Hey, Miss J!

For many years now, I’ve found myself on the edge of a meltdown over how many times people are hurt. The criminals far too often get away with it. And… at times, the punishment is far below what should happen because of the severity of the crime.

I’m bombarded daily with messages from the Ring app… In its Neighbors section that details shootings, armed car-jackings, assaults, package thefts, burglaries, breaking and entering, muggings, stabbings, and murders. I don’t like how many times people get away or are let off even with proof they committed the crime.

Then, there is the concern about either power-tripped law enforcement officers or lackadaisical ones that don’t want to both when you call them for a problem.

Last year, I called 911 because I felt threatened by 3 very aggressive men. The 911 operator told me that they were there to deal with “real” emergencies and that I could very easily get myself out of the situation.

There are cases of people dying in front of the firefighter’s building because the firefighters were waiting to receive a call for 911 about a person who just collapsed in front of them.

People end up kidnapped, raped, drowned, decapitated, and partially eaten.

There was a case very recently about a young teenager who was shot and killed… over sweet and sour sauce. The murderer, another young teen, was arrested… but I’ve no clue whether or not she’ll get off scot-free. Probably so, since… ‘teenage minors’ are just children who make mistakes.

Except if you know to go to your vehicle and pull out a gun to shoot someone, that means you should get adult consequences.

There’s so much, that I felt like I was losing my mind – even more than it was lost before.

But… I’ve had to face the reality that there’s nothing I can do about it.

Literally…

Nothing at all.

Instead of letting terrible news consume my days, I decided to disconnect. Even if I see stuff on Ring, I know that ultimately – there’s no way that I can fix it.

I got rid of my newspaper subscription. I can’t even find a news station properly on my TV anymore.

… Or maybe I’m not looking hard enough…

And let’s just face some very hard-hitting but basic facts.

People have just become crueler and more hateful over the years… and it’s only going to get worse.

Now, I take some practical steps. I try not to be outside driving at night – at all. I’m terrified of driving even in the daytime because people have been carjacked at all hours here.

I stick to a limited number of locations to travel to.

I never wear expensive brand clothing – never have to be honest. Some really good things can be found at the thrift store, but I do my best to avoid things that have easily seen logos on them.

I have refused to repaint my home or anything to make it look as if I have any money at all. All they’d be able to steal is dust anyways…

I’ve never repainted my car, even though I know where I can have full bodywork done on her. The place has the exact color that she is. If I wanted, I could have her original paint stripped, have the rust damage repaired and get a full repaint and sealing.

However, in light of present events, I’ll have the rust treated and sealed, if possible, but no way would I have the rust completely sanded out and repainted. I don’t want that car to look too good to the thieves.

She’s like a lot of people, really. She’s old, but not cold. Like me, she’s still going despite age.

…Sides the irony – if she was stolen, she’d likely be older than the thieves.

And due to circumstances, I haven’t been able to use my new hose to clean off all the dirt on the car. At the last car wash, the man touched the car while washing and was horrified to see all the dirt on his fingers.

He probably assumed the car was a different color… which it was at the time due to all of the grime.

Hopefully, when it heads into fall, I’ll be able to go outside without fear of being feasted on by 10,000 mosquitoes. And can give her a proper cleaning. I do want to vacuum and use my portable carpet cleaner, but I need an adapter for the cleaner to work in the car. The cable’s not long enough to reach.

For the time being, I’ll probably vacuum and search for a small handheld carpet cleaner that’s for spot cleaning at the most.

~J. Lyst

Not stressing – or at least trying to – about things I can’t control has been very beneficial to my health.

More people should try it.