Useless Cops

So this girl and her boyfriend stole a bunch of DVDs and CDs from my house. I know it was them and I know they took them to the pawn shop. I called all the pawn shops in this area and found the one who has my stuff. So I drove over there to get them and the pawn shop owner says that it’s too bad, unless the police tell him to give them to me, I can’t have them and they are out on the shelves of the pawn shop selling for $5 a piece. Now, most of them cost me anywhere between $16 and $29 when I bought them. If the pawn shop is selling them for $5, that means he gave this girl about $2 a piece for them.

So I go to the police station and tell them what happened and they say, too bad. Nothing they can do. WTF?

For Heavens sake!!!

Everyone has always known that there are ‘Moon Shiners’ in the mountains.  I personally don’t know a single one but then again I might and just don’t know it.  I do know of a man that drank some bad homemade liquor and ended up in the hospital but never anything like this.

The death toll from a mass poisoning involving home-brewed alcohol in the western Indian state of Gujarat has risen to 71.  A police officer in the state’s largest city, Ahmedabad, said another five people were seriously ill in hospital after consuming the contaminated liquor at a party on Sunday.  The Press Trust of India reported that six police officers in the city had been suspended and transferred for failing to crack down on illegal distilleries.

The state’s home affairs minister yesterday announced an inquiry into the easy availability of bootleg liquor in the region. Selling and consuming alcohol is a criminal offence in Gujarat, which is India’s only dry state.  Deaths from cheap alcohol are common in India. Last year nearly 170 people died after drinking from a single batch of toxic liquor in southern India.

Bet they’ll have a hard time getting a sitter now!

I couldn’t believe what I was reading.  The headline read “Boy, 4 years old, shoots babysitter for stepping on foot.”  I thought he might have shot him with a BB gun or something like that but no, not this little fella.  He has one more bad temper apparently.  Read this:

Police say a 4-year-old boy in southern Ohio shot his babysitter because the sitter accidentally stepped on his foot. Police said 18-year-old Nathan Beavers and several other teenagers were babysitting several young children in a mobile home in Jackson on Sunday when the shooting occurred.

Witnesses told police the 4-year-old retrieved the shotgun from a bedroom closet and shot Beavers. Police said the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was hospitalized with minor pellet wounds to his arm and side. Police say another teen was also injured with shotgun pellets.

Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen said authorities are investigating the shooting. The child has not been charged.

Okay, they didn’t charge the child but what about charging the parents for having a weapon where the child could get to it and worse yet, it being loaded.  Either that or the child is one smart cookie and knew where the shells were and how to load the shotgun.  Someone will end up being charged before it’s all over I bet.

Who knew?

Here I was looking at some rather awful mug shots of celebrities and ran across one that I had absolutely no idea who it was.  By the way, some of those pictures were absolutely awful too.  I bet the celebrities didn’t ask for a copy to have framed and put up on their walls either.

Anyway, I’m sitting there trying really hard to figure out who the heck this young guy was and then I scrolled down just a little bit more and my mouth dropped.  It’s Al Pacino!  Check this out and see if you would have known him.  The little article that told me who he was said:

Long before playing lawbreakers in “The Godfather” and “Scarface,” Al Pacino (yes, that’s him!) was charged with carrying a concealed weapon in 1961. No wonder he’s so good at playing tough guys.

If you ask me, he was pretty darn cute even back then.  No wonder he play’s tough guys so well.  Looks like he grew up a tough guy.

Contest was a huge success

Well the Gingerbread house contest was a huge success I must say.  Celeste got a ribbon for best newcomer.  How about that?  I’m so proud of her.  The competition was about the toughest I have seen it.  There was even a merry-go-round with reindeer on it.  In fact, it won because the detail was absolutely amazing.  Everything was edible on it and it was just absolutely wonderful.

The crowd that passed through here was surprising.  I got several reservations for New Years and in fact, we’re booked up for New Years.  What really surprised me was how many people we have for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We don’t usually have any ‘guests’ then but we actually have 3 couples.  They’re each getting married on the 22nd and 23rd of December.

Sure surprised me but it’ll be nice to have all that new love in here for Christmas.  Well as long as one of them doesn’t turn out the way one of my honeymoon couples did.  It was last June and they got into a fist fight right in the dining room.  I must admit it was her that threw the first 5 punches.  He sat there patiently and tried not to hit her but he finally slapped her silly.  I had to call the police.  She came back about 5 hours later and got her stuff.  Thank goodness they were paid in full.  I have often wondered if they split then or made it work.

Michael Vick and Pit Bulls

Now there’s a name that invokes a gamut of emotions.  When he was the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, he was both admired and idolized by people everywhere.  When he was found guilty of dog fighting, he was despised by more.  What a shame that a young man with such promise would succumb to such a savage thing as dog fighting.

My brother raises Pit Bull Dogs.  He is one of the top breeders around.  He once told someone that was offering to pay him $1,500 for a puppy that let something about ‘fighting’ slip out that he would rather take that puppy out back and put a bullet in his head than sell him to someone that was going to fight him.  The man left angrily with $1,500 cash in his hand spouting some rather unpleasant words as he left.  About 2 hours later, someone else came with cash for the same puppy.  My brother sold him to that person and was afraid that all the gentleman did was give the money to someone else to buy the puppy for him.  Because of things like that, he’s getting out of breeding.

These are not vicious dogs unless made to the that way.  Bubba, his pet and best buddy, will more likely lick you to death than ever hurt anyone.  China, she will bite if you provoke her but a child can take food out of her mouth and she’ll let them.  China even nursed Shih-Tzu puppies while the Shih-Tzu mother was sick.  That’s a real mean dog huh?  Now my mothers Pit, Sheba, she will tear you apart if you get too close to my Mother and she doesn’t now you.  That’s what her job is, to protect my 70 year old mother and she does a great job of it.

Just don’t blame the breed for things like what Michael Vick did.  Not all Pit Bulls are mean.  Some are more like lick dogs and lap dogs.  It’s all in the breeding and the way they are raised.  They deserve respect as a breed, not fear necessarily.  Even Michael Vick’s dogs are now gentle from what I understand.

Oh, this is Bubba.  He’s a blue Pit that weighs in at about 75 pounds.  Ain’t he cute!!!!

Celeste is free from her father

Since Celeste is 17 years old, she does not have to return to her parents as long as someone, me in other words, is appointed her legal guardian until she turned 18.  Well I gladly accepted that responsibility.  Since I have taken a restraining order out against her father, he can no longer come within 50 feet of my home and establishment.  Celeste also took one out and now he can’t come within 50 feet of her anywhere she goes.

It’s a shame that such a beautiful and bright young woman should have to make such hard decisions about her own father but Celeste knows that she in turn must protect herself and her son.  The law is on her side in all of this mess.  Her hopes and dreams to be her own person, go to college and support herself and her son are what keep her going.

Life is hard at times and tough decisions are all a part of growing up.  A 17 year old shouldn’t have to make such hard decisions but she has and has done it without malice or hatred in her heart.  She will go far in life with her gentle and loving heart.  I only can hope and pray she doesn’t develop a hard heart because of all of this.  I honestly don’t think she will because we will surround her with love and respect here.  I am so very proud of her.