What it comes down to is something that I was told about 30 years ago... 'Your Life will be much simpler once you accept the fact that we are all Dixie Cups. Nobody in their right mind ever patches a Dixie Cup. They are a dime a dozen. Throw it away and get another...!' :(
My wife's cousin and her husband both have taken bus routes to supplement their farm's income. Around here drivers are locked in at the beginning of the school year and there have been times when, because of fluctuations in fuel prices, they have lost money every time they start a bus. My wife and I don't know anyone who isn't struggling in one way or another. Maybe that's why I appreciate your articles so much.
The recession during the Carter years was brutal. Many people today don't know that the country went through a financial crisis during the late Nixon - Carter years that the country has never recovered from. Double digit inflation is something that doesn't reset after a recovery. I am much more than sad for what has happened to our country, I am heartbroken.
They were hard times but I still marvel at the change we've had in our country. My pay grade was 2nd from the bottom yet a family of three could live on my 40 hour check. Years ago Deb found our old budget box and we could feed three on $13 a week. I filled up my 1965 Plymouth Fury III for a shade over $25 once a month (25 gallon gas tank). Even at that, though, we were falling behind. We had all the bills everybody else does and there was more going out than coming in. I finally swallowed my pride and went to check on some kind of assistance. We got turned down four times!
That's when I got stubborn, broke out my guitar and started doing every pickup job I could find. When I had my first nervous breakdown I was 6'1" and weighed 118lbs.
Maybe I should have sent back that big $25 wedding present Mom & Dad gave us for a rainy day...
We struggled to live within our means. That usually meant we were broke by Saturday morning. Everybody I owed money to got SOMETHING and that meant there were weeks when we had literally less than $5 to live on. For the first ten years we were married we got by with a 13" Western Auto TV. (Yeah, I know... Wish I still had it. They're collector's items now!)
Deb knew before we were married that I would never be wearing a wedding band... I know three farmers that lost their ring fingers in accidents. Just in case you don't keep up with the Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon recently tripped at home and caught his ring on the counter on the way to the floor. He was very, very lucky they could save it. None of the guys I know had that chance.
A ring is just a ring and my guitar meant too much to me to risk just because of a tradition. On our 30th anniversary I offered to have one tattooed on, but she didn't like the idea.
Reading about Bernie Sanders having his speech hijacked reminded me that I've been wanting to write you about my thoughts on the young lady (black rapper) and her comments about hating America and those 'white farmers sitting out there in the Midwest.'
[On August 8th 2015, two belligerent Black Lives Matter activists prevented Sanders, our most liberal presidential candidate, from delivering a speech in Seattle. As for the rapper, Don is referring to 23-year-old Azealia Banks. Interviewed by Playboy, she declares, "I hate everything about this country. Like, I hate fat white Americans. All the people who are crunched into the middle of America, the real fat and meat of America, are these racist conservative white people who live on their farms."]
I have no animus toward her because our life experience has been so different that we might as well live on different planets. How could I possibly be mad at someone I will never meet just because there's no way she'll ever have a clue?
Ever since our oldest grandson first came home from college wanting to lecture everyone about our 'White Privilege' it's been a pet peeve of mine. He's now 25 and out of college. He's always been bright.
The first time that we had a conversation that I filed away for future reference was when he'd just started his freshman year of high school. I don't remember exactly which celebration it was, but we were enjoying the visit and chatting about all the usual stuff. Someone brought up a topic that included taxation and I'd just said how I felt about it when he looked up at me and said, 'Grandpa... Goods and services cost money.'
This insight was delivered as if the thought had never occurred to me. I just made a mental note that we'd reached a milestone in his growth, but I said nothing to discourage him. The only advice that I give without reservation and often is that, should you find yourself in the presence of someone claiming to have all the answers, run like H*ll the other way because you are talking to either a willful liar or a fool!
