Another day in retirement paradise!
Yesterday was fairly busy, a quick trip to China-Mart for a few provisions before the weather turns foul again, then a follow-up doctor appointment, and home to a great roast beef supper my better half had prepared.
Today, a total contrast to yesterday! No real plans in the offing. Just us, a comfortable recliner and the TV.
We have discussed a possible trip to Micky D's at noon for an artery clogger, but no real movement in that direction, only discussion. For the moment, life is grand!
Thinking about all of the years of getting up early, getting ready for work, then dragging home after twelve hours of mind numbing grief, all seems as if it didn't exist, Oh sure, plenty of instant flashbacks,and memories, but still, almost surreal. Forty five years of it, unbelievable!
Well, better get with it, I can almost taste that dollar double cheeseburger right now!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Social Insecurity
Well, time to climb on the soap box again!
I have been reading about how the proposed tax cuts will impact Social Security. If these tax cuts fly, there will certainly be smaller amounts of money going in to help fund the program! The thing that gives me the ruberis anaii is if the politicians had kept their greedy hands off of Social Security, the program would have continued to fund itself as it was intended. The monies in the program belong to the American people, we contributed to the program all of our working years. Did anyone ask us if congress could gut the program?
Unfortunately, money was stolen from Social Security on the sly, over the past 15 or so years, fooling the American people once again.
Now, they want to boost the full retirement age up to 69, What a joke! Just how many people today do you know that are physically able to work in construction and industry until they would become 69 years old?
Workers will have to retire at an earlier age, thus receiving reduced benefits and creating a subsistence lifestyle in their older years. Al Gore was right when he said that "Social Security should be put in a lock box"
He could smell a rat, even years ago!
I do agree with the premis that non U.S. citizens, should not be given benefits nor Medicare. Cut them out of the programs and watch how quickly the flow across the U.S., Mexican border reverses itself. Maybe not the humanitarian thing to do, but no other country that I know of will allow illegals in their country to become wards of the state.
Then The Prez, manipulates his advisers into twisting the figures around, basing the cost of living on gas prices, thus proclaiming there will be no COLA for Social Security recipients for two years. What a sham! Prices have increased across the board for everything, food, utilities, you name it. The geezers, rather than going along with it should have revolted, but it didn't happen, There again, whose money is it!
When and if, the talking heads in Washington, start reducing our monthly benefit checks, probably their next step, we will then know for sure that our nation is on the skids.
I have been reading about how the proposed tax cuts will impact Social Security. If these tax cuts fly, there will certainly be smaller amounts of money going in to help fund the program! The thing that gives me the ruberis anaii is if the politicians had kept their greedy hands off of Social Security, the program would have continued to fund itself as it was intended. The monies in the program belong to the American people, we contributed to the program all of our working years. Did anyone ask us if congress could gut the program?
Unfortunately, money was stolen from Social Security on the sly, over the past 15 or so years, fooling the American people once again.
Now, they want to boost the full retirement age up to 69, What a joke! Just how many people today do you know that are physically able to work in construction and industry until they would become 69 years old?
Workers will have to retire at an earlier age, thus receiving reduced benefits and creating a subsistence lifestyle in their older years. Al Gore was right when he said that "Social Security should be put in a lock box"
He could smell a rat, even years ago!
I do agree with the premis that non U.S. citizens, should not be given benefits nor Medicare. Cut them out of the programs and watch how quickly the flow across the U.S., Mexican border reverses itself. Maybe not the humanitarian thing to do, but no other country that I know of will allow illegals in their country to become wards of the state.
Then The Prez, manipulates his advisers into twisting the figures around, basing the cost of living on gas prices, thus proclaiming there will be no COLA for Social Security recipients for two years. What a sham! Prices have increased across the board for everything, food, utilities, you name it. The geezers, rather than going along with it should have revolted, but it didn't happen, There again, whose money is it!
When and if, the talking heads in Washington, start reducing our monthly benefit checks, probably their next step, we will then know for sure that our nation is on the skids.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
News Overload
I Think I'm suffering from news overload! It's almost like an addiction, you know too much is bad for you, but you just have to have the next story!
The local news is about the same anywhere you go, murders, hold ups, accidents,and local politics, the format is pretty much the same across the U.S., but then you get a dose of the national news! This is news that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. This is where you get the mother load of political stupidity from all of the egotistical fools we have elected. The game of our side wins, to H*ll with what the American people want, goes on every day. It's a train riding on greased rails and we, the people, are standing at the stop block, waiting to be run over!
