Real Time Crisis... A Homicide I Must Address In Real Time Now

This part Written in Red is about a Fortnite later than I Wrote this Post Originally and Future Unpublished Posts about a Fortnite from Publishing will outline more.  But now, Blog Friends I have more contact with on The Regular, have been asking how they can contribute to the Go Fund Me Memorial, so I will squeeze this in now with this Post to Hit in Real Time, so that perhaps they can find it on FB.  On September 2nd, The Daughter's Boyfriend Mando was killed in a Hit & Run Vehicular Homicide while riding his Bike.  The condensed version is she and he were helping an Elderly Friend that Evening after it Cooled Off and got Dark.  He made a run on his Bicycle to a Convenience Store and got hit by a Young Person in a Sports Car going 60mph in a 25mph Rural Residential Neighborhood with no sidewalks and poor lighting on the Night of the Holiday busy Weekend.  

The Driver left the scene but was later turned in by his own Mother, I think he's a Teenager, no idea whether he was under the influence or just driving recklessly and irresponsibly?  His Family will Forever be ruined now too by that One Bad Decision.  But, Mando didn't have his Wallet on him since he didn't intend to be gone long, so he was a John Doe until The Daughter hopped on her Bike to go looking for him and came upon the active Crime Scene and had to Identify the Body by his Tattoos.  Vehicular Homicides are some of the most Graphic and Traumatizing to Witness the aftermath of, so she's wrecked by all this and Emotionally Raw. 

 She at least could give Police a Positive ID and Contact Information for his Family, many of whom we've known for Years and several Generations of the Family.  More details in Future Posts Pre-Scheduled but won't Post for a couple Weeks.  It made for a Somber Holiday Weekend.  She will always now be Haunted by having to ID a Person she Loved who Died of a Graphic senseless Violent Crime, so she's pretty distraught right now and everyone who knew Mando is in Shock and Grief.  He was Dying of Cancer, but this is also no way to leave this Earthly Coil, tho' not as slow, equally Traumatic and much more unexpected.  He could be a difficult Person, but he did a lot of Good and had a Heart for Helping others, including our Family.  During their lengthy Relationship he spent Holidays with us since his Parents and One Son had preceded him into the Afterlife.  Where now they are reunited for Eternity.  But for the Living, it is tough right now.  Community outpouring of Support has been wonderful.  Thank You to all who have responded so generously for his Family and Friends.

Now back to what the Post originally held when Written a couple Weeks ago: 

 Princess T and Rusty brought the Older Kitten over for me to cuddle and play with.  She's a sweet lil Black and White Tuxedo with Four White Paws, and the sole Survivor of her litter.   Blue-Green Eyes right now, very soft fur and White Whiskers against a Black Face. They said she was feisty and usually bites and scratches, but she was calm and lovable with me, very subdued, they couldn't Believe how different she acted.  Probably the Nag Champa had a Calming Effect over her they figured?  *LOL*  They already found her a really good Home with one of Princess T's Co-Workers who is 24 and has other Cats, a Boyfriend, but no Kids.  And who doesn't like Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens?  *Smiles and Winks*   One Smells great and the other Melts your Heart.  Which is good coz Kitten Breath does not Smell great and has a pong to it.  *Bwahahaha*

  So she's going to a very good Home and they're so Happy about that.  She looks almost exactly like the Cribbed Image of the Above Kitten, only with more Blue in her Greenish Eyes.  I didn't take Pixs while she was here, coz all us Humans looked Busted and didn't wanna be Photographed holding her.  *LOL*  We're speculating she's a Female, general consensus is she probably is.  I gave her a Catnip Toy to go Home with, she REALLY like it.  *Ha ha ha*  She'll be a handful to drive Home with now she's High on Catnip.  *Winks*  They've decided to keep the Calico from the other Litter and find Homes for the Two Grey Siblings when Old enuf, they're only 3 Days Old right now.  Of coarse the Family fell in Love with this Older Kitten, so how can you not when they're Kittens, Right?  *LOL*  But, I like to play, cuddle, spoil, then send 'em Home, just like with Human Kids now.  No more Little Humans or Fur Babies for us.  *Winks*   I had my Dose of Kitten Love.  *Smiles*

