Mission 6: Transportation

Learn:

Transportation is such a great thing. I mean especially for me Fierce Dreamer. Just because I am a super hero does not mean that I like walking everywhere. Luckily, for me I own a car so my days of walking are over. Thank goodness! Well before I owned a car or had a license; which was actually 6 months ago. I had to walk to and from high school every day. That was such a hassle. I mean I had to wake up 45 minutes earlier than I needed to. Plus I would have to leave for school 25-30 minutes before the actual first bell rang. On top of that I still managed to be late. Even having a car is a hassle. For one it always needs gas, and that requires money. Then occasionally problems can occur that requires fixing and that’s more money.

Going carless in Modesto isn’t that big of a deal. Okay maybe it is if you have to be somewhere at a certain time and don’t know the area really well. The obstacles of traveling carless would be that one would have to walk everywhere, but on the plus side they should be in nice shape and have nice legs ;-) If one travels carless outside of Modesto there is always the utilization of public transportation which could be a problem time wise and money wise. I mean you always have to have exact change and that also is a problem. Then you have to be aware of bus route numbers and transfers, and the time the buses arrive.

Act:

If it was up to me Fierce Dreamer I would give everyone wings so they could fly everywhere and get there speedy fast. Here I go dreaming again.  Here is my more realistic approach. As I previously stated there are various alternatives rather than driving a car. The common alternative would be walking if the destination point is considered to be semi close. Semi close would be if one can reach their destination anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. Other than that is time to use items such as a bike or skateboard. I would say that those items would definitely get someone to their destination faster than it would be walking, plus it’s a great source of exercise. Or someone could use public transportation and ride the bus. The logistics that one has to take in mind when going carless would simply be time management such as what time do they need to reach their destination by and how long do they have to get there? Then one would need to know the routes that they are taking such as how long does that route usually take and is there a short cut?

Imagine:

Considering the fact that I prefer driving over walking we need to do something about the traffic on the freeways. I mean come on people the freeway was invented as a way to get somewhere faster not to take 30 minutes just to reach the next exit. Since I Fierce Dreamer originally am from Southern California I know about traffic a little too well. Just to get to and from Los Angeles is a mission. One must leave there location 1-2 hours ahead just to reach Los Angeles. That is just ridiculous! SkyWest needs to bring back flights to Los Angeles as well. With this being said I will cause everyone within California to enter a dream like trance where they will visualize less congested freeways and faster ways to reach Los Angeles all the way from San Francisco. Thus, it’s 5 years later and with my hard work and dedication the California High Speed Rail System has been completed. Allowing people to travel to any city ranging from San Francisco to San Diego. How awesome is that! I Fierce Dreamer will be able to return home to Southern California anytime I desire. As for those people who are not willing to ride the California High Speed Rail System for 6-12 hours well take a plane. SkyWest changed their mind and are continuing with flight to Los Angeles.

Mission 5: Housing Recovery

Learn:

What a sad, sad world we live in when almost every block is filled with foreclosure signs. What are people to hope for when most people’s dreams and aspirations revolve around owning/ living in a house?  I know several families that are at risk of losing their house or that have already lost their house.  The common reason being for most people losing their house is that banks simply are not willing to work with families in need. As well as making the process of trying to negotiate the mortgage payments long and tiring. Not only that but for some strange reason new housing developments are being established which is just ridiculous because people can’t even afford to live in the houses they already own. Thank goodness there are recovery act programs that are working on putting a stop to these housing problems. The two programs I found would be beneficial are Neighborhood stabilization Program (NSP) and Making Home Affordable Program (MHAP).  The NSP focuses on stabilizing communities that have suffered from foreclosures and abandonment through the purchase and redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes and residential properties. MHAP Program is part of the Obama Administration's strategy to get the economy and the housing market back on track. MHAP because the costs of houses are in fact outrageous with all these lay-offs and pay-cuts families are struggling to provide the basic necessities and on top of that they have to stress about how they are going to make their mortgage payment. No wonder the world is going down the drain, because stress is attacking everyone. Enough of this learning it’s time for me Fierce Dreamer to step in and help those keep their houses.

Act:

We citizens are the heart of the community and if we all unite and join forces we could help put a stop to this tragedy of foreclosures that are causing our fellow neighbors to become homeless. One group that I Fierce Dreamer will form an alliance with is the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). This program focuses on providing families with financial assistance to prevent them from becoming homeless and also provide them with credit counseling. The special thing about this recovery act program is that it provides assistance to potential homeless by re-housing them in a short or medium term rental housing location. One way I Fierce Dreamer and the community can help HPRP is by lending a hand. First I will cause all those that are at risk of losing their house and those that are considered to be homeless to enter a dream like trance where they see themselves one day owning a house again without the stress of worry about how they will pay their mortgage. Then I Fierce Dreamer and the follow community members will volunteer at the HPRP to help move people into their relocation housing. Also we will put up flyers to let people know where HPRP is located so they can make donations of food or clothes.

Imagine:

Oh it’s just so delightful to be able to walk down the neighborhood streets without being bombarded with all these foreclosure signs plastered everywhere. I mean I still might see a sign every now and then by its amazing how one little step could make a big difference. Five years later and foreclosure is no longer a fear or an epidemic taking over every block.  HPRP not only gave people a new place to live, but in fact it gave people the much needed assistance to get back on their feet and be home owners again.

Mission 4: Healthy Lifestyle

Learn:

*Cough, cough…sniffle sniffle… Ahh-choo* Oh no it looks like it’s that time over year again. Unfortunately, for some families a little cold here and there can add up to be pretty expensive. Especially if they do not have the greatest health care provider or if they don’t even have health care at all. One way to help prevent seeing a doctor for every flu or cold would be to live a healthier lifestyle by eating smart, exercising on a daily basis and keeping up on vaccines.

Living a healthy lifestyle might appear to be challenging, but with the help of the community it will make it a whole lot easier. Getting healthy by yourself can be considered BORING! With the involvement of the community it will help to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly. I say forget those expensive groups and clubs like weight watchers and that one lady named Jenny Craig. Get the neighbors and family involved and start a bicycling group. Everyone has a bike, and just 30 minutes a day is great cardio. It also wouldn’t hurt Modesto to have a weekly farmers market where all sorts of great fruit and produce are available. Yummy!

Act:

Okay so here is my grand plan to ensure that everyone only visits the doctor if it’s a life or death matter. Unfortunately, this doesn’t include free healthcare because we’re not Canada and I doubt we want to be Canada because then seeing a doctor will be nearly impossible. My plan is better and simpler to accomplish. For starters parents please instill the importance of washing hands to children it kills germs. Thus, killing whatever bacteria is being spread and causing colds and flu’s. Excitingly enough my plan is to excellent to fulfill myself so with the help of my dear friend, Super Nutricia from Southern California we will get this health crisis all figured out.

Obesity is not a pretty thing. I should know firsthand considering the fact that if it wasn’t for this super suit sucking me in I would look like an apple… Sadly, eating healthy cost a fortune no wonder so many people opt for fast food and junk food. Sure fast food and junk food are nice and tasty, but the side effects are not that great. It leads to high cholesterol and diabetes. Plus most people are not aware of how many extra calories will need to be burned just by eating that junk. Not only that but it cost 200 buck-a-roos for a dingy gym membership. Now that’s just OUTRAGEOUS!

Here is what I Fierce Dreamer I am going to do. First I will make everyone enter a trance and make them eat all sorts of junk food when suddenly they will all turn into 600 pounders requiring oxygen tanks just to walk around. When they wake up they will live in fear of every eating non nutritional food ever again. Okay.. okay so maybe that won’t really work, but with the help of Super Nutricia we will start by giving everyone seeds to plant their own produce right in their back yard making it easier to choose healthy food. In order to stay fit we will set up different exercise classes for runners, bikers, walkers. Think cardio people.

Imagine:

Wow! It’s hard to believe the plan to get healthy worked and our alliance has grown by 500 members. It’s great to see all the morning joggers up bright and early and the walkers out in mid-day. Throughout the neighborhoods gardens are beaming with fresh home grown produce. It’s crazy to think that a couple of weeks ago the community members were ticking time bombs thanks to their unhealthy lifestyles.

http://ww2.iehp.org/IEHP/Who+We+Are/D_SuperHeroes/SuperNutricia.htm

Mission 3: Laugh in the Face of Danger

Learn:  

Crack, bust!!! *Screaming* Help, help! Someone is robbing my house. Have no fear victimized pedestrian, Fierce Dreamer to the rescue. Now I know that these types of things happen quite often, but I must say it is becoming a hassle to save these people from vicious crimes. If only there were more people to help me out with these damsels in distress causes. Unfortunately, due to this pitiful economic crisis I am forced to take on these crimes all by my lonesome. Not that I’m complaining or anything, but more police officers, and firefighters would surely be fantastic. Bring my follow rescuers back I say!

It is devastating to learn that Modesto may lose a total of 60 positions split between 35 police officers and 10 firefighters, 13 sworn officers and a dozen community service officers. That means I Fierce Dreamer will have to fill in the spots of those 60 lost positions in order to stop burglary, vandalism, and to put out the fire. These citizens are going to put in harms ways considering the fact that most neighbor hoods do not offer any sort of security or protection. I mean not even my secret dreamer cave have security around it. Although I have to say that the neighborhood I live in before I was Fierce Dreamer did have security roaming around and no one was ever robbed. However there was still an occasional house fire now and then.

Act:

Attention... Attention my fellow citizens please stop with the crime before I Fierce Dreamer take my whole super powerness to a whole another level. Just to warn you some of you might not like what I unleash. Okay… okay that’s just my wishful thinking again coming out of my little tiny ounce of irritation.  Someone please explain to me what good can come out of cutting the jobs of police officers and firefighters. Oh yeah that’s right nothing good comes from it. So as I Fierce Dreamer take control into my own hands I will set up surveillance cameras in neighborhoods. Maybe this would trigger a sense of fright in those law breakers. Along with that every neighborhood should have their own criminal watching club. I mean who else know the people that live in your neighborhood better than you do right? The club will meet each week to discuss any suspicious activity that take place. It wouldn’t be to bad of an idea if maybe families and friends attend self defense classes.  As for the fire well that’s not really that preventable, but just in case keep a fire extinguisher handy. The more prepared people are the better they are at facing danger.

Imagine:

Destruction in my neighborhood? Ha! Bring it on. My neighbors are well prepared to take on anything brought our way. If it’s a robber we could easily take them down thanks to our wonderful self defense training.  Say if there was an incident that requires me to notify my whole neighborhood that would be all done with the touch of button. What button you may ask? Well thanks to that wonderful invention of freedom alert the word gets spread ultra fast. My neighborhood and I have took the liberty to install the freedom alert system in everyone’s house so that when one of us is in danger we just hit the button and wha-lah everyone is aware.