Closing Words

Fast away the old year passes. In a few hours we will be singing Auld Lang Syne; perhaps in this coming year we should take a few lines very seriously. Let us all take a cup of kindness. In closing, "here's a hand my trusty friend and give a hand of thine." HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Humanity in City Hall

This is a long overdue thank you. A week ago yesterday I arrived for a zoning board meeting feeling pretty crummy; when the meeting ended, I felt VERY crummy. Fellow board member, Sarah Ivory noticed I was moving slowly and said she would get the city wheelchair for me. I didn't know there was such a thing in city hall, but there is. She took off, and I took the elevator to the lobby where a pleasant young man was waiting with the chair. Ms. Ivory was arranging for an escourt. Security Officer Annette Miller came over. By this time, I felt I could walk to my car. Suddenly, a voice in the crowd called out, "No, Pat, this time you don't get your way. Get in the chair." It was council president McBride. The young man helped me into the chair and Officer Miller gave me a real nice ride to my car. I arrived home and crawled into bed. To those four, THANK YOU!! They all behaved with true humanity - something that perhaps we should all follow.

Humanity in City Hall

The Hotel!

Last week, at council, Dan Dodson spoke about the financial problems facing The Hotel. Any Trentonian with half a brain knew the place was leaking red ink; Mr. Dodson explained why it was gushing red ink. Yesterday, there was an article in the Trenton Times explaining how Mr. Dodson had no right to speak as the entire hotel board did not give him permission to do so. Some demanded he be FIRED. I am glad cooler heads prevailed; fire a man who volunteers his time? While there is an argument to be made that Mr. Dodson should not have addressed council without permission from the entire board it is also true, very true, that this group has not been forthcoming with details, information, facts, figures, etc. In fact, they were sued a few years ago by The Trenton Times to get information. Blogolanders, this hotel is something we should all stay on top of, because the City of Trenton guaranteed the bonds issued to build the hotel. Remember how the hotel was going to solve all our problems? It's turned out to be a White Elephant. I, for one, am grateful Mr. Dodson brought the financial status to the public. Good for you, Dan!

I Have Company!

In the business section of this morning's NY Times was an article about people, many of them in their twenties, who are NOT on Facebook; I'm not on Facebook either. It made me feel good that others are with me. You see, Blogolanders, I admit to being self-absorbed but not to the point where I believe anyone gives diddly what I had for breakfast or who stopped in for a cup of coffee. There is a theory that those who avoid Facebook have something to hide. Considering the screams about invasions of privacy... Well, you can't have it both way. You can't spill your guts on Facebook and then bitch about invasions of privacy. Perhaps it is a dated attitude, but I still prefer face-to-face contact in real time; barring that, I like the telephone. If you can't see someone, it is nice to hear their voice. But that's me.

Looking for Love All the Wrong Ways

Darren "Freedom" Green claims that the, "babies," involved in the Mill Hill Incident last Monday were looking for, among other things, love. Blogolanders, consider this. If you wanted someone to love you, wouldn't you be on your very best behavior? Wouldn't you go out of your way to do nice things? Wouldn't you be all smiles and pleasant comments? Most of us would answer, "yes." These kids may have been born into unfortunate circumstances, but so have many other people. These kids have severe emotional/mental problems. Loving them, hugging them, respecting them, and on and on and on, will not help. Maybe a mental health evaluation... Stop these budding psychopaths before they really get moving. I realize this is not the politically correct viewpoint, but I don't care. This left of center claptrap of love 'em and hug 'em hasn't helped; if anything, it's made things worse.

Coming Together

In his recent interviews with the media, Darren Green praised the residents of Mill Hill for coming together in the wake of Monday's very unpleasant incident. Yes, the residents came together, but they have always been together which is one of the reasons Mill Hill is such a nice neighborhood. Those who live there have standards; the standards enforced. This is true in all the, "nice neighborhoods," in Trenton. Standards, standards, standard, and enforcement. Any neighborhood can do this; few do. Perhaps Mr. Green should go into less desirable neighborhoods of Trenton and explain how standards can make a neighborhood, clearner, most attractive, and safer. There are kids living in Mill Hill; I have no doubt, however, if one were caught tossing decorative pumpkins around, the parents would be notified immediately. The parents would then take appropriate action and the behavior would stop! The kid would probably be sent around to apologize and replace the pumpkin. Civilized behavior is not hard, really, it's not.

