Jan 21, 2009

The local crime wave continued today. I went into work and noticed that the front window of the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop, next door to our store and been totally smashed out. The lady who was surveying the damage said that they hadn't had time yet to see what was gone. Hooterville has crime problems, that's for sure. Citizens of Hooterville are about 20% more likely to be the victims of murder than the national average. Fortunately, most of the murders are gangsters and dopers killing one another. Regretfully, domestic violence is probably the second highest category. Random killings are exceedingly rare. In the matter of property crimes things are even worse. We rank high in car thefts, courtesy of our proximity to the Mexican border. Businesses along the I-19 freeway that leads to the border are especially prone to be car theft hot spots. Mexican police officials have been found to be driving cars stolen from the United States. There seems to be little disincentive for thieves to steal cars and hot foot it to the border. We have much higher than average burglaries and other thefts of property, largely due to the high concentration of drug addicts who plague us. Other than that, it is a pretty good place to live. On to the inauguration. I wasn't there, nor would I have attended given the chance. I admire those who cared enough to brave the crowds to be a part of history, but I'm not constituted that way. I TIVO'd the whole deal and pretended that I had a private reserved, heated box. President Obama positively exudes a contagious confidence and a determination to fix what ails us. Let us hope that the insufferable Reid and Pelosi, the twin masters of politics as usual, catch his enthusiasm for doing what is right, rather than what is expedient. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky

11 comments:

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

Mike was saying that with times getting so hard to expect more crime.. we have a high rate of stolen cars too. It's getting scary out there... robberies and home invasions here are an epidemic....hence me getting a gun to protect myself at night while he's gone.

Megan said...

I don't even have to lock my door.

But I'm happy that my car is safely off the street and behind the building...

tut-tut said...

Keep your guard up, Merle. I hope you have protection at the hardware store. Now I'm getting worried.

Reya Mellicker said...

Sending a bubble of protection around you and yours, including daughters and sons Sneeds, Sneedlets, and the wonder dog, too.

Harry Reid is truly a person of integrity. He's just kind of bristley.

Nancy Pelosi? She's awful. Everyone I know who works for her agrees.

Obama? I like him!

Jams said...

Oh, Merl, do I have to start worrying about you? Stay away from the drug dealers.

I watched the inauguration from the toasty comfort of home too. No way was I going to stand in that cold.

Jams said...

Merle is spelled M-e-r-l-e. I knew that.

e said...

Your neighborhood sound like mine, except the boneheads running our association think we have some sort or ritzi address that precludes crimewaves. This despite the fact that most people here are working folks, elderly, young and newly unemployed...

I wish you well. Keep us updated.

As for Nancy Pelosi, don't bet on it. She seems a thorn in everyone's side.

Squirrel said...

We're very lucky to have less crime here, I can't remember the last time a house got broken into or a person hurt by another. We have our troubles, but in a town of about 6,000 everyone kind of knows each other or is connected in a lot less than six degrees...
Our trouble comes on summer weekends when people from other places come in to hit the popular nite spots here--a drunken fight at 3am on a summer night, will get our attention for months. we once had young people fighting on the street, and even if this only happens once in adecade, we continue to work on the problem and talk about it, so it won't happen again...try to follow up with ways to peacefully fix these problems. and so far it's worked for us, to be involved. But again we are small and united.
Looking back at old newspapers from the 1800s you wouldn't believe the vicious crimes that went on in towns large and small across the country, not just out in the wild west, but everywhere.-- Thank God for the most part, people are not running amuck.

Squirrel said...

Maybe you should wear a bullet proof vest and a metal hat to work.

Kurt said...

I liked the concert. It was good to see Pete Seeger up there, who has spoken out against stuff for decades.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

shit, things are really bad when people do smash and grabs at thrift shops!

love your last paragraph...have long felt that most attitudes/emotions are a contagious...so it's important to have positive ones be the virulent attitudes/emotions

once again proof that merle sneed is most wise....of course no one needs proof...