I'm supposed to be Pricing Pokemon Cards, see, I'm NOT, I'm Blogging.  Looking them up is labor intensive and I'm just not really in the Mood to go Bug Eyed looking up Pokemon Characters really, but I know I need to and will have to.  While the Craze is Strong I might as well get all the Cards we have in there to Sell 'em.  I also have 3 unopened Pokemon Card Pacs too.  And I have another Pokemon Plush Toy to bring in as well.  Princess T has been Culling her Cache of Plush popular Toys out of her Collection again.  She fell out of Love with the Squishmallow Craze and only kept a few.   You find them in abundance at Chazzas now, the Craze has Cooled, but I can still Sell them coz she had some of the more popular ones Kids still want.  The Labubu Craze Cooled too, they always wanted too much for them, so not everyone could afford them at the inflated prices.  So they were not a good Investment for Resale.  Some things you better just have an abiding Love for coz you Paid too much on the Buy.

I haven't heard from our Roofer so doubt they're coming by Today to do what they didn't do Yesterday?  I do Hope they Tarp it before the next Rainstorm tho' coz I don't want leaking Roof damage inside The RV Garage Mahal on my contents.  The Insurance might balk if it never got Tarped coz they said go ahead and do that to be proactive.  And if it fails to get done then they are sure to use that as an excuse to deny increased Claims for further damage even before they Approve paying for a damned thing.  I'm hoping it's not a hassle to get them to pay what ever is what has to get done, you never know with Insurances what Bullshit they'll come up with not to pay out what they should? 

 Their Deductible alone is so Crazy high it inhibits filing a Claim, you'd have to far exceed $5,500 worth of damages, which is the Deductible PER CLAIM assessed at 1% of total Property Value they assessed!  On the East Coast it would be $11,000 at 2% of Property Value they assessed ours at!   A whole fucking Roof is around $15,000 on the high end, so what would be the point?!  You'd almost have to be filing a Claim for Catastrophic Damage and Total Loss to really ensure you're just not getting Hosed by the Insurance Companies now.  If Catastrophic Weather continues on the trajectory it's currently on, I foresee them not even covering most areas anymore.   And then you end up with Forced Place Coverage by your Mortgage Company, with outrageous Premiums.  It's why where you live matters, a LOT.

I got a whole Box priced to bring in with me Tonight to Work, whoop whoop!  I found a feature on my Phone to just point at a Pokemon Card and it automatically looks it up... it's not even like Google Lens, it's quicker and better.  Saved me an enormous amount of time and labor.  Most were just the cheap Cards but those Sell fast and I made my Money on the Bulk Buy, so my Margins are still great on all the Cards.  Anyway, I feel rather accomplished now that I got some Merch priced to take in with me that is respectable.  *Smiles*  I have more in The She Shed that The Daughter and I recently went thru and Curated, some of it is Halloween so I need to get that all priced and into the Showroom now.  Seasonal Merch has that brief Window of Opportunity to Sell best, and now is the timing for Halloween.

I'm contemplating when I should leave for Work and what I should eat before I go in to sustain me thru 'til 10:00 p.m.?  I just don't feel Hungry when it's so fucking Hot as it is, and only Working a 4 Hour Shift, you don't get a Break, the closest thing is sitting at the Greeter Desk providing Customer Service up Front for about 20-40 Minutes of your Shift, once, mebbe twice, depending on how many Co-Workers are unpaid Key Dealers Working that particular Shift for Comped Space Rent and rotating up at the Greeter Desk?  Paid Staff get Lunches and Breaks of coarse.   Jason is over here, he loaned us his Weed Eater and said he can Repair ours so it works again, that Guy can Fix anything.  He's the Elderly Cousin and Nephew of our Next Door Neighbors that The Daughter helps out a lot.  He's terribly crippled up and Disabled, but is always doing something, not a Lazy Guy at all and doesn't let his Disability stop him from staying busy and productive.  I Wish that The Man had that Outlook too.