I was taken aback the first time I was 'made aware' of the fantastic boon that my White Privilege had been in my life. I wish I could remember where I read this quote, because it couldn't be more appropriate than describing what passes for a 'Higher Learning' in 2015 America. 'After a certain point, education becomes indistinguishable from indoctrination.'
My wife's cousin and her husband both have taken bus routes to supplement their farm's income. Around here drivers are locked in at the beginning of the school year and there have been times when, because of fluctuations in fuel prices, they have lost money every time they start a bus. My wife and I don't know anyone who isn't struggling in one way or another. Maybe that's why I appreciate your articles so much.
The recession during the Carter years was brutal. Many people today don't know that the country went through a financial crisis during the late Nixon - Carter years that the country has never recovered from. Double digit inflation is something that doesn't reset after a recovery. I am much more than sad for what has happened to our country, I am heartbroken.
They were hard times but I still marvel at the change we've had in our country. My pay grade was 2nd from the bottom yet a family of three could live on my 40 hour check. Years ago Deb found our old budget box and we could feed three on $13 a week. I filled up my 1965 Plymouth Fury III for a shade over $25 once a month (25 gallon gas tank). Even at that, though, we were falling behind. We had all the bills everybody else does and there was more going out than coming in. I finally swallowed my pride and went to check on some kind of assistance. We got turned down four times!
Maybe I should have sent back that big $25 wedding present Mom & Dad gave us for a rainy day...
We struggled to live within our means. That usually meant we were broke by Saturday morning. Everybody I owed money to got SOMETHING and that meant there were weeks when we had literally less than $5 to live on. For the first ten years we were married we got by with a 13" Western Auto TV. (Yeah, I know... Wish I still had it. They're collector's items now!)
Deb knew before we were married that I would never be wearing a wedding band... I know three farmers that lost their ring fingers in accidents. Just in case you don't keep up with the Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon recently tripped at home and caught his ring on the counter on the way to the floor. He was very, very lucky they could save it. None of the guys I know had that chance.
A ring is just a ring and my guitar meant too much to me to risk just because of a tradition. On our 30th anniversary I offered to have one tattooed on, but she didn't like the idea.
Reading about Bernie Sanders having his speech hijacked reminded me that I've been wanting to write you about my thoughts on the young lady (black rapper) and her comments about hating America and those 'white farmers sitting out there in the Midwest.'
[On August 8th 2015, two belligerent Black Lives Matter activists prevented Sanders, our most liberal presidential candidate, from delivering a speech in Seattle. As for the rapper, Don is referring to 23-year-old Azealia Banks. Interviewed by Playboy, she declares, "I hate everything about this country. Like, I hate fat white Americans. All the people who are crunched into the middle of America, the real fat and meat of America, are these racist conservative white people who live on their farms."]
I have no animus toward her because our life experience has been so different that we might as well live on different planets. How could I possibly be mad at someone I will never meet just because there's no way she'll ever have a clue?
Ever since our oldest grandson first came home from college wanting to lecture everyone about our 'White Privilege' it's been a pet peeve of mine. He's now 25 and out of college. He's always been bright.
The first time that we had a conversation that I filed away for future reference was when he'd just started his freshman year of high school. I don't remember exactly which celebration it was, but we were enjoying the visit and chatting about all the usual stuff. Someone brought up a topic that included taxation and I'd just said how I felt about it when he looked up at me and said, 'Grandpa... Goods and services cost money.'
This insight was delivered as if the thought had never occurred to me. I just made a mental note that we'd reached a milestone in his growth, but I said nothing to discourage him. The only advice that I give without reservation and often is that, should you find yourself in the presence of someone claiming to have all the answers, run like H*ll the other way because you are talking to either a willful liar or a fool!
I was taken aback the first time I was 'made aware' of the fantastic boon that my White Privilege had been in my life. I wish I could remember where I read this quote, because it couldn't be more appropriate than describing what passes for a 'Higher Learning' in 2015 America. 'After a certain point, education becomes indistinguishable from indoctrination.'
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