Here we go again

Once again, the Triangle Town Center is the stage for controversy.
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Triangle Town Center Brawl is Gang Related

There was a big fight among what's been reported to be over 200 teens this week at the Triangle Town Center in Raleigh. Police have indicated the altercation was gang related.

Yeah. Who could've seen THAT one coming, eh?

Walk into the Triangle Town Center any Saturday evening and this is what you'll see. If you're in any of the stores, you'll find the typical mix of people: age and gender appropriate shoppers for whichever store you're observing.

Walk through the corridors of the shopping complex, however, and you'll see a different picture. Over-represented by a significant degree are teens and young adults who seem to be doing anything but shopping. One might even describe their behavior as loitering.

I mean, how can anyone call this presence other than loitering? After all, if they're all shopping, how come only a small percentage are ever seen carrying bags containing purchases?

Next time you're at Triangle Town Center on a Saturday night, (if you dare,) stand in the central part of the mall by the fountain and escalators where you can see both levels. Observe how many actual shoppers you see compared to the number of teens and young adults walking around, (somewhat slowly, I might add,) with no purchases in their hands.

I cannot help but imagine that this incident will have an impact on the merchants in the Triangle Town Center. Hopefully they'll beef up security, at least until this whole 200 person gang related altercation thing blows over.

And if you're a teen or young adult roaming the walkways of the Triangle Town Center on a Saturday night, be prepared for a level of scrutiny like you've never experienced before.
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Selling a Used Car

I had an interesting experience recently while trying to sell a car on a particular free on-line classified ads facility that rhymes with dregslist. I got a response from a guy, let's call him Jerry, that said, "would like to see your car, please call jerry at xxx-xxxx or page at xxx-xxxx thanks"

So I called the guy and he stated he's retired from the automotive industry but he helps his brother who is currently still working with cars here in the Triangle Area. He and his brother occasionally help customers who are looking for good cars by searching ads and pre-inspecting well-maintained candidates on behalf of those customers.

I asked him if he was a dealer, and he said, No, he was just helping a customer who wanted to buy her daughter her very first car.

So he came to my house to see the car. He was very personable and easy going. While he went over my car, (with a fine toothed comb, I might add,) he was telling me about how he had retired after having had three heart attacks, and other related maladies he and his loved ones had suffered.

He told me he provides this service because many cars he and his brother had seen advertised privately are somewhat "less than" what the sellers are representing. I said I believe my car is a good one and is adequately represented by the wording in my ad and by my asking price.

At one point in the inspection he had asked me if I had had the timing belt replaced. As that job is usually recommended at about 90K miles for my car and mine only had 76K, I had told him it had not yet had that part replaced.

After a bit more careful inspection and a test drive, he stated that this car was a fine example, and that I did a great job of caring for it and presenting it as such. He told me he's prepared to pay cash for the car, and whipped out two wads of hundred dollar bills to prove his point. So began the process of negotiation.

As we discussed price, I noticed he kept bringing up the timing belt issue. He said that he would feel bad about having sold a car to this woman only to have her daughter need to spend another $500 on a timing belt soon after. Also, she has to pay for the three Ts, (taxes, title, and transfer.) I presume he wanted me to lower my asking price to account for these costs.

I'm thinking, first of all there's no way I'm paying in advance for a future repair on a car I will no longer own, specially a repair that's 14,000 miles into the future. And how is it my problem she has to pay the three Ts? Everybody who buys a car has to pay the three Ts. But I figured this is just part of the negotiation process. Every buyer wants to chew you down by giving their sob story. I had a price range in mind and I stood by that range. Eventually we shook hands on a deal that was within that range.

In North Carolina, you need to have the title signatures notarized, and that's usually when the transfers of the payment and the keys take place. He said my wife and I could come to his brother's shop where we could complete the sale using their notary. I said, I hope you're not going to change your mind once we get there. He said, "No, my handshake is my word. You'll get what we agreed upon for your car."

After a horrendous drive in two cars through several agonizing detours after a major truck accident in the city, we finally arrived at the shop. Jerry invited us to sit and wait a short time for the notary to arrive.