Next you get clobbered with the war news in Afganistan, a country where local serfdom's rule and have ruled for centuries. A country where no real national government exists. If the Russians with the brutality in fighting they have could'nt do it, we should have taken a lesson! Then the Wikileaks mess! This Guy Assange
needs sombody to open a can of whop-ass on him and his shadow followers. Then you have our beloved Prez. What a work of art!
The list goes on and on. The government keeps the propaganda machine well oiled, and the news media spoon feeds it to us all day on the news channels. I know we are lucky to live in a country where we have access to (unfiltered, Ha!) news, and the right to express our views.
I used to work with a fellow who was oblivious of any current news events, he did'nt complicate his life
with any news unless it directly affected him, maybe he was smarter than I gave him credit for!
The local news is about the same anywhere you go, murders, hold ups, accidents,and local politics, the format is pretty much the same across the U.S., but then you get a dose of the national news! This is news that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. This is where you get the mother load of political stupidity from all of the egotistical fools we have elected. The game of our side wins, to H*ll with what the American people want, goes on every day. It's a train riding on greased rails and we, the people, are standing at the stop block, waiting to be run over!
Next you get clobbered with the war news in Afganistan, a country where local serfdom's rule and have ruled for centuries. A country where no real national government exists. If the Russians with the brutality in fighting they have could'nt do it, we should have taken a lesson! Then the Wikileaks mess! This Guy Assange
needs sombody to open a can of whop-ass on him and his shadow followers. Then you have our beloved Prez. What a work of art!
The list goes on and on. The government keeps the propaganda machine well oiled, and the news media spoon feeds it to us all day on the news channels. I know we are lucky to live in a country where we have access to (unfiltered, Ha!) news, and the right to express our views.
I used to work with a fellow who was oblivious of any current news events, he did'nt complicate his life
with any news unless it directly affected him, maybe he was smarter than I gave him credit for!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Life on the ridge
Early morning, a hot cup of coffee, 26 degrees outside and the furnace warming the house. Quiet, what a wonderful sound! Being retired does have it's rewards at times. It has been five years since I directed my last funeral. I had been counting the days until I would drive the funeral coach back to the home, hang up the keys, and walk away from 45 years of an occupation that was my life.
It took a long time for me to realize what retirement was, to gear down, and start to relish every day as a new adventure. Even the small things like a good cup of coffee, on a cold winter morning, fantastic!
We have been back in middle Tennessee now for almost two years. Our little village sits on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau where it makes a half moon back to the east above Nashville. We have noticed that there is always a breeze up here on the ridge, and that we are always a degree or two cooler than Nashville.
The TV weather forecast, is never quite on the mark for up here, which makes a weather radio even more important, but, there again, we are retired, who cares, right!
Well, I'm burning daylight, so need to get up and get with the program for the day, maybe a little Christmas shopping, or maybe not. What a life!
It took a long time for me to realize what retirement was, to gear down, and start to relish every day as a new adventure. Even the small things like a good cup of coffee, on a cold winter morning, fantastic!
We have been back in middle Tennessee now for almost two years. Our little village sits on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau where it makes a half moon back to the east above Nashville. We have noticed that there is always a breeze up here on the ridge, and that we are always a degree or two cooler than Nashville.
The TV weather forecast, is never quite on the mark for up here, which makes a weather radio even more important, but, there again, we are retired, who cares, right!
Well, I'm burning daylight, so need to get up and get with the program for the day, maybe a little Christmas shopping, or maybe not. What a life!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Sleigh Bells
Several years ago when our two oldest grandkids were preschoolers, they, and their parents made the trip to Georgia to spend Christmas with us.
They arrived a few days before Christmas, so there was plenty of time to get them hyper-excited about Old Santa's visit. The house was decorated, Tree was up, and the smell of fresh baked cookies was in the air.
Finally Christmas eve arrived. Getting them to bed took a lot of work, then just when you thought they were asleep, here they would come back to the living room. It was shaping up to be a no sleep night!
On their next round to the bedroom, I thought I'd have some fun! I had a rack of big sleigh bells, snuck out the door, went to the corner of the house and set up a jingle like they were on a horse, all the time in my Santa voice hollering "Merry Christmas" several times. I shot back into the house. They came charging into the living room, knowing, with out question, that they had heard Santa!!! They finally did go to sleep, but I was roundly chastised for my actions!!! A few days later, my neighbor mentioned that they had woke up to the sound of bells and someone yelling "Merry Christmas". I told them it must have been some drunk in the neighborhood!!!!!