The Kids have been working on our Yardwork all Day since Sunup, I don't know what Time the Irrigation is coming Tomorrow, have to ask The Son, he gets the Notifications on his Phone for us now of our Rotation Schedule.  He just informed me it's 8:30 a.m. to around 11:00, so at least it will be Light, but me and the Girls will have to do it coz he'll be at Work again.  Princess T and her Mom have been helping me to do it when he's at Work, Luckily every Rotation has come on a Monday so Princess T has that Day Off to help us. *Whew*  If we have problems, our Neighbor, Rob, is always available to help us Gals too, he's so good about that.  This Community is like that, assisting one another, especially if you're Elderly or Sickly.  They pay attention to Neighbors who require some Help to stay in their Properties, coz they don't wanna lose any of us Old Timers as Neighbors, we aren't problematic, we don't commit Crimes, and we keep our Properties Nice.  Most Retired Folks make for decent Neighbors and are from a more Sociable Era too where Community mattered.

Above are some Denim Hippie Jeans I'm taking in to the Antique Mall to Sell, they are so Fly, if they were my Size, I'd wear 'em.  *LOL*  But, they're about a Size 3... so... *Bwahahahaha*   Princess T is slender enuf but would never wear something like this.  *Smiles*  Fashions like this Sell well in our Showroom, coz it's our Aesthetic to have the Funkier and Vintage Wardrobe.  When I go in Big Box Stores, the Fashion is lame right now, so Pedestrian, so Generic and Uninspiring.  Like Princess T calls it, it's all Copy & Paste, no Originality or Individuality to it, no sense of Style.  You can Buy Fashion, but you have to Possess Style.  We're still Selling a lot of Clothing and Accessories, it's what the Younger Customers come for.  And they're the ones spending the Money and not just walking around wasting and killing Time coz they got nothing else to do.  I've got about an Hour before I gotta leave for my Shift Tonight, I'm looking forward to going in.  We've had some Move Outs that couldn't make it, and I wanna see what's replacing them.  Most Vacancies don't last long, but Turnover is still high.

Very few have been there since the Beginning like us.  I made the First Sale there and have hung in for the Long Haul, seeing many come and go, sometimes coming and going more than once.  The Seasoned Vendors are few now, we used to have more, but a lot of the long time Dealers have moved away or Passed Away now too.  We are getting some Youthful Vendors now, which is Rare, but mebbe a good Sign.  My Granddaughter Sharing Space with me is Rarer still, most her Age don't have a Space and those of her Generation tend to Sell Online if they are into Resale.   No overhead and they know Technology better than my Generation and use it exclusively now. 

 When I go to the Clearance Centers it's now flooded with very Young Adults who do Resale.  They come in large Groups and it's become their Thing, being Young Entrepreneurs, mebbe out of necessity since the Job Market is Weak and landing good paying Jobs with Benefits is so much harder now for the Younger Generation.  So some are Learning to Work their own Hustle early.  I Taught mine to Work their Hustle from the time they could Walk, like my Parents did for me and my Brother.

The Son and The Daughter are impressed with Princess T's discipline at Managing her Money already.  Not that I didn't Teach and Train them all to, but she's the one of the Four that took it to Heart and applied it, so it shows.   She's so much like I was, even since early Childhood, so I kinda knew she'd apply it more than the others.  Not everything Taught is always Applied by everyone, if it is, then it's usually highly effective if done with consistency, especially when it comes to Money.  If you don't have your Mind on your Money, it'll slip thru your Fingers too easily, coz it's never what you Make that is the Problem, it's what you Keep.  

There are Millionaires and Billionaires who have Bankrupted, more than once... in my Corporate Life handling Bankruptcies for Major Financial Institutions, more wealthy folk filed for Bankruptcy than anyone else in fact.  They made a lot of Money and they Lost a lot of Money or didn't pay who they Owed Money to and were financially reckless and irresponsible.  Often living way above their means even if their means were incredibly privileged and they HAD affluence, and squandered it.  

Have you ever noticed on Homicide Shows like "Dateline", how many Wealthy folks going broke then Insure their Loved Ones to recoup their Fortune and then Murder them to Collect on the Insurance Policy?  I do.  Seems it's the Wealthy Mindset that if they go broke, they'll just Kill Off a few Loved Ones they highly Insured, the M.O. is so predictable as to be Mind Blowing actually.  I've known a lot of Poor Folk, who, in spite of being in Poverty or sustained lack, didn't Kill Off their Loved Ones to get at some Money.  Their Loved Ones meant more to them than $$$, but with Rich folk, it seems their Priorities are Money First, then Things, then People... instead of the other way around as it should be, People First, then Money, then Things.  And your Priorities matter, a LOT. 

 When I Debt Counseled Folks in my 1st Corporate Life that were in serious Financial Crisis of being Foreclosed upon, going Bankrupt, or in Collections... what they Said to me that were their Priorities rarely mattered.  I wanted to see their Financials, show me your Checkbooks and Bank Statements and then I'll tell YOU what your Priorities REALLY are and have been.  Coz most folks delude themselves or lie.   The allegedly Devoutly Religious who said God and His Word were their highest Priority, well, only about 20% of them actually Tithed and Give of their Talents, Treasures or Time, the other 80% are Liars and delude themselves.   They let the 20% fund everything for their own Religious Benefits and Take from it, but Give nothing to it.  If folks told me their Family was their Highest Priority, but their Checkbooks and Financials said otherwise, it Called them Out.  

 If their Reputations and Character or sense of Responsibility didn't Line Up with Behavior and Actions, it was all a Ruse.  I follow the Money and see where it leads me, it always tells the True Story of most People and what their Priorities REALLY are and have been.  And their Dirty Secrets.  Including any Corruption and Criminality they're trying to Cover Up.  *Winks*   If your Talk doesn't align with your Actions, it's just Lip Service and some Bullshit, so it means nothing to me.  And that Dog won't Hunt... {ie: an idiom for a Plan, Idea, Excuse or Argument that will not Work, is Useless, or is not Believable.  Winks}   I can't Help anyone who can't even Face themselves with Honesty and some Integrity, so relies on Bullshit to try to be their Weak Excuse for not achieving Success or contributes to their Failures.  If you can't keep it 100%, and be Real, then don't waste my Time, valuable Resources or my Energy asking for my Help.  I'd always know which folk in Crisis could be Helped and which would carry on doing what they do that lead to Crisis for them, usually perpetually.  They want a Bailout and YOU to cover it FOR them when they Fuck Up.

So, Today's Food Porn was some DOMINO's Pizza they had an $11 Two Topping Large Special on if you bought Two.  So, since I'd be Working Tonight and not be here to make Dinner... and didn't feel like making Lunch either... that Worked for me to Feed 7 people who were here Today and needed to be Fed and Watered.  *LOL*   Since Princess T had Rusty over, The Daughter had Jason over fixing our Weed Eater which went on the fritz and was loaning us his for now, so it was a lot of Mouths to feed cheaply.   We still have a half of each Pizza left for them to eat for Dinner.

  It's 116 again, and may get Hotter, so mostly everyone is more Thirsty than Hungry when it's that damned Hot.  So, nobody is ODing on Pizza and going into a Carb Coma.  *LOL*  I've been drinking mostly Iced Coffee since McDonalds gave The Son a bunch of Coffees with the Breakfast he bought for all of us.  And he and I are the only ones who really drink it, so I've been Icing mine, coz The Golden Arches may make shitty excuses that pass for Food, except for their Fries, but they make a decent robust tasting Coffee.

Above was our last Working Cat, Miss Priss, may she RIP.  She was a Masterful Scorpion Huntress, she liked to eat them and would always have Sting marks all over her Nose.  The Son got stung again on his Arm, he's been like a Scorpion Magnet this Year, but becoz he once had so much of the Anti-Venom given him when a Sting almost Killed him, he has developed an Immunity now so that he doesn't almost Die when stung by one.  *Whew*   But, they're Painful and he gets swelling and numbness and doesn't recall where or when he got stung this time.  We checked all around the Home with a Black Light Inside, found nothing, so we think he got stung Outside.   The Daughter went on a Murderous Scorpion Killing Spree, in Revenge Mode for her Brother getting stung yet again, she offed quite a few of them.  It's been a really Bad Year for them and it's even been on the News how much worse they've been this Year.

My Shift went well, they had a lot of us working, most were older Women who are New Vendors and I don't know, but pleasant to work with and kept pace with Customers demands.  We've had such high Turnover of Vendors that a lot of them that used to work the Shifts aren't even at the Mall anymore.   Rochelle, who we call Rocky, was the only long time Vendor working that Evening besides me, and she's so Elderly I don't know how much longer she'll be able to pull her Shifts?   Nice Lady, and Sweet as she can be, but at her Age and the demands of what's necessary, she's really not up to the Job anymore already.  There's been problems in the past when she isn't able to pay Attention and gets easily distracted and Thieves take advantage of that Inattention and her Age limiting her.  They're still giving her Shifts so I can only assume they don't have many Takers of the Regular Shifts now?  I'm constantly turning down offers to Work a Regular Shift again, I just can't commit to it now and don't really want to either.

We had over 800 Customers thru the Doors last Night tho' and a Severe Weather Warning came in on our Phones at 9:00 p.m. just as we were Closing.  I JUST made it Home when it hit, literally, had just pulled in the Driveway when the Zero visibility Dust Storm hit!   And ran to the Door in the nick of time to get Inside with zero Seconds to spare!!!  *Whew*  I took some Pixs while on my Shift and Scored a couple more larger 1970's Thomas Dam Trolls for my Collection, one is an Elvis Troll, which I'd never seen one of those before and she didn't have it priced any higher than the other one from 1977 that I purchased too.  {See Below} Some of the New Vendors who'd moved in had very nice Booths with Merch I liked, so, I do Hope they last?

I liked the facial expression on the other Large Vintage Troll I got, didn't think I had one with that Face... it has long White Hair in a Ponytail and a simple Felt Outfit, Elvis has the White Elvis Outfit and a little Plastic Guitar, Sideburns and really looks like he's supposed to be Elvis. *LOL*  At Online Auctions you can find the Elvis one but they want more than Double what I Paid for mine.   And I got my Vendor Discount on both Trolls, plus I'd built up a Store Credit to use against the purchase price.  So Color me Happy she had them so reasonably priced.  She must have an extensive personal Collection she's ridding herself of, coz I've never seen so many Vintage Trolls, especially those from Denmark that are the Thomas Dam ones, being Sold by a Vendor for a very long time.  Years ago we had a Vendor who was Elderly and Sold Off her huge Collection of them and I bought several from.  Back then other Vendors vied for them, this Vendor is Upstairs in the Loft Booths and it doesn't look like Vendors Cherry Pick her Space.

We broke the 2011 Heat Record for the Official Temp being 115, previous Record was 113, and of coarse Unofficially it was way Hotter, about 117 and the day before it had been Unofficially 119.   It's also the 7th Day this Year it hit 115+ and Hotter which Ties the 4th most on Record.  Climate Change is Real and those damned Data Centers will Heat their areas up by another 15 Degrees, and that Math won't be sustainable for Life unless it's Microbial Life!!!   Stupid greedy Fuckers who Approved Data Centers, and so many of them, in a fucking Desert, were imbeciles and should face Criminal Charges IMO for the damage they've now caused to the Environment and the Citizens who will suffer for what they've done when Water runs out and Electricity demands are exceeding supply and made unaffordable.  It's not like having AC is a Choice when it's that Hot, many would risk Death or Brain Damage without it when they get Heat Exhaustion or Heat Stroke.