Punishment = Reward

All of the kids who were involved in the Mill Hill incident last Monday, except for the kid who actually threw the brick, has been suspended from school! (Not being a lawyer, I don't know if the concept of transferred intend applies here. It probably should.) Does anyone really believe that suspension will make an impression on these kids? News flash, Blogolanders, it won't. These kids are probably thrilled out of their sagging pants that they won't have to go to school. They have the perfect excuse for not attending. If these kids were so interested in an education, they would not have behaved this way to begin with. More postings will follow because everything about this incident pisses me off; it represents everything that so many Trentonians have been fighting against, trying to correct, showing faith in the future only to be told these kids are looking for love, respect, attention, a free pass out of school.

Courtesy vs. Respect

How many times have you heard expressesions such as, "He disrespected me," or, "He dissed me." Many times, I'm sure. For years, I've been running a one woman battle between courtesy and respect. It's been a losing battle; I've had some success with The Kid. Blogolanders, here's an example of what the point I'm trying to make. I have no respect for former president Bill Clinton, but if he were to walk into this room as I sit typing away, I would stand up. WHY? Because he is entitled to that courtesy. I often think if we gave each other basic courtesy, life would be easier. That's stuff like, "please, thank you, may I," etc. Forget the issue of respect which should be earned; respect is not a birthright. Courtesy, yes, we expect it, and ideally, we should get it. So when City Council President McBride plays with her cell phone during public comments, I don't think that she is disrespecting the public, I think that she is being bloody RUDE. It's the same issue with the kids who created an incident in Mill Hill on Monday. I am told they had been asked nicely not to destroy pumpkins and potted plants; they ignored these requests. These kids behaved rudely (and, yes, even disrespectfully to property belonging to others), and it has been suggested that these kids are looking for respect! Right now, I don't think so. I have been told Darren, "Freedom" Green is working with these kids to improve their lives; maybe he should tell these kids, that RESPECT IS SOMETHING THAT IS EARNED BECAUSE ONE DOES SOMETHING WORTHY OF RESPECT and behaving like a Barbarian is not the way to earn respect.

The Conservative Angle

Last Monday, a rather unpleasant incident took place in Mill Hill. A man walking along the street was hit in the head by a brick leaving a puddle of blood on the sidewalk. The brick was thrown by a kid walking home from school. This kid had some classmates with him. This incident has a number of angles that I will get to over the next few days. My concern right now is how Mr. Darren "Freedom" Green referred to these kids. He called them, "babies." Blogolanders, these kids are not babies by any stretch of the imagination; they are old enough to walk home from school by themselves, they are old enough to commit acts of vandalism in the Mill Hill neighborhood, and they are old enough to toss a brick a someone minding his own business. In an interview, Mr. Green stated that these kids are looking for love, looking for attention, looking for respect. Bullshit!! They were looking for trouble and they found it. My sympathies lie with the fellow who could have been killed and with the residents of Mill Hill who have a nice neighborhood because they live in a civilized manner.

Praise Where Due

L. A. Parker wrote an article in today's Trentonian about a resident, Elissa Horan, who is an artist; her aim is to make Trenton a more attractive place through art. She is also an activist working to make Trenton a cleaner place to live. Ms. Horan does not form committees or hold meetings, she goes out and does!! Like sweeping streets. Last Saturday she was here on the 600 block of Lamberton along with Councilman Muschal and The Kid. For a few hours, they racked, swept, and bagged leaves leaving the neighborhood looking damn nice. Trenton needs more people like Elissa Horan who just go out AND DO IT! Much gratitude to Ms. Horan, George, and The Kid.