What to do, what to do…

As I got out of the car and headed for the mulch to take a closer look, see if there was a note, etc, etc… I noticed my friend Fluffy curled up in exactly the same spot as he had been two months prior. In fact, the skin he shed the first time he was here is still sitting in the corner, so it makes for an odd and disturbing image: Fluffy curled up in the corner, pressed up against the “shell of younger Fluffy”. In any case, perhaps he’ll stick around for the holidays. I’m gonna get him a stocking tomorrow to make sure he feels welcome.

On Wednesday evening, a man driving his car hit another man trying to cross the street. “The impact severed the pedestrian’s lower right leg, which remained in the street. His head and arms went through the windshield, while the rest of his body flipped up onto the roof of the car.” (1)

The driver then continued on his merry way, approaching the Sunshine Skyway Bridge toll plaza several miles down the road. It was the toll taker who called 911 upon realizing just what in the hell he was seeing – a bloody mess of a body falling into the car as it came to a stop. Is this the disturbing part? Well…okay, it *is* disturbing, but this is not the part I’m upset about. Let’s move on to the next article…

“When asked what happened later, he told police the man dropped from the sky.
‘Obviously, he was confused,’ Jockers said, ‘incredibly confused.’
Police investigators say *it is unlikely that Parker will face criminal charges*.” (2)

Excuse me? What the hell do you mean “it is unlikely [he] will face criminal charges”?! So…as long as I’m 93 years old and I don’t *mean* to do it, that makes it okay to not only kill someone with my car but to then continue driving for more than 3 miles before somebody else calls the cops on my ass? Vehicular Homicide in the state of Florida is a second-degree felony last I checked (which was 5 minutes ago – I looked it up), punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Vehicular Homicide/Leaving the Scene is a first-degree felony (that’s worse, if you don’t know “degrees”) and is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Technically, he took most of the scene of the crime with him to the toll plaza, so we won’t count the “leaving the scene” against him. Even if we knock it down to manslaughter – the unintentional taking of a life – we’re still talking about jail time. There are (unfortunately) several recent cases of cars vs. pedestrians, too often the pedestrians being children, and in not one of those cases was the driver “unlikely to face criminal charges”. I’m willing to bet none of them *intended* to run over those kids with their car, but you bet your ass they’re going to jail. What’s the difference?

This guy was confused. He’s old. He probably has dementia. Well then, that certainly makes this excusable. It’s not like he should be responsible for himself. It’s not like his family – who had to know of his condition yet allowed him to drive – should be responsible. After all, according to the police the man “loved to drive his car”. (2) I guess if you really *love* to drive your car then you should be allowed to not only continue doing so until you literally drop dead of old age behind the wheel, but feel free to take out as many pedestrians as you like while on your nightly jaunts around the cities of Tampa Bay. Makes you think twice before heading out for a walk down here in sunny Florida.

(1) excerpt from the St. Pete Times
(2) excerpt from the St. Pete Times

The dialog was very good, though Jess – the bitch-from-hell teenager – dominated too often and was, at times, a bit too harsh for me to believe. I’ve known my share of asshole teenagers, but this girl was a bit over-the-top on occasion. JJ was my favorite of the four. His way of rolling things around in his head to produce a depressing reality of his life, while at the same time feeling as though his problems were not “big” enough for the group, was excellently done and his resolution – though tied up a bit too quickly – felt more “right” to me than the others.

All in all, I’d recommend this book, as the dialog is very good and quite funny at times. While some may find the story lacking in purpose or direction or resolution, I actually find that to be a plus. This is about life – four people having trouble dealing with it and looking for a way out. If you expect a book that starts with the main characters on the verge of suicide to end all nice and neat and happy and bubbly, put the book down ‘cause it ain’t gonna happen.

Giant Sahara Dust Cloud Swirling Toward Florida

So now the $64,000 question: to go, or not to go. I think I’ll ponder that one for a few days.

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Originally uploaded by rlaneve.

Seriously…he was all about the bag of cheetos. I’m not entirely sure he really likes eating them, but he definitely likes playing with them. Most of them wound-up on the floor, in the pool, etc, etc… I’d guess-timate about 3-in-20 wound-up in his mouth, and at least 1 or 2 of those still wound-up on the ground. Too cute.