We ought to have an Investigation to see how many City Officials have Offshore Accounts where Bribes were funneled into, to Approve these Data Centers and other inappropriate Developments they allowed without Citizen Support?   Me thinks you'd find they all did and Sold Out their Constituents for Personal Gain.    The Opposition is Strong, especially people living by where they're Approving the Builds, but City Council Members have had few No Votes, and pay no attention to what the Community desires, so I'm paying close attention to whose Voting in favor of this Fuckery.  The large amounts of relatively Cheap Raw Land in the County, Tax Incentives favoring Rich Developers, and close proximity to California is why Arizona is targeted by the Developers of these monstrosities.   Some are being built way too close to Luke AFB too.  When it all goes Sideways there will be Hell to pay tho' and Investigative Journalists are already Naming some Names of whose Responsible, Good!

We had to rake up more of the cut Grass from the Pasture and get it ready for Bulk Garbage Pickup, so Princess T and I were out there since 6:00 a.m. and The Son by 7:00 a.m. before he goes to Work at 8:00 a.m., Irrigation comes at 8:30 a.m..  The Daughter will be back from Jason's by then to help us drop the Gates after Irrigation is over for our Rotation.  I lifted them this time by going down into the dry Irrigation Ditch, which is the easiest way for me to do it and probably the safest too, walking across Gangplanks isn't Wise at my Age in case I lose my balance and fall off.  *LOL*   One of our new Stud Muffin Young Neighbors was out readying his Property for his rotation, nice looking Young Hispanic Man, heavily Tattooed and very Nice.  He commended me on how agile I was getting in and out of that Ditch... loads of Practice I told him, but I am really getting too Old for this.  *Smiles*  We had dense Cloud Cover so it was Humid but not so Hot we couldn't do the physically demanding Work.  I am soaked tho' with Sweat.  More than when I do Workouts at The Gym!!!

The Man has his Cardiologist Appointment Tomorrow Morning and I Work a Shift again Wednesday Night for someone.  Yesterday's Shift was all Fill-In Key Dealers again, nobody that usually works the Shift had shown up apparently!  That's getting to be chronic and us Fill-Ins seem to be working more Shifts now than those that committed to the damned Regular Shifts and don't show up for them!!!  I'm accepting more than I have been, which helps my bottom line coz it Comps Space Rent some.  Since Rent is over $600 now for the Showroom and a Locked Case, that's Helpful if I can lower my Overhead.  Renting Space is expensive, when i first started it was around $375 for what costs over $600 now, and that's only been 15 Years that it's almost doubled.  Meanwhile Sales shrank from the Old Days when I could make more off this Project of Downsizing what I have Collected over a Lifetime and Selling it Off, than I even made at the DA's Office Working Full Time!!!   Those Days are over.   When Folks struggle to afford Essentials, they don't Buy Non-Essentials so much anymore.

 Home prices have gone into the Stratosphere too, which is why folks can't afford to Buy now.  And they resent us Old Folks who won't Sell ours, but, where else would we fucking live on our Fixed Incomes if we did Sell?  And Moving costs around $35,000 over Six Years ago for us if you Hire someone and don't do a Self-Move!  Whose got that much laying around whose Retired or even Working Full Time?   I don't know a whole lot of Young or Middle Aged Working Folks who've got over Thirty Grand in their Savings Accounts.   I used to, when I had Paid Off Properties coz I could Save and Invest a helluva lot more when you don't have a Mortgage Payment and can leverage your Equity.  If you Sell you have to pay Taxes on what profits you made.  Most Affluent folks don't Sell, they Borrow against the Value and live off of that, while their Property Values increase exponentially and their Heirs Inherit the Untaxed Fortune of the Unsold Properties.

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That's it for Today's Entry... Dawn... The Bohemian