Thursday, October 05, 2006

Thoughts of Yesterday and Today...

The Ranter
The Views of The Ranter

When I was little and growing up in the late 1950’s we would often visit friends of the family who owned a farm in a rural area of our state. This was not a favorite place for me at my young age, they had an outhouse and a rooster that would chase me all over the farm the moment he spotted me!

I was a city boy and I always hated it, the outhouse was bad enough, but that rooster wanted me dead. I was always trying something to avoid going with them. I even used a red pen once and created measles all over my face, wrong move on that one, at the age of eight or nine I did not know they attacked and popped out all over the body, so only doing my face with red ink that tended to streak when I would sweat was not very smart.

A few years later, I finally felt happy about going when my Dad told me they had installed a real honest to goodness bathroom! Prayers are answered for little people too I thought and was a happy little boy. Of course, that was the winter their daughter and I tried to walk across the frozen pond and I fell into the freezing water up to my neck. Their daughter saved my life and never let me forget it. I also had no dry clothes and forced to wear her pajamas while mine dried. I was not happy with the dolls all over my body and sulked the rest of the day.

The dinner more than made up for the day when I learned, we had just eaten that nasty rooster. It seemed he began chasing the police, the mail carrier, inspector and whoever else would show up on the farm. It was off to the pot for him. I was happy once more and was standing there near the dinner table in all my feminine splendor wearing my pink pajamas with baby dolls and lace adorning the little puffy sleeves when a flash from a camera went off. I still have the picture my Mom took and guard it with my life and shotgun.

I recall on weekends a few Amish girls would show up and visit for a while with the family. Their family’s farm was down the road and I learned they loved to come over, visit and see all the appliances and lighting. I asked to see their farm and totally enjoyed myself there. No nasty roosters and it was if I had stepped back into the 1800 era. I was fascinated and really loved their horse drawn buggy so much they became tired of giving me rides and began offering me homemade ice cream not to go on one. I had hit the mother lode of scams, whenever I wanted ice cream I would ask for a ride.

My point to this is they were the most down to earth, wholesome and honest people I had even been privileged to meet at my young age and to learn now that a murdering scumbag took six young lives from these peaceful God loving people more than disgusts me, it totally disturbs the very fabric of my soul.

I know that God in his mercy will have a special place for their young souls and I hope the shooter rots in hell for the rest of eternity.

4 comments:

Wild Bill said...

This was just another example of somebody takin advantage of the vulnerable of our society..

It happens every day across the Globe, Buddy.. The weaker in our midst always are targets of those who try to take advantage of them.. Drive-way and roofin repair scams against the elderly are common events and are often the focus of News Reports and Investigative pieces..

The people hired in nursin homes and hospitals are often the ones that do worse damage to its customers by stealin from em, molestin em, and even killin em.. People hired to help those vulvnerable and in need of help assisstance are often then the victims of crime too..

Life has just been reduced to a Cheap Commodity anymore !!

I've heard all kinds of theories on when the decline of our society started, and I have one too.. Now dont start thankin that I'm gettin OFF TOPIC here, cause it has alot to do with those roosters and outhouses !!

Our decline started with the advent of indoor plumbin and other-than WOOD AND COAL HEAT in our homes.. YES, I'm talkin bout that proverbial WOODSHED and the COAL SHACK !! I know damn good-and-well that ya'll have heard of bein takin to the WOODSHED, and what was gonna happen when you got there.. When was the last time you saw a REAL woodshed ??

When those woodsheds started disappearin is when the decline of our society started !!

Case-In-Point:

On our Local News today was a story bout a 13 year-old girl caught surfin porn on the school computer.. She was accessed 3 "licks" or 3 days in detention hall.. Did she get her ass tore-up at school and then get taken to the WOODSHED when she got home ?? HELL NO !! She went home and cried crocidile tears and the parents hired a lawyer and are now suein the gotdam school !! I REST MY CASE !!

Anonymous said...

Yes, it is a shame. I used to supervise a very large high class nursing home. One of the residents hired a 24/7 nurses aide for a week while recovering from hip surgery.

That aide invited her girlfriend into the apartment (assisted living) this was against all the rules. Turns out this "friend" decided to take ALL the Hummel figurines out of the china closet. The injustice of it all. Not one or three but all twelve.

They were never returned, and her friend lied for her so as to not get prosecuted. She got fired. Her friend is prolly still out there doin what she does best.

Some of the figurines were worth 500.00. Unreal.

Yep, yer right.

Wild Bill said...

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial
April 26, 2005
Predators don’t belong among our most defenseless

How would you feel if you put your 80-year-old mom in a nursing home and discovered, by chance, that her room was next to that of a convicted rapist? The nursing home director wouldn’t have been able to alert you about your mom’s felonious neighbor because he may not have known about it himself. There is no rule requiring criminal background checks for people moving into nursing homes. Forget about your mom’s sense of safety and security.

There are 100 sex offenders residing in 54 nursing homes, long-term care facilities and supportive living centers around Illinois. There are also 61 parolees convicted of other crimes, such as murder, arson, burglary and drug possession, living in 37 nursing homes or other specialized facilities for the aged or the infirm. Many of the state parolees in these centers, living side by side with your daughters or uncles or mothers or friends, have mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. These disturbing facts came to light following an investigation by Sun-Times reporters Chris Fusco and Lori Rackl.

They learned that one sex offender placed in a nursing home, Thomas Kolze, had been discovered rubbing an Alzheimer’s patient’s thighs and inappropriately touching another woman. The nursing care staff thought Kolze, who had been sent to the home in June 2003 because he had heart and kidney problems, would be safe among elderly adults, since his crimes related to children. He was sent back to prison, but he is out again, living in a supportive living center in Evergreen Park.

Sex offenders are listed on a state registry, but you have to go through a few hoops to determine if they are in the nursing home with your loved one. And why would you even suspect? You’d figure the facility would do some checking. But that isn’t required. In the case of non-sex offenders, the state says releasing the identities of parolees in nursing homes is an invasion of privacy. So mom’s safety is trumped by a felon’s rights.

Illinois isn’t the only state grappling with this problem. A seniors’ rights group, A Perfect Cause, determined last year there were 600 sex offenders in living-assisted homes across the nation, and many were under 60 years old. There have been few reports of criminals in Illinois’ care facilities committing crimes. Yet there remains the potential for harm. Also, crimes and abuse at nursing homes are under-reported.

State Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago) wants to amend Illinois’ Nursing Home Care Act to ban sex offenders and violent criminals from living in nursing homes. This is an idea that needs support. Some form of disclosure to patients about criminals in their midst should be required. An alternative is to house all these felons in a separate mental health or nursing facility where they would have no opportunity to prey on unsuspecting patients. Criminals’ rights should never supersede those of our guiltless loved ones.

The Old Ranter said...

I read yesterday that teachers are taking gun permit classes and thought, about time. Another article in your neck of the woods Bill said children were being taught to attack the person with anything and everything they have.

It is about time we fight back.