Justice for Ian

On Tuesday, September 29 just before sunset, the body of 11-year old Ian Gibson was laid to rest in the graveyard of St. Martin's Anglican Church. While the death of one so young is always tragic, in Ian's case it is even more tragic.

According to news reports, Ian's death was as a result of a sustained campaign of terror unleashed on him by two older boys. These bullies first targetted Ian at primary school, and Ian's father Victor Cadogan removed him from that school and sent him to a private institution.

Unfortunately, when Ian entered secondary school a few weeks ago, he encountered the same two bullies again. After Victor went to the school to complain about the boys' behaviour towards his son, they beat Ian so badly that he had an asthma attack.

Police were called in, the boys were warned, their parents notified. All to no avail. Two weeks ago, while trying to outrun the bullies, Ian ran blindly across the street and was struck by a car. He died a few days later at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

I did not know Ian Gibson, nor do I know his father Victor Cadogan, but when I read how this young boy died I could not help but cry. As a mother, I cannot imagine the pain Victor Gibson feels at losing his child, especially in such a senseless manner.

For most persons who survived the high school system, bullying was almost a right of passage, to be endured and forgotten once school life was over. However, many carry the scars of that abuse for life, and Ian paid for it with his.

So now we must decide - do we turn our attention to the next news story to make the headlines or demand justice for this young boy? I vote the latter, because what happened to Ian Gibson should be prevented from happening to another child in Barbados or elsewhere.

We need to reinforce to the powers that be the need to devise some kind of policy or rules to stamp out these violent acts in schools. Teachers must have the authority to discipline students whom they see abusing others, instead of being tied up in red tape and having to "wait on the Ministry".

Sure, the whole sordid episode has made bullying in schools a national debate, but what good will that do the loved ones Ian left behind? That's why I'm asking, if you condemn these act of violence in schools, make your feelings known in the comments section. I'll be emailing this post to as many persons as possible for their signatures and hopefully we can make a start in getting some justice for Ian.

ADDENDUM
Join Victor Cadogan's campaign to stamp out bullying in schools. Email your comments to justiceforian@hotmail.com. Comments will be printed and presented to PM David Thompson.

Image: The casket bearing Ian Gibson's body proceeding through a guard of honour at St. Martin's Anglican Church (Nation News.com)

The Christopher S. Bond Bridge in Kansas City

Someday, it will look like this...



But as of mid afternoon today, it looks like this...

Kansas University Coddles Thugs

Self promises discipline after football-basketball fracas at KU

"By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star

LAWRENCE | The day after a series of fights between Kansas football and basketball players revealed an ongoing feud between the programs, no public discipline was announced, although the university is now investigating the incidents."

College athletics programs are filled with coddled thugs who are pampered and protected by greedy administrators and coaches protecting their paychecks.

Here is how a REAL administrator would deal with the most recent KU crises.

Remove the students involved. Boot them out of the school. Then cancel the Basketball and Football season as a message to the rest of the students and faculty that this bullshit is unacceptable.

Being a really good jock does not entitle you to behave like a criminal.

If you behave like a criminal, you and other people will pay the price for your behavior.

And they probably won't be very fucking happy about it.

College sports programs don't contribute enough to society to get a pass for brutal, criminal, behavior.

Shut 'em down.

Roy Blunt and the Monkey Rule

Presented without comment or judgement.

You decide.

This is what Roy Blunt felt like he needed to say to the Family Research Council, Focus On The Family, Value Voters Summit, and conservatives in general.

He thought it would be appropriate to compare an anecdote about the efforts of British occupation forces in India at the turn of the century to build a golf course (that was frustrated by monkeys throwing golf balls) to the current political environment in Washington.

Is that appropriate?

Not a comment. Just a question.

Help Wanted Ad

JOB: There is a sleeper sofa in Olathe that needs to find it's way to a 2nd floor bedroom in Independence.

REQUIREMENTS: Truck or trailer large enough to accomodate full size sleeper sofa. Enough manpower to get it out of the garage, into the truck, and upstairs in Independence.

COMPENSATION: Negotiable. Money? Food? Sex? Talk to me.

TIME FRAME: As soon as possible.

Shopper's Parkade - September 23, 2009

This hideous monstrosity at 11th & Grand is called the Shopper's Parkade.



