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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > May > 08 > Entry
Lithonia is like a family drama at Thanksgiving
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the continuing drama (or comedy, which appears to be the emerging reaction from the public) the Lithonia City Council , police and the mayor are still at it I think.
I’m not sure. I mean, every once in a while the mayor gets on TV and shows off her new bruise and claims a bunch of new stuff—dramatically delivering a very emotional but, sadly, boring view of whatever she was talking about.
This comes as no surprise to the people of Lithonia. Apparently there is a history. An April 25th article in the AJC noted that in 2005, newly elected councilwoman Linda Pruett complained that her neighbor blew leaves onto her yard.
She blew them back and the case was later settled in court—an example to the people of Lithonia as to how city leaders communicate to solve problems. Pruett’s nemesis, Doreen Carter was elected to the council in 2007 and they sit in each council session—and don’t speak.
This is starting to look like the family’s Thanksgiving dinner when Uncle Dewey brought his new girlfriend to meet the family. Her name was Jewel and she worked at a Café Erotica down near Byron, home of the second Atlanta International Pop Festival. I saw Jimi Hendrix there. My friend Skeet saw Jesus.
Well, anyway, Thanksgiving Day started out fine but went south when my other uncle, Uncle Bastogne, who drove a truck for J.W. Whitlock’s Lumber Emporium in Hiram, recognized Jewel and worse, Jewel recognized him and proceeded to go after him for apparently owing some back cash on some lap dances a few weeks back.
Uncle Dewey, who spent most of his time in the north Georgia region, never took to Uncle Bastogne because he thought he was French. In fact, one of my other uncles, Uncle Ricky Lee, told me that Uncle Bastogne’s name came from an argument that his mother and her alleged boyfriend had over how he was, well, brought into this world.
Uncle Ricky Lee said the argument contained a word very similar to Bastogne but according to Uncle Ricky Lee, Uncle Bastogne’s accused father couldn’t pronounce his word too well because he got his lips shot off during the war and nobody knew what the hell he was saying most of the time.
Well, eventually family ties prevailed and the uncles settled their differences over some Southern Comfort and an hour of roller derby on the UHF channel. Jewel ended up leaving with my Uncle Ricky Lee who later claimed to the judge that she tried to kill him by re-routing the exhaust line from the generator, located under the trailer, to the bedroom window so she could inherit his ceramic Elvis decanter and his pension check from Zayres.
Anyway, this feud in Lithonia now feeds off itself and apparently nobody is giving good advice to them. They don’t see that this has become a bad comedy and not something anyone is taking seriously. I would hate to write a check for city taxes because I would truly wonder what the hell I was getting for it. T
hey need to settle this and so I propose that if we can get Gary Coleman to finish up in divorce court, let’s move these people into Courtroom A and get it all out. They aren’t going to get along. Let’s get a ruling and finally decide who gets city hall. The mayor gets city hall on every other weekend and either Thanksgiving or Christmas but not both—whatever. Just end it.
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Comments
By Bre
May 8, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this
Steve you are so FUNNY. Your brain absorbs information like a sponge. Thanksgiving drama is a great comparison as to what is going on in Lithonia. I am please that you think about what you are going to say before you speak. I wish I could say the same for someone else. Steve Rose for SS PC.
By Lt. Steve
May 8, 2008 4:10 PM | Link to this
Hi Bre: You are so kind to say all those nice things. I assume the check cleared. (thanks again)
By jet lag
May 8, 2008 8:05 PM | Link to this
I just heard some excerpts from Barbara Walter’s new book. I was brought to tears when whe described how she felt when they had to shoot her mother last saturday at Churchill Downs after she came up lame across the finish line.
Anyone see the New Rodney King video of all those cops rodney-kinging that guy? The poor sod must have forgot his safe-word, eh?
By ElBubba
May 8, 2008 11:18 PM | Link to this
Lithonia… sounds like some country in Eastern Europe.
The real news is the cop on trial for murdering that poor old lady in the botched drug raid. I’ll bet they wished that guy had just plead guilty like the others, then we wouldn’t hear all of this testimony.
