The Parties' Over Boys and Girls .. Now lets clean up the mess. Economics 101 Part 2
66
Dang! Ten minutes after hitting the publish button, the score went from 50 to 44! Those little down voting little slugs struck with a vengeance, and this one is right down the political center. 44? Never been down that far! (laughing)
This piece more or less tells a story. I'm trying to make the soil fertile for part three with this one