It's been closed and boarded up for years. The garage actually extended over the sidewalk and there was a bus stop there. It was dark, sheltered and had access to public transportation so it attracted bums, winos, derelicts, panhandlers, transients and psycho goon-babblers like a marshland attracts geese.

It was the sight of at least 1 drive-by shooting. I know because I happened to be walking by just moments after it happened. The police were standing around the still bleeding body waiting for the ambulance.

This open, puss-oozing, stench-filled sore on the crotch of Kansas City is finally going to be torn down.

Because there is nothing more fun than watching blue collar guys operating huge, powerful, machines tear stuff the fuck up, I'm going to document the awesome destruction on my blog.

My plan is to take a picture a day, everyday (except weekends) as long as there is something standing to take a picture of. Unless it's all rainy and shit. Or too cold. Or I forget. Or I get bored.

We'll see how this goes.

Rihanna's fame goes to her head

As I said some time ago, Rihanna (or her people) knows how to play the fame game. Change your look, keep people interested and talking. Her hair has taken on a life of its own these past few months and she has turned the sidewalks of LA and New York into her own personal catwalk.


If it wasn't so hot in Barbados I would jack her for those Stella McCartney perforated boots.




I can see th girls here trying to copy this punk/skunk look...


These pants gives new meaning to the term skin-tight....



As my grandmother would say, wuh yuh could do wid de young people, nuh? Do you, Rih-Rih, do you.

Damn that Halle Berry!

We all know Halle Berry is hot. After all, her career is built on her hotness, even though having an Academy Award doesn't hurt.

But for her to look this good at 43 and after having a baby, all I can say is 'Damn that Halle Berry!'





Images: http://theybf.com

Saying Goodbye To Friends

September Blogger/Tweeter Gathering

Going away party for

@Bea
&
@Logtar

That's right ! They are moving to Chicago & leaving us! I'm not happy but a great job for Logtar is calling. And of course where he goes Bea will follow. So please join us wishing them the best.

Brooksider Sports Bar and Grill
6330 Brookside Plaza

Kansas City, Missouri 64113

816.363.4070

September 24th, 2009

5pm-?

The most rewarding thing for me about having a blog isn't the hits or the comments. It's not about statistics, it's about people.

Two of the most incredible people I've met through this blog are Logtar and Betizuka.

I'm mostly a self-centered, anti-social, asshole.

Logtar and Bea are the exact opposite of me. They are two of the most inclusive, open, friendly and loving people I've ever met. Combine that with incredible intellect and compassion and you have an amazing couple. Oh yeah, there's also the love. The love these two have for each other is something most people can only aspire to.

Someday, I hope I have a wife like Logtar.

I keed, I keed!

The sad part is, Logtar and Bea are leaving us and moving back to Chicago. Thankfully, we are all digitally inseperable so the sense of loss is somewhat mitigated.

But we will still be saying a formal goodbye to Logtar and Bea at the September Blogger Meet this Thursday.

Bloggers, blog readers, blog commentors, blog lurkers, tweeters, or curious bystanders are all welcome.

Scientific Literacy

The Pew Research Center posed 12 incredibly easy general science questions to 1,005 randomly sampled adults.

Only 10% of the people polled could answer all 12 questions correctly.

Seriously?

This is really, really basic stuff that informs and drives many decisions on public policy. If you don't know the facts, how can you make decisions that affect other people?

You can take the poll yourself here.

Idiots

I actually saw this bumper sticker on a car today on I-70.



:: sigh ::

Really? The entire Federal Government is a terrorist organization? The Confederacy was a band of Freedom Fighters? The Government is the enemy of the people?

Seriously?



Where to start?

Did you drive anywhere on any road today? If the answer is yes, thank the government.

Did your car get you there safely? If the answer is yes, thank the government.

Was the food you bought at the grocery store fresh, safe, healthy and uncontaminated? If the answer is yes, thank the government.

Was the gas you put in your car pure and undiluted with harmful contaminants? If the answer is yes, thank the government.

Have you ever been to court to get a divorce, an order of protection, sue someone who swindled you, or serve as witness against someone who committed a crime against you or someone you know? If the answer is yes, thank the government.

Are you able to read this in your own home in peace and safety, knowing that local, county and state law enforcement officers are a 3 digit phone call away? If the answer is yes, thank the government.

Do you have an internet connection, if the answer is yes, THANK THE GOVERNMENT.

I could go on but I'm getting tired and bored.

If you think that the government is the enemy, I encourage you to strip naked, and wander off into the woods armed with nothing but a sharp stick. Reboot yourself to the state humanity was in before we decided that an organized society was a better survival strategy than "to each his own".

Good luck with all that.

Motorcade photos, more Oval photos

Here're some of the photos from Ryan Brathwaite's motorcade from the airport to Kensington Oval, and some of the action at the Oval.



Leaving the Grantley Adams International Airport. (His longtime coach Alwyn Babb is in the orange jersey and his Kansas-based coach Matt Kane is in the yellow shirt.)





Ryan meets the Cabinet.


Proceeding through the guard of honour.


Ryan enjoys the evening's proceedings. Also seated up front are his parents, Prime Minister Thompson and other Cabinet members.

Well, that's it folks. Have a good weekend!


Credit: Charlie Pitt/BGIS

Photos from Kensington Oval

Hi, peoples. Sorry for the delay in uploading the photos from yesterday but it's been a busy day. Cheese-on-Bread contributor dreadlocs took some atmoshphere shots at Kensington Oval, as school children and adults awaited the arrival of hurdles world champion Ryan Brathwaite.



Pupils from Ryan's alma mater Lawrence T. Gay Primary anxiously await his arrival.




Students of Ryan's other alma mater, Lester Vaughan Secondary, form a guard of honour to salute the champion.




Aerial views of the stage, where Lester Vaughan Secondary School's Choir perform a tribute to Ryan.




The sun sets on the near 9,000 strong audience.


More later....

Ryan Brathwaite's arrival

Here are some of the pix from the arrival of 110m hurdle World Champion Ryan Brathwaite in Barbados a few hours ago.


Ryan is greeted as he descends his Virgin Atlantic flight by Chief of Protocol, Hughland Allman.


The World Champion warmly greets his mother Angela Young.


Brathwaite, the Acting Minister of Sports, Sen Irene Sandiford-Garner and others participate in a press conference.


Ryan waves to his fans as his motorcade passes Bay Street.

A packed programme of festivities is currently ongoing at Kensington Oval, so you can look out for the pix early tomorrow.

Thanks for joining in on my Live blog, this was kinda fun.:)

Credit: Joy-ann Gill

Motorcade underway

3:15 p.m. Okay, folks, the motorcade's on the move, making its way past Pilgrim Road in Christ Church, approaching Durants.

3:41 p.m. The motorcade has reached Oistins.

3:52 p.m. Ryan Brathwaite's motorcade is now approaching St. Lawrence Gap. The pace has picked up considerably.

3:55 p.m. They've made it to Accra. Everyone's on the streets it seems, on balconies of hotels, on the sidewalks...beautiful.

4:10 p.m. Well, the hero of the momnet just passed by where I'm standing in Bay Street, it was pure madness when his pickup truck passed by, like pure carnival! His parents were behind him in a limousine, they must feel so proud of him.

4:15 p.m. He's now going over the Charles Duncan O'Neale Bridge. Bridgetown is rammed with supporters.

4:28 p.m. Prime Minister David Thompson, his wife Mara and an entourage have arrived at the Kensington Oval. Sources tell me that the PM will meet with Ryan before the festivities begin.

4:47 p.m. The motorcade has arrived at Kensington Oval. The crowds outside remind me of Kadooment Day.

Motorcade delayed

Hi, peoples. Just to keep you up to date - the motorcade hasn't started as yet. Ryan and his entourage are having some refreshments and there're also waiting on his coach's flight to land.

Hundreds of persons have already begun to line the route and the excitement has reached a fever pitch.

More soon...

Welcome home, Ryan!

Barbados 110m hurdle world champion is back home and at this moment is giving a press conference in the VIP Room at the Grantley Adams International Airport.

Next he's heading off on a motorcade down Highway 7 to Kensington Oval. I'll be along the route taking a few pics, so watch out for more.

Thank's Everybody!

I tried to make this the closing comment on emawkc's awesome Birthday Roast, but unsurprisingly, I droned on a bit too long.

"Your HTML cannot be accepted: Must be at most 4,096 characters"

So I brought all of my comments over here as a

Wow. This was pretty amazing. There was obviously some advance planning that went into this, but y'all did a hell of a lot better job keeping secrets than anybody in Washington, because this came as a complete surprise.

As is traditional in these things, the Roastee gets the last word.
First, I'd like to thank emawkc for throwing this little shindig.

Emawkc was one of the very first people to ever leave a comment on my blog and I've considered him to be a friend ever since.

Although I'm quite fond of emawkc, he's absolutely wrong on every political and social subject of any importance. I seriously worry that he may have some sort of brain tumor. Something ain't hooked up right in that increasingly follicularly challenged noggin of his.

But I have to give him props. He managed to pull off a fairly elaborate birthday celebration without spending a fucking dime.

Cheap bastard.

But I don't want anyone to feel too bad for Keith. He seemed to enjoy obtaing my "DNA sample". He even suggested we "do this again sometime" and promised to call, which he never did.

Fucker.

Logtar - What is this magical "abacus" of which you speak. Is it in someway superior to my trusty clay tablet and stick?

Spyder - My balls only clang if I'm going commando, but the spikes do tend to chafe a bit.

Eolai - True story!

Absolutely Feisty - You know the feeling is mutual. You are one of the most important people in my... wait.... "I'm not even sure in what city Woodstock was held... maybe my mom knows?" WTF, bitch?!? You steppin' to me? LOL!

Muddy Mo - "People don’t invite XO out anymore — they go without him and live tweet him about it". True dat! Sad part is, I kinda prefer it that way.

Shane - "he's old enough that he was around for the Creation" That was a wild and crazy day! Very hectic, as I recall. There was so much extra work that had to be done to make shit look like it was so much older than it really was.

Nightmare - Good stuff!

Cara - That's some primo material right there!

Doc - "reading X.O. you just know he was old loooooong ago" Funny you should say that. When I was in my 20's a woman told me she could tell I had a "very old soul". Although I found te statement interesting, it didn't sound like anything that would get me laid, so I filed it away.

Nuke718 - "I have seen no picture of him with women" You, sir, have not been paying attention! http://www.flickr.com/photos/8058646@N06/2946014638/

M.M. - You're the best of the best, man. Of course you did have some "alone time" in which to hone your writing skills. :)

Chris Packham - "...not with a wet, farty splat on the pavement accompanied by a clattering spill of loose dentures and insulin injection paraphernalia." See, this is why I luv ya brutha (note the NON-GAY spellings!). You paint the word pictures. You're a fucking artist!

Donna - Thanks for stopping by!

TheDLC - "This guy is a gold mine" I interpret that to mean that gold mines are dark, dank dirty death traps that bring pain and suffering to greedy capitalists. Thanks, man!

Janet - Thanks for writing on my wall!

Average Jane - I'd be happy to grill you up another one any time you get the hankerin'.

Kanye West - You're a jackass.

Dan - "...when XO moved from Liberty to Independence, the average IQ of both places fell a couple points"?

That reminds me of Bilbo's toast. "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

It will take a mighty bit of pondering to work out whether there was a compliment in there or not!

Faith - Thank you!

Sandie - That cat was fucking begging for it! Little slut!

Well Hell Michelle - You are too kind. And I'm pretty sure you need better glasses and fewer meds.

Lee - "XO is so old he knew Thor the God of Thunder when he was still Torvald "Boom Boom" Jörgensen."

Dude, that is some funny fucking shit right there!
Thanks for staying in touch!

And thank all y'all for the birthday love.

I've really enjoyed this.

Now, who wants to help me move a sleeper-sofa from Olathe to the 2nd floor of my Independence townhouse? And by "help" I mean do all the moving while I worry about you scratching the walls?

Hey! Where did everybody go?

Hello? (hello) [hello]

Blame it on the alcohol + RIP Patrick Swayze

Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West hit up Jay Leno last night to perform Run This Town, and Kanye also took the opportunity to apologise for highjacking Taylor Swift's moment at the MTV Video Music Awards.

From the time I saw him swigging Hennessy on the red carpet I knew it was going to be a rough night, 'cause Kanye fairly ignorant when he's sober, furthermore drunk. And what was up with other persons drinking from his bottle? They ever heard of swine flu? Or would the alcohol kill the germs?

Anyhoo, between Kanye and Serena Williams it was an odd celebrity weekend, and today I learned that Patrick Swayze, one of the stars of one of my old time fave movies, Dirty Dancing, passed away. RIP, PS, you're out of your pain now.

The Post Remco Years and The Birth of MAST

As I explained in the last chapter of The Remco Years, Dan and I wound up sharing a house at 65th and Oak.

After leaving Remco, I could no longer afford my apartment in Raytown and no longer had access to the Remco delivery van for my personal transportation. All I had was a 10-speed bike.

Living with Dan was supposed to be a short term solution on my way to bigger things.

I had a high school buddy who moved to San Francisco. His older sister was an architect out there who helped him get established.

I was going to to room with Dan for a while, save up some money, and take my 10-speed and meager possessions to San Francisco where I would room with my friend Chris.

This was my reasoning.

Most of the guys in SF are gay, therefore any straight, single women in SF will be "easy pickin's" for young straight guys! Did I mention I was like 23 years old and STUPID?

I viewed San Francisco as what Dan, a formal Naval Aviator, would have referred to as a "target rich environment" with plenty of opportunity for me to "lay down a load of ordinance", if you know whet I'm sayin'!

Putz!

But this was a time when on a Friday or Saturday night, I would ride my 10-speed down to Westport (all downhill, btw), chain it to a lamp post and start whoring around at The New Stanley, Kelly's, Buzzard Beach, Blaney's, Lone Star or anywhere else within walking distance.

If I "got lucky", we would toss my 10-speed into the trunk of her car and head back to my place. So even before I got her home, I had "junk in her trunk". Hellz yeah.

However. If I didn't get lucky (more often than not), I was pedaling my drunk ass home from 39th and Broadway to 65th and Oak, uphill all the fucking way. Not as easy or as fun as it sounds!

But I digress.

After a few months of drawing unemployment, I finally got a job as a bill collector for an ambulance service.

My experience collecting payments for Remco made me marginally qualified to be a bill collector. The location of the office at 58th & Troost put it well within my 10-speed commuting radius.

I don't remember the name of the ambulance company that hired me.

This would have been 1978-79. Kansas City was littered with independent ambulance companies. Anybody with enough cash to buy a van, toss in some medical supplies, bolt a flashing light on top and meet a few basic criteria could start up an ambulance business.

This was the unfettered, free market, capitalist version of providing emergency services.

Needless to say, it was complete shit.

These small business entrepreneurs only wanted to do business where it was profitable. Places like Johnson County, where everyone had insurance were peppered with services. You couldn't swing a dead homeless person without hitting 3 brightly painted, well equipped, state of the art ambulances.

In the inner city, you'd be lucky to find a single converted ice cream truck with the old Circus Delight stickers still in place equipped with nothing but a Katz Drug first aid kit, an old Army cot. They didn't have flashing lights or sirens. They just rang the ice cream truck bell REALLY LOUD with a sense of urgency!

Needless to say, this FREE MARKET arrangement left a lot of room for uneven and inadequate service. A lot of people died because they were poor.

Kansas City made the (correct) decision that this was unacceptable. They decided to buy out all of the independent ambulance companies and consolidate them into a Municipal Ambulance Services Trust (MAST).

That's right. in 1979 Kansas City SOCIALIZED ambulance services because they recognized that having a central authority with a consistent set of standards for customer care was superior to having a DECENTRALIZED, MARKET DRIVEN approach to caring for people who need emergency care.

Kansas City had the contract for manging the new MAST system up for bid. All of the existing ambulance companies wanted that contract!

The company that hired me hired 2 other experienced collectors. Their goal was to get their accounts receivable in order REALLY QUICK so they could come out on top as the most fiscally responsible municipal ambulance company and win the bid to control MAST.

Despite our best efforts, our company lost. But we must have been a major player, because our office became the HQ for the new MAST.

I stayed long enough to wind up with some legacy business cards with the MAST name and logo. Don't remember if I quit or was a victim of the consolidation of all of those different ambulance companies.

With all of the recent news about MAST being absorbed into the KCFD, it's interesting to reflect back on a much more chaotic environment.

It's fun to watch the city attempting to make an already socialized service even more socialized.

Funny shit!

My Favorite Time Of Year

September and October.

My birthday, the beginning of Autumn, the changing of the leaves, the dominance of cooler temperatures (summer can kiss my big black ass), the Harvest Moon, the Renaissance Festival, Halloween.

It's time to crank open my cedar chest.








Sixty one glorious days.