Saturday, May 14, 2011

Saturday Night Ramblings

So how is everyone this chilly Saturday night? It is cold out there! These temperatures would have been OK to be out in if there was a bit of sun, or the wind was less.

We have all these big events out there--fall out from Osama bin Laden's death, continued unrest in the Middle East. In Egypt even the cops are afraid to confront the criminals that have been out being bad. Greece is still going broke and Spain might not be far behind.

Here in the U.S., we have a mixed economic picture that is very uncertain. A few aspects of the economy are even picking up. However, inflation is very real, the debt ceiling debate is getting wound up, housing prices are still falling, and the job situation is one step forward and one step back. Meantime the crayzee weather will impact the economy, from pressures on prices for building material to losses of soybean, corn and cotton crops in Mississippi River valley flooding.

Locally, three lives were lost when an inexperienced driver lost control of an SUV he was driving when it had a tire blow out. During the ensuring rollover, unbelted passengers were ejected from the vehicle. Two were dead on scene and one at the hospital. Please, people, with few and rare exceptions, you are much better off belted and staying in the vehicle during a crash. Just sayin' There were a lot of crashes today, despite it being dry out. There was at least one other fatality.

Rockfest did not turn into mudfest this year, but the endless parade of people requiring emergency medical service was and is truly amazing. There were ambulances coming and going from Penn Valley Park all afternoon and probably through the evening. Luckily this did not start in earnest until after the 4-ambulance-requiring crash in the northland was taken care of, otherwise the snap of a system overstretched might have been heard.

So have a safe Sunday everyone--drive carefully tonight. I just assume everyone is intoxicated starting at about 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and after 10 p.m. on other days. It's better than the alternative--everyone is stupid. Substances wear off, but stupid is forever.

2 comments:

Bob G. said...

T.O.:
I have always thought it was sad to see more and more people under the influence and being injured these days.
We had just as much alcohol in the 1950s and 1960s and never had the amount of problems we have today.
And that booze was cheaper by far.
I have a suspicion as to WHY this happens these days...but, it might boggle your mind.
ANother day, perhaps.

My father only tied one on AT HOME, and always stressed that to me.
I admit to drinking and driving a few times (put my Guardian Angel through the wringer those nights), and have long since refrained from such behavior.

I didn't need a catastrophe to wise me up (fortunately).
And I've appreciated that for a very long time.

Have a great Sunday.
Stay safe out there.

The Observer said...

Bob G:
I'd like to hear your "suspicion"! Perhaps a blog post?

The tragic accident was a ball team coming home from a game. All sober as far as I know but young people were killed as well as a respected coach. One report I saw said a 16 year old was driving, but I wonder now if the coach was driving.

This was kind of a messy weekend, with accidents and some GSW too, even though it was cold throughout without precip.

As to careful, I try to be quite prudent, but I try not to be held back by fear either!

Have a great week.
T.O.
P.S. Ann T. left a note if you haven't seen it yet. :)