They arrived a few days before Christmas, so there was plenty of time to get them hyper-excited about Old Santa's visit. The house was decorated, Tree was up, and the smell of fresh baked cookies was in the air.
Finally Christmas eve arrived. Getting them to bed took a lot of work, then just when you thought they were asleep, here they would come back to the living room. It was shaping up to be a no sleep night!
On their next round to the bedroom, I thought I'd have some fun! I had a rack of big sleigh bells, snuck out the door, went to the corner of the house and set up a jingle like they were on a horse, all the time in my Santa voice hollering "Merry Christmas" several times. I shot back into the house. They came charging into the living room, knowing, with out question, that they had heard Santa!!! They finally did go to sleep, but I was roundly chastised for my actions!!! A few days later, my neighbor mentioned that they had woke up to the sound of bells and someone yelling "Merry Christmas". I told them it must have been some drunk in the neighborhood!!!!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
New Picture
Well, I still don't know what I'm doing! Picture came out billboard size on the blog. Oh well, been messing with this long enough for today. The grand kids can run circles around this old man on the computer.
See ya!
See ya!
Old Cars
Dapper Dan, The Cumberland Post stirred memories of old cars I have owned. I say old cars, because they were old when I bought them!
My first car, a '53 Crosley station wagon. I only had this tin box a few months as it would not go in the snow, and there was no heater! Not a Michigan car for sure.
The next car was a '48 Plymouth coupe. Bought it from a neighbor, and it was great in snow with it's knobby snow tires, that would sng to you on dry pavemant. It had a great dashboard, and the radio was really good.
The engine threw a connecting rod drag racing at a stop light. I beat the Olds, and a block later she blew.
By this time I was 17, and on my feet again with no car!
I spotted a '49 Chevy fastback in a yard with a for sale sign on it. A great $50.00 car! The engine had been replaced with a six out of a garbage truck that had a shorter stroke. It would only go 60 MPH, but you could pull stumps with it, great torque. It had been a family car that was well cared for. Good paint and very little rust. I put a set of Firestone Town and Country snow tires on it, and never did get stuck in the snow. I kept it all through high school.
After high school, I sold the old Chevy, and headed south. I found a 55 Dodge Royal Lancer, Hemi with a standard trans. It was a fantastic car. Power, looks, and loaded! I put side pipes on it and the Hemi would talk to you! I kept that car until 1964, traded it in on a new Dodge Dart. The Dart was to last for 100K miles.
Those old cars were easy to work on, a tune up was a breeze, and nothing major ever went wrong with them, 'cept for the Plymouth throwing a rod, my bad! Favorites, yep, the 55 Dodge Royal Lancer was it.
Wish I had it today!
My first car, a '53 Crosley station wagon. I only had this tin box a few months as it would not go in the snow, and there was no heater! Not a Michigan car for sure.
The next car was a '48 Plymouth coupe. Bought it from a neighbor, and it was great in snow with it's knobby snow tires, that would sng to you on dry pavemant. It had a great dashboard, and the radio was really good.
The engine threw a connecting rod drag racing at a stop light. I beat the Olds, and a block later she blew.
By this time I was 17, and on my feet again with no car!
I spotted a '49 Chevy fastback in a yard with a for sale sign on it. A great $50.00 car! The engine had been replaced with a six out of a garbage truck that had a shorter stroke. It would only go 60 MPH, but you could pull stumps with it, great torque. It had been a family car that was well cared for. Good paint and very little rust. I put a set of Firestone Town and Country snow tires on it, and never did get stuck in the snow. I kept it all through high school.
After high school, I sold the old Chevy, and headed south. I found a 55 Dodge Royal Lancer, Hemi with a standard trans. It was a fantastic car. Power, looks, and loaded! I put side pipes on it and the Hemi would talk to you! I kept that car until 1964, traded it in on a new Dodge Dart. The Dart was to last for 100K miles.
Those old cars were easy to work on, a tune up was a breeze, and nothing major ever went wrong with them, 'cept for the Plymouth throwing a rod, my bad! Favorites, yep, the 55 Dodge Royal Lancer was it.
Wish I had it today!
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