IT'S DOUBTFUL THAT THINGS HAVE IMPROVED

Wednesday, 8:30 AM.  wind W trending N, light to moderate. The sky is overcast and snow is beginning to fall.  The barometer stands at 29.60, the humidity is 80%.  The roads are a little slick this morning but walkable.  It looks like we will be getting some accumulation of snow.
    It warmed up enough again yesterday to dissipate a lot of the road slush and to allow me to widen out the snow clogged driveway, which I noticed a lot of folks doing, with shovel and with snow blower.
    In the post office  yesterday  I struck up a conversation with a stranger who said he lived out on Torbick Road.  I told him about the four turkeys we often see walking down it and he said that is because they come and feed with his chickens and think they are part of the flock.  Drives his dog nuts.
    I have been watching with a lot of interest the dust up over the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s comments that he can no longer guarantee the safety of the county’s citizens so they should take advantage of the opportunity to arm themselves for their own protection.  It is an interesting stance for the sheriff to take, and I probably agree with it in theory, but Milwaukee County is virtually all urbanized and most municipalities, from the City of Milwaukee to the smallest suburbs have their own police forces. so basic police protection is the responsibility of the municipalities.  The County Sheriff patrols the freeways, some of the park areas and the few unincorporated areas, and provides other ancillaryservices.  Obviously the Sheriff’s Department has important  responsibilities but it is not as though it were the primary law enforcement agency.
    That said, having lived in Milwaukee County for many years, the last time for several years in the major suburb of Wauwatosa, I would probably take the Sheriff’s advice and own a suitable weapon for home protection at least, if not to carry.  Twenty years ago when we lived in Wauwatosa it was not uncommon on a warm summer evening to hear gunshots from inside the Milwaukee city limits a mile or two away, something I did not experience in years of working in the Bronx and living in Westchester County, New York.  It's doubtful that things have improved since then.