My hat is off to officer Arthur Tessler. He was the junior officer, standing in the back yard. I’d like to believe he stood up and went to trial to expose what was happening. He bears responsability for being involved and he’s willing to face it in court. It seems he would also like the rest of us to understand why it happened.
I just hope it never happens to me.
ElBubba
By Fred
May 9, 2008 3:44 AM | Link to this
Can we (us folks in Dekalb County) just give Lithonia to Clayton County so all the dingbats can be under one jurisdiction?
The saddest part of both the Clayton County stuff and the Lithonia stuff, is that the PEOPLE there accept it and don’t boot the idiots………
Just damn.
By Bubba, Jr.
May 9, 2008 7:48 AM | Link to this
I remember Jethro Tull at Byron. With a name like that, people thought he was from around there. The whole New York Throughway is closed, man! Wait. Wrong festival. I was on my way back to NAS Cecil and made a little side trip. I always assumed there was an NAS Beanie someplace…
By Natalie*
May 9, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this
As always, you make it worth while to navigate the site to get a belly-laugh from you!
By Natalie*
May 9, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this
As always, you make it worth while to navigate the site to get a belly-laugh from you!
By Natalie*
May 9, 2008 9:15 AM | Link to this
As always, you make it worth while to navigate the site to get a belly-laugh from you!
By Natalie*
May 9, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
As always, you make it worth while to navigate the site to get a belly-laugh from you!
By gadyke
May 9, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
El Bubba - I need your blog address again…
By Cindy
May 9, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
Can we (us folks in Dekalb County) just give Lithonia to Clayton County
Dang Fred…I JUST said that very thing like 30 minutes ago.
By mayretter local
May 9, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this
Funny column Steve. Love the Int’l Pop Fest reference!! btw- you can relive part of that festival, the Allman Brothers opening set from 7/3 & their closing set from 7/5 these days. Great recording of ABB live from way back when. Long live the Brothers Allman, get well soon Gregg!!!!
By Stone
May 9, 2008 11:05 AM | Link to this
Cindy it’s good to hear from you again. I was wondering whether you had left us for greener pastures.
By jet lag
May 10, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this
Hey, Cindy. Myspace called. They want their chatroom back.
Y dont we just give Lithonia back to Alabama and forget the whole thing?
Google Lithonia for the rest of the story, friends. Truth is funnier than fiction.
Joe Montana suing over old love letters? Say it aint so joe.
By Fred
May 10, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this
Myspace has a chat room?
By jet lag
May 10, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this
okay, I made that part up, but Lithonia was once part of Alabama, (obviously).
By Cindy
May 10, 2008 6:12 PM | Link to this
I don’t get it. I’m sure if understood the myspace joke, I’d laugh…probable. :)
Stone, I thought that was you posting in the other blogs too…I’ll have to go check, but I could’ve sworn I saw the name stone.
But yep, I’m around.
By jet lag
May 10, 2008 6:51 PM | Link to this
It wasn’t a joke. They want their chatroom back. I dont know why they called me.
Just passing on the message.
By Cindy
May 10, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this
oh. ok. I’m lost.
carry on…
By Fred
May 11, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this
I don’t think anyone called you jet lag. You just are feeling inadequate and wanted to try to boss someone around. Glad we could be here to help with your therapy.
Hi Cindy? How about them Braves?
By Cindy
May 11, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this
Hiya right back at ya Fred.
By jet lag
May 12, 2008 7:04 AM | Link to this
This blog is about the einsteins who are pioneering the rocket science it takes to invent the MO’s with which criminal geniuses reveal their brilliance. It’s also about people. We’re all bozos on this bus.
Mostly, though, it’s about what it takes to devote your life to public service the way a policeman does. Steve Rose has to endure the vindictive diatribes from El Bubba and Stone, (alias Fred), who are virulent anti-cop sociopaths, and who dont even try to disquise their contempt for Officer Steve, or his constiuents.
Now, I emailed Steve Rose, and asked him if he wanted me to de-troll this blog which the three stooges have turned into a useless chatroom. (Sic Semper Trollanus)
But what I learned is that supporting policework is a community service deal. that even if I despise the part of a person’s mind which happened to survive neo-natal crack addiction, as revealed in their syntax, that I may never interfere, or judge. Just because someone else’s neurology is motivating research projects, that doesn’t mean I’m any better. You just have to let it be.
