It's troubled times we're living in. Lawd, Lawd. First there was the case of three youth who raped and beat a 23-month-old toddler in Memphis; then "pay to spray," in Obion County, about 70 or so miles away; then this week, someone killed two postal employees in Henning, 5 miles away. What is going on?
The rape of the toddler, by children (two under thirteen, the other 15) is too monstrous for words. It is bad enough for adults to commit such a hideous crime (and we've had plenty of those lately) but children? My God! I couldn't bring myself to read the account. Thankfully, the 15-year-old will be tried as an adult. But, let's face it, there is something psychologically wrong with anyone who would molest a baby. Jail is obviously not the answer but what is? Locked away in an asylum for the rest of their lives? Lawd, Lawd.
"Pay to spray" hit the national news a few weeks ago and was a major teaching moment for many of us. In case you missed it, one of the fire departments responded to a fire in Fulton, about 70 miles away, and watched the man's house burn to the ground because he had not paid the $75 fee. It's a long story which you can read about here: PAY TO SPRAY Like so many of us, I just assumed that fire protection was a service provided to all. I thought that the days of having fire/police emblems attached to your home indicating that you had paid the fee for protection had ended a century ago! Obviously not. It is legal in the great state of Tennessee to impose the fee. We've progressed from attaching emblems to a listing which the dispatchers refer to (everything is digitized now) which lets them know whether the fee has been paid. With that knowledge in hand, why did they bother to respond? What bothers me is the fact that the firefighters stood and watched the house burn. Good Grief! How do they look this man in the eye? What if people had been trapped in the building? Lawd, Lawd. Which made me wonder about The Big Rip's policy. So far, it seems that I'm safe.
So on Tuesday morning, a newsflash runs across the bottom of the television set stating that two postal workers had been killed in TN. "Oh, no! Wonder where that was?" Mosey up through Henning, taking a shortcut to 51 on the way to airport...area cordoned off, tv trucks, must detour; the post office is a block away. I had heard helicopters overhead on Monday, highly unusual for this area, but gave it no thought. Didn't turn on the tv until the game came on...ESPN does not carry local news...so I was totally unaware that Henning's post office was where the women were killed. Postal Workers Killed Since then, I've learned that Henning has a population of 1250 approximately, has no home delivery, and NO security cameras in the post office. WHAT? Yet another example of the differences between living in a big city and living in a small community. Cameras and guards are so prevalent in big cities until they have become "invisible." You don't forget that they are there. So you assume that all federal buildings (isn't the post office one?) have the same level of security. Especially after 9-11. The reward has increased to 60K. The Ripley post office doesn't have them either. I'm sure that will change. LAWD, Lawd.
That's it for the moment. Stay safe. Be Blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment