The Monday Meanderings

Fresh back from the Morning Walkabout and listening to the joints crackle and pop like that breakfast cereal. Not exactly Force 10 winds out there but so cold our garden plants held their limbs up like needy children when we made it back – begging to be taken inside.

We’d suggest getting those folks unfortunate enough to spend their nights in the open a warming cup of coffee but that didn’t go over too well last time we tried so we’ll leave control and maintenance of the homelessness narrative to the self-declared experts. We look forward to the day you solve the problem.

Pleased to report the general tone of online/offline commentary here at News24/680 has shifted from the threatening to celebratory as a new administration prepares to take the national helm and steer us toward a – hopefully – collectively beneficial future.

That said, we can’t help but note that a sizable ratio of the readership appears to be sitting on its hands, tight-lipped and waiting for the governmental shoes to drop after Inauguration Day. We’re waiting to see how that goes along with everyone else.

For now, we’re content to power our days with Pearl Jam and X while the Dedicated Few who labor here continue to probe for news, gratified by the reaction of many to our endeavor, perplexed by the reaction of a puzzling minority.

Without a corporate Sugar Daddy to see us through but with bills to pay like everyone else, we’ve been lucky enough to have benefactors drop a little coin into the Coffee Fund from time to time and to say we’re grateful for that largesse doesn’t begin to cover it. It has been interesting to see what passes for our staff react to these expressions of support after a week being harassed or worse out in the field, accompanying notes of encouragement stiffening our resolve and quickening our step.

Photographers who have had the Blue Thunder called down on them merely for being in a public place with a “long lens” have been gratified when responding Law People arrive, grin and report: “Code Four, it’s the News24/680 Guy!” We like that, and are having hats made with: “Don’t Be Afraid, I’m The News24/680 Guy!” on them for instant identification.

Observationally, since that is much of what we do, we’ve grown concerned about developments in our schools and hope The Kids Are Alright. Some appear headed for great things and that fills us with hope, but others appear to be taking a different, harder road, often with very negative effects. Again, we’re sure the experts are hard at work on the issue and we look forward to a successful resolution.

Also, despite the hard work of law enforcement, we appear no closer to closing the bag on rampant theft from businesses who can’t endure those losses forever. Retail theft is an almost daily occurrence, with some stores getting hit multiple times a day, and it’s apparent whatever we’re doing now isn’t going to cut it. Another one of those problems we look forward to solving someday, we hope.

The upshot to all this is that we’re hanging in, realizing we live in unsettled times with one half of the country in a spatial zone apart from the other half – but resolved to document the course we take. Whatever it may be.