times.
There can be beauty and richness found in each day, even if you're having a bad one, but the people who make choices to mess life up for the rest of us ruin it all. And the people who make excuses for them and prevent society from punishing them properly mess it up even worse, for all of us including themselves.
Well, here we are on America's 235th birthday, and I'm going to try hard to spend the rest of the day dwelling on the beauty and goodness. God bless you all, let's hope the new happenings around here will help bring some activity back to the forums. And perhaps The Lord Jesus Christ will bless America with a few more days of peace and safety before the casket of "this once great republic" slips completely into the murky waters of our destiny.
mg:
