My previous post was a downer, so I wanted to begin the weekend with a happy post showing some recent acquisitions and some recent improvements to my track. Sadly, I cannot; this will be my 2nd downer in a row.
Anyone paying any attention at all to what’s going on around them can clearly see that society is going to hell. The most obvious symptom of this is the shocking rise in crime which is affecting nearly every city and mid-sized town across the land. The shitbags in positions of power-Attys General, Mayors, Congressmen and Senators at both the state and federal levels-have done far more than enact policies to stop enforcing laws against harassment, drug dealing, and property crime; many have shown open sympathy with criminals. Witness a bodega owner in NYC who stabbed a violent felon who was threatening him while robbing his store who was then himself arrested and charged with assault for the crime of self-defense, or the execrable mayor of New Orleans making a personal appearance in court to put in a good word for a thug who stole 5 cars at gunpoint in a single night. Those are just two that come to mind at the moment as I sit here blogging, but there are so many examples like this that they are now happening almost every day.
Am I just becoming a cranky old man yelling at the world to get off my lawn? After all, I’m pretty sure that people have said that “society is going to hell” before, and I’m old enough to remember the crime wave of the late 70’s and early 80’s. But something feels very different this time.
I came home from work on Thursday afternoon frustrated to find that for the 4th day in a row I had no packages. I have a lot of cool stuff on order and, being a big kid, I want my toys as fast as I can get them, and it seemed like it was taking far too long for some of my stuff to get there. So after I laid my burden down, I fired up the ol’ puter and logged into the usual site to find that not one but TWO packages had been left on my doorstep by USPS @ 1:04pm that afternoon. And they were nowhere to be found!
Now, on its face, you might think a couple of packages being swiped off someone’s porch is not that big a deal; it happens to everyone, its petty theft, and life goes on. Except for this one thing: one of the two packges that was swiped from me on that day happened to contain the single most expensive slot car I’ve ever bought, one I’ve been wanting for years and was going to be the new Crown Jewel of The Road Crew. And no, it isn’t like I bragged about all over anti-social media so that someone who knows where I live knew just when to pick up something nice: I didn’t tell anyone I’d bought it, because I wanted it to be a surprise. Also swiped was a newer Auto World release-a complete car, not just a body-of the ’68 Firebird in green, which is now getting harder to find. Taken together, those packages were worth just a hair shy of $300. I’ve never had so much money sitting in boxes on my porch, and it appears that due to nothing more than Murphy’s Law, this was the day that some lowlife decided to waltz right up to my front door and swipe my packages!
Still not grand theft, you say? You’re right…and it won’t break the bank. I’ll be angry for a few hours-OK, a few days-and then life will go on. But it’s why it happened that is the bigger deal; when I moved into my house in a north Denver suburb in 2013 it was a quiet neighborhood of quiet streets of modest 1950’s ranches; a neighborhood of ordinary working class peeps just like your humble blogger. In the decade since, the 2 lane road my living room faces has turned into a 4 lane highway, a light rail station has been built across the street that contains crossing gates that alarm every 15 minutes 24 hours a day, a Wal-Mart was built a block away, and a 400+ unit apartment compound has been built 3 blocks away. As the city has annexed my once peaceful ‘burb, there are now legions of wastoids and “cart pushers” on every block. None of that was here when I moved into my neighborhood, and these changes didn’t “just happen;” they are the result of policies! No one has ever stolen something from my porch…until now; maybe there wouldn’t be so many scumbags swiping things from people’s homes if Denver hadn’t “defunded the police.” This probably puts my last “Out of the Slot” entry into better focus, eh?
Yeah, something feels different this time, and it is this: during the last crime wave, we had to fear the criminals; this time, it seems that we need to be at least as afraid of the government. The criminals are waking up to a new situation that’s never existed to this degree: when they commit crimes, there are no consequences! Whether its pro-criminal DAs, corrupt and incompetent city officials, or the feds with their all-powerful surveillance state, the good peoples of the Western world are now watching in horror as the realization that something many of us thought could never happen has really started: the people whom our societies have blessed with wealth and power are now turning that power against our societies…and against us, their fellow countrymen. Criminals and thugs are allowed to run wild to steal and loot at will, while the authorities are occupied with hunting down the political enemies of those in power. This level of ingratitude and hypocrisy can only be explained by psychopathology; in short, the lunatics really have taken over the asylum! When that happens, it’s only a matter of time before it filters down to the streets where we live. Its taken a while, but it’s now arrived with a bang.
Which brings me back to my front porch. Nope, I won’t be the owner of that original white ’62 Country Squire wagon with a black top. I paid for it, but I’ll never see it, and the picture above is as close as you, dear readers, will get to seeing me profile it. And I won’t have that green Auto World Firebird, either. What’s more relevant to this blog, however, is that I’m now placing a moratorium on ordering any more collectibles until I buy and install both a locking parcel box-which will have to be bolted to the concrete of my porch-and a security camera and motion detector system outside my house. This will take time to do, and the money it takes will have to come out of the toys. That means a long dry spell at Drag City. Can’t be helped, but I will come back to it eventually, because you bet that being in my concrete bunker of a basement with my tracks is starting to feel preferable to being out in public!
Just recently, a recall campaign against the pro-crime DA of Los Angeles unbelievably failed! Barack Obama famously said “Elections have consequences.” Can you, dear reader, put 2+2 together the next time you’re in the voting booth? Maybe it will be easier after someone steals something from your property…or, God forbid, something worse.
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