july 5th - new holiday

Hey, I would like to propose that July 5th be made national pick up all of your fucking fireworks garbage day (PUYFFGD!). When I took the dog out this morning I expected to see a lot of litter in the park from all of the cook-out activity from yesterday. Actually, almost all of the garbage in the street, on the sidewalks, everywhere, was the remnant of exploded store bought fireworks. So, as every law-breaking god-given-right exercising American patriot enjoyed the splendor of their own personal and amateur tribute to Old Glory, it is only right that said public disturbance in the name of freedom, liberty, and high gas prices has to put on an orange vest and comb the neighborhood with a plastic glad bag and clean their own shit up.

As a tax paying home owner, I now feel justified in getting all hot and bothered about people leaving their trash every where, especially in my neighborhood and park. It's bad enough that they have to be killing eachother. I want clean streets and neighborhood, in every sense. Grrr. Get some effing respect you douchebags.

On a lighter note, I take some small comfort in the fact that the shooting that happened yesterday was not some random robbery, but more likely a falling out between acquaintances or possibly a gang-related killing. I know, no shooting is good shooting, but it is better that this was a directed assault on one person rather than a more indiscriminate crime like robbery which could happen to anybody.

Also, I don't think it really connects on an emotional level that I actually HEARD someone get killed. Intellectually, I know what happened, but on a gut level...I just try not to think about it too much. Especially since we just took our infant CPR class (which also covered Child and Adult CPR) last week and I'm wondering if I had been closer/on the scene I might have somehow helped. The man/kid that was killed was shot and then made his way into Toni's Market to ask for help before he died. I wonder if anyone tried CPR on him before the cops arrived and I wonder if I might have made a difference, even if I had just looked out the window when we heard the shots. It's confusing and a little embarrassing that my instinct was to look but my logical/common-sense dictated "Keep your butt in your chair and keep reading the paper, don't get involved, you live here." Even with the goings on of the drug dealer/prostitution/whatever shady business across the street, it seems like my neighborhood isn't THAT bad...but there are no walls between my block and the next. The guys who did the shooting had a 1 in 4 chance of running down my street. Freaky people wander past our house all the time. I'm glad we have Ash, while he's a bit of a pain to get adjusted to new operating circumstance, seems to make a good deterrent. I let him bark at people in front of our house just a little. I WANT people to know that there is a dog at the house, a dog who is protective of his territory and his pack. He has a deterrent bark. A very deterrent bark. And I know that he will follow through if he has to. I find it oddly comforting to know that this dog bites on occasion.