Does Corruption Come In All Sizes?

[HARDCORE]

Does corruption come in all sizes, or does one size fit all, that is the question?

Of late, it seems that corruption, unintentional or intentional, seems to have infiltrated all levels of bureaucracy, as well as it?s (sometimes) captive society ! If it is not of a political nature, or a bureaucratic venue, then it is a corruption of the privileged, and this is the worse corruption of all, for it infects the soul as well as the mind and body!

The most potent weapons of the corrupt are the lies, misused power and trust, outright intimidation, and worse of all, the herd (or clique) mentality! (Bark on command!)

Of late, although I am sure that this is not a neo-phenomenon, wrong has become right, just so long as enough people are willing to swear to untruth or involve themselves in an agenda that has no place in a democratic society (opinion) - and this social tragedy is often one of leading by virtue of absolute control alone! In other words, what was once considered an abomination, if now conducted by the socially an politically correct, is perfectly OK, if not in contents, then surely by virtue of numbers!

And what are the parameters of corruption, which form of this social illness and proclaim it as acceptable? And when does the abject liar become the acceptable team player, and maybe even the team?s leader? (When indeed?)

If you thought that I was sounding off upon an elaborate, highly placed scale, you just may be in error! ?This diatribe is far more immediate!?

In the last week alone, I have seen my car bastardized in a rural area that, before this time, has witnessed no similar damage in some 15 years. A plastic bag had been tied tightly around my catalytic converter, and my rear bumper was cracked near the center (both of these incidents took place outside of a military facility)!

A short time later, my radiator destroyed in the middle of the night, and my solid (hard) wood door was literally smashed in while we were away from the house in broad daylight! ?And all of this occured within a relatively short span of time!? (Amazing)

Did I acquire any new enemies within this brief span of time you ask? Well I did stop in the desert to help a military man who was in dire straits physically and car-wise, escorted him to his base a few hundred miles distant, later paid for the transportation of his family to the area of his base, took them to the doctor when needed, especially while the gent was deployed, and even bought gas for their car on several occasions when they said that they were broke!?

?Oh, I forgot to mention one small little matter!? While this kid was deployed out to sea for several months, I and my wife, at the husband?s request, checked in on this gal now and then to see if she and her child had any needs! ?And maybe this was where the problem began!??

Upon stopping one day to see if she needed milk (or anything) for her child, stretched out on the couch was a burly-looking gent, and definitely not the husband! He arose and introduced himself as an old friend of the family, which I accepted, it being really none of my business to begin with. Later, however, I learned that the kid out on deployment had never-ever met this moved-in gent, or so he said!? (Oh My!!)

Shortly after the kid?s return, all hell broke lose, the kid was given the boot from his own home, and the mysterious gent had moved right in! ?Is this what is meant by military replacements??

Feeling sorry for the kid, within reasonable parameters of course, I drove the kid a time or two to his base when he got stranded. And for the record, it was while waiting to give the kid a ride from his base to another town one day, that the fun (?) began!? After driving some 20 miles or so down the road, the most God-Awful smell began to fill the car. I stopped to check it out and learned that (witnessed) a plastic grocery bag had been snugly tied around my catalytic converter, a very hot part of any car!

The bag had already turned nearly black, and was stuck (glued by the extreme heat) to the converter. ?Why this thing did not ignite was anyone?s guess?? I also noted later, that my rear bumper (plastic) had also been cracked open like an egg!

Well, I thought that things had leveled off a bit until a few days back when I noticed a nice, neat little hole punched into my radiator, with anti-freeze pouring out! I immediately bought a container of sealant and that seemed to have done the job! Until that is, about two days later, when another crack (leak) appeared in the upper water tank in the shape of a screw-driver or Philips head! I then bought another container of sealant, followed by yet another, in an attempt to plug the holes!

Not being totally stupid, I then called the police to show them the damage to my rear bumper and radiator! I opened my door to my home, not paying much attention at the time, and awaited the law!

Well, not long afterwards, a deputy arrived and I showed him the damage to my small auto. He apparently took no report, but did mention the names of people that I referenced earlier in this piece! Let me add at this time that I have never (to my knowledge) seen this deputy before, him being relatively new to my area in the boonies!

As the deputy drove off, I attempted to close my door, only to discover that the door frame had been shattered. The lock plate fell off on the floor, and the only thing holding the door was the deadbolt, and that by a hair I might add!

I immediately called the deputy back to show him the door damage, and he assured me (or rather himself) that the door frame was weak and that probably accounted for the massive damage! Of course, the soleprint that was still visible on the door never entered the conversation?. And still later, I was informed by said deputy that, no written report had been made! (Amazing again)

Today I called to tell the same deputy that I was considering filing an insurance report (Claim). The deputy advised me that this was not a wise move to make, as with the deductible, I would probably end up paying for most (if not all) of the damage anyway! ?Why not?, I was advised, ?just pay for the radiator, the rear end damage, and the house door myself, it would probably be cheaper in a long run!?

And so it is, FOR NOW!?

I still, however, find it an amazing coincidence that my rear bumper was split, a plastic bag got mysteriously tied around my catalytic converter, my radiator got punctured (twice) and my house door was nearly bashed in! ?How could I ever have been so lucky!??

Oh, and as for that sage-like advice not to bother my insurance company by filing a claim, I never was too smart, however, so the officer will just have to excuse this poor boy if he turns the matter over to his insurance company [if that does any good], and from there ---?

?I guess that my car could really catch hell now!?

Who was responsible for this coincidental (?) rash of attacks against my meager possessions and my wheels you ask - HELL IF I KNOW - YET!! ?But I am prepared, within the law of course, to handle any attempted encores!!?

VERITAS