Steve Rose understands that all blogs turn into chatrooms for the chatters. So what? He offers, we read.
So Steve Rose leads with personal example, and the community benefits.
By Cindy
May 12, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
Ok thank you. I won’t dirty up the blog with my useless comments anymore then. Sorry for ruining it. I simply misunderstood.
By Fred
May 12, 2008 4:34 PM | Link to this
LOL jet lag uses many aliases because he is to cowardly to stick with one. He is like the pimple on a fleas butt. It irritates the flea, but doesn’t bother me.
Yo brainiac? Let me clue you into something. The blogs are judged by management based upon the POST COUNT. Steve doesn’t care if we discuss thew annual production of Yak dung on ethiopia, as long as we do it on HIS blog.
Just damn you are a putz. The sad thing is though, that you aren’t even a GOOD putz.
SO jet lag, how about them Braves?
By ElBubba
May 12, 2008 5:25 PM | Link to this
I want to post a vindictive diatribe but I’m not sure what I’m mad about today. Maybe we’ll get some more interesting testimony from those cops that killed the old woman…
I’d like to rant a bit about Hillary, or should I call it chat? Somebody needs to Taze some sense into the Senator. She’s like an ex girlfriend that just doesn’t realize it really is over. It’s almost like stalking. Maybe she could help out in Lithonia?
Jet Lag seems to think I don’t like the Lt. nothing could be further from the truth, I admire him. I like his style. It’s the only blog I regularly look at.
I’m really here to irritate Jet Lag so I might just chat on for a bit. I might hit the post button three times just to prove that I’m irritating. Does that give Lt. Steve more blog points? I’ll help any way I can.
I’ve never been called a sociopath before. I guess in the blog world that would be going around to different blogs and irritating people. Actually I posted on that blog about the postal rates going up, that’s a start, one might call it “Going Postal”.
That cop thing in Philadelphia was pretty cool. I guess they didn’t have Tasers. Jet Lag, did you get a kick out of that?
El Bubba
By Kennesaw Dave
May 12, 2008 6:52 PM | Link to this
Steve,
You have a way with words sir. That article and take on Lithonia was a bright spot in my otherwise hectic Monday. On a serious not though, is there no one that can just come like say the county and stop this mess. I understand that there’s probably a constitutional law or state law violation in that suggestion. But seriously is there not a process for running things when chaos like this happens. Granted, I’m not suggesting martial law but what do you do when you live in a city where the leaders are more concerned with drama than leading and doing what is best for it’s citizens?
By love my Brazilian wife
May 12, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this
El Bubba, Stone and Cindy….y’all are tops in my book. El Bubba, we got off on the wrong foot and I’m to blame for that. As for JET LAG, there’s no helping him/her. Whoever jet lag is, he or she really needs to get laid.
Lt. Steve….you are a total nut. Your blogs are the best in the world.
By Stone
May 12, 2008 9:35 PM | Link to this
Thanks dude! Love my Filipino wife.
By Fred
May 13, 2008 1:56 AM | Link to this
I get no love from love my Brazilian wife. I’m simply mortified. Oh the horror.
Nice ramble El Bubba, like you I have no purpose in this post other than to irritate jet lag, or whatever name it will use next………
How about them Braves?
By Stone
May 13, 2008 6:18 AM | Link to this
Call me slow, but I totally missed the “insults” by jet lag. I seem to recognize the syntax, though. “Anti-cop”, “contempt for Lt. Rose” where does that come from? Please find one thing I have said that is anti-cop, anti-Rose, just one. Though admittedly, back in the day, I was arrested numerous times by the cops, they all treated me with respect, saw that I was just a petty criminal/drunk and were basically nice guys towards me. I have since testified as an eye witness in a cop killing trial and would assist any cop, any time, anywhere in anyway who is in trouble just to show my appreciation for all the times they put up with my misdemeanor ways. Anti-cop? Hardly! Please, jet lag or hans apology or whatever you are calling yourself today, find me even one word against cops, Lt. Steve or the law in any of my posts and I’ll apologize profusely to you. You really need to get your facts straight, buddy, for you couldn’t be further from the truth. At least it shows how much credit we should afford your posts from now on.