In the mean time, and this is where it gets interesting, he told me his brother, let's call him John, (the proprietor,) wanted to put my car up on the lift to check it out.

I'm thinking, Check it out? For what?? We had already agreed upon a price after a careful inspection; there should be nothing additional to check out. I asked Jerry, You're not going to change your mind, are you? He assured me, No, John just wants to determine what he will need to do before turning it over to the woman for her daughter.

So there we sat. Soon after, the notary showed up, and she sat with us and waited. And waited. I kept getting up to see what was taking so long with the car. The notary's here, so Let's Go! Jerry was nowhere to be found.


It Needs What?!?

After several more minutes, a very big man storms into the room and declares, in an equally big voice, "Your car will need brakes all around so there's three hundred dollars right there and there's also a leak in the power steering hose so that will have to be replaced as well for another hundred or so." At this point, Jerry joined us.

I'm thinking, So?? How's that my problem? You buy a car, you fix it up for YOUR buyer. Let's get this paperwork signed and give me my agreed upon cash so we can get out of here.

I said, "And you are ..."

He said, "I'm John, the manager. I realize no car is perfect, but I wouldn't feel right selling this car to this woman for her daughter needing brakes and a timing belt at the price you are asking."

I looked over at Jerry, and he was looking down with a sullen, downtrodden look as if to say, Well, what can I tell you? My brother makes a good point.

I said to Jerry, "So. You've changed your mind." He said nothing. I asked, "Where is my car?" He said, Right out front. I asked, "And my keys?" He held them up into my view.

I took the keys, SHOOK HIS HAND and said, "Thank you," and my wife and I walked out, got into our two cars, and drove back home through that horrendous series of detours due to that accident in the city.


UPDATE:

I took the car to Sears the next day to have the brakes checked out. The brakes were fine. I guess that "woman" will have to find another car for her "daughter."
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Who Let the Dogs Die?

In Chapel Hill, North Carolina animal shelters are strained by incoming dogs seized from fighting operations and held as police evidence.

The shelters are euthanizing adoptable animals to make room for these fighting dogs, which they are required by law to shelter, sometimes for months, at much greater costs than the adoptable animals whose cages they're occupying.

"The Johnston County Animal Shelter housed 47 pit bulls seized in a giant dog-fighting case last year,

"The shelter, which could hold 65 dogs, euthanized 15 to 20 animals after the pit bulls arrived for lack of space,"


Most of the animals seized in dog fighting raids eventually get euthanized.
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Overcrowding Expected at Several Wake County Traditional Schools

This morning The News & Observer reported that the following elementary schools would feel the most significant overcrowding as measured by a percentage of capacity:

153% Olds
132% Underwood
127% Dillard Drive
125% Hunter
122% Cary
122% Bugg

One hundred and fifty three percent of capacity. That's over half. So a school with, say, 16 grade level teachers would need to add eight new teachers and two to three teacher assistants to handle the crowd. They'd have to find room for five to eight additional classrooms via converting teachers' work areas, the gym, the media center, the cafeteria, the computer lab, the art or music room, the broom closet, or by adding modular units.

Those schools gaining a fifth to a third more students would face similar dilemmas.

Myth:
The Wake County Board of Education, (BOE) is trying to punish parents and students by making the transition back to traditional schools as unbearable as possible.

Theory:
I don't believe the BOE has little better to do than to plot revenge on the populace. I think the School Board is bound by budgetary restrictions that hamper necessary changes. It costs money to convert 22 schools to Year Round and this late in the game, much of that money had probably already been spent or was allocated.

It was most likely not an option to abort the conversion, specially considering the fallout when the 2007-2008 budget is looked at and the BOE has to answer to the lost funds due to a halt in the production.

Considering the possibility that those 22 schools may have eventually converted in the coming years anyway due to undeniable growth trends this county has seen, I couldn't blame the Board for wrapping up the expenditures in the nearly completed conversion, even if it forced them to scramble to fulfill their commitments to the parents wanting to remain traditional.

Face it - Here We Are. Pointing fingers will help nobody at this stage. Work with your Board as they struggle to make ends meet with overcrowded (and undercrowded) schools, teacher and other resource shortages, and hammered bus schedules. I may be in the minority with this belief, but I feel that the Wake County Board of Education is on the right track in their attempts to make the system work for ALL our kids. Let's cut them a break, shall we, and let them attend to the matters at hand.
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Wake County Judge Blocks Year Round Schools

Well, Wake County parents, you got what you wanted. I hope you're prepared to stand at the bus stop with your toddler in the dark at 6:15 AM, or to eat dinner with your child at 8:00 PM if your traditional calendar school goes to split shifts.
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No Need 2 Speed in North Carolina

The N.C. Highway Patrol and local police across the state are stepping up speed-limit enforcement this week as part of a statewide campaign called "No Need 2 Speed."

The News and Observer showed penalties for breaking posted speed limits. For example, if the speed limit were 55 or above, and a motorist were found to be traveling 0-5 MPH over that limit, the fine would be $120.

Excuuuuse me? "Zero" to five miles above the limit? So let me get this straight. If the limit is 55 MPH, and I am going fifty-five miles per hour, I am subjecting myself to a fine of a hundred and twenty dollars?!?

I hope I can prevent myself from getting caught Three Times In A Row.

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What? No Crème Brûlée??

Last night we went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the Triangle Area. Our Italian haunts include:

• Casa Carbone
• Ragazzi's
• Johnny Carino's
• Romano's Macaroni Grill
• Carrabba's
• Olive Garden
• California Pizza Kitchen

Of those, only Casa Carbone is not a chain, but these are the places we go to when we feel like Italian in the North Raleigh region we live in here in the Triangle.

Anyway, last night we hit Carrabba's on Capital Blvd. When we walked in at 5:30 on a Saturday night, we were told the wait would be an hour to an hour and ten minutes. No Prob, we thought, as when they say there's a 60-70 minute wait, we're usually seated in about 25 minutes.

Well, guess what. Last night we were seated at 6:40, exactly an hour and ten minutes after we arrived. That's cool, I guess ...

Our server, Jason, I believe, greeted us kindly and asked how we are doing this evening. I always have to bite my tongue to avoid saying, We're famished, thank you very much, due to the wait for this table. But how could I? They warned of a 60-70 minute wait, and that's how long it took. Instead, we gave him a generic, Fine, and you?

Anyway, one of the first things he said to us, in addition to the daily specials, was that the dessert of the day was Crème Brûlée, however, it was so popular that it was already sold out.

I am somewhat of a sarcastic person at times, so I said, "What? No Crème Brûlée?? WELL, then..." Like we were going to walk out then and there. Of course, I was just joking. Truth be told, although I have heard of Crème Brûlée, I don't really know what it is, nor do I really care because we usually don't order dessert anyway in a restaurant. Who has room after all that bread, salad or soup, and the dinner?

Soon after Jason left to get our drinks, I said to Kathy, Why would he tell us that they were out of the dessert of the day? What's the point if we cannot order it? Was he telling us in the event we were told, Be sure to go to Carrabba's and get the Crème Brûlée, in order to spare us from the agony of waiting an hour and ten minutes, (in spite of being warned,) only to find out later that they were out? If that were the case, they should announce that right at the door. "Welcome to Carrabba's. The wait's about an hour to an hour and ten minutes, and by the way, there's no Crème Brûlée."

The drinks soon arrived, and that's the last I thought about the Crème Brûlée while we were there. (There's something about the arrival of the drinks that causes one to forget about a LOT of things.)

Anyway, it was later in the evening after we had came home that the thought of the mystery surrounding the announcement of no Crème Brûlée that it hit me. Jason was simply explaining, in a round-about way, why our seating was so delayed. More people than usual were ordering dessert last evening. And of course, when more desserts are served, it pushes out all remaining seating.

Any restaurant personnel care to confirm or deny my theory?

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A good night's sleep

About two years ago, NC's Triangle city Raleigh got a bad ice storm that clogged traffic for hours as motorists struggled to navigate slippery roads that city workers couldn't effectively clear.

More about that in a bit, but first, let's talk about one of my favorite pastimes: sleeping.

I need at least six things to get a good night's sleep:

The bedding needs to be (1) warm, (2) soft, and (3) not too short for my body, and the environment needs to be (4) dark, (5) quiet, and (6) safe.

I CAN sleep with less than that, of course - after all, I have slept at relatives' houses with one or two missing. But if I want to get a REALLY good night's rest, it's most helpful if I can have all of the six ingredients. I didn't get that one night in the winter of '05 when a freak ice storm hit Raleigh and the surrounding areas.

Weather services were calling for "a chance of light snow," but what came in its place was an ice adventure residents would not forget any time soon. All roads were covered in a thin sheet of ice that made driving nearly impossible. Southerners are not used to driving on slippery roads as they are in the northern states, so there were quite a lot of accidents and near accidents that day.


Eight hours?

The media would report that it took some motorists 8 hours or more to travel just a few miles to get home from work or school that day. Traffic barely crawled. I left my office at 1:30 that afternoon and at 7:00 that evening I had only traveled five miles. I still had another five miles left. The later in the day it got, the slower traffic would become.

The last straw was when I had gotten to one of the main roads in the city. It took 45 minutes to make the left turn onto the road - (I think I counted about 7-10 traffic lights I sat through trying to make that turn.) Then I sat on that road for three hours, traveling only 2/10 mile. Two tenths of a mile. That's a bit over a thousand FEET. I called my wife three times in the three hours and told her I was still trying to pass a certain automobile dealership.

Finally, I got sick of waiting and cut down a side street that took me to a local shopping mall. I figured if I crashed there for the night, I could try to tackle perhaps a clearer road in the morning. After sitting in my car for eight and a half hours, I was exhausted and hungry. I called my wife and told her I'd be there in the morning. It was ten o'clock.

As luck would have it, the local sports bar took pity on me and served me a chicken platter five minutes after the kitchen had closed, so at least I finally got a good hot meal that evening. I checked traffic after my dinner, but found it was still backed up, so I returned inside the mall to try to get some sleep.


Sleep?

Getting that sleep, on the other hand, proved to be elusive. At first I sprawled out on one of the sofas the mall has strewn about within the interior hallways. But I wasn't there five minutes when security informed me that all stranded motorists were asked to stay in the food court area if they intended to spend the night. There were many mothers and kids there with blankets they had in their minivans, but otherwise there were no really good places to lay down to try to get some rest.

All I had in my car was an additional heavy jacket, so that was to become my bed, or half-bed as it were. The food court floor was hard and cold. The area was somewhat well-lit and still quite noisy with mothers tending to kids and people walking about. It didn't feel too safe for sleeping, either.

But sleep I did get, for at about 2:00 I awoke and realized I had indeed fallen asleep. I got up, "refreshed" myself in the men's room and returned to my "bed." I tried to sleep again, but then I had a thought. It occurred to me that unlike when I entered the mall, now I was well fed, and somewhat rested. Why not give it a go and hit the road again?

Sure enough traffic had cleared by then. In fact, in the remaining five miles to my home, I think I saw only about three other cars on the road. (I did see, however, many cars OFF the road and abandoned - victims of the bad icy conditions.) It took the usual 15 minutes or so to travel from the mall to my house.

I walked in the door at about 2:30 in the morning, thirteen hours after I had left the office.


Back to sleep

It was later it occurred to me the things I truly desire in order to get a good night's sleep, because that night, I had none of them. Unlike having bedding that's warm, soft, and long enough for my body, and an environment that's dark, quiet, and safe, my bed was cold, hard, and too short, in a place that was bright, noisy, and potentially unsafe. But for the remainder of THAT night, I had everything I needed. I can't recall the last time I felt so comfortable in a bed.

I also don't think I'll ever forget that night.

Make up your mind, please ...

Here's a photo of a sign at a popular drug store in the Triangle. This is what you see as you enter the parking lot. Is it any wonder some senior citizens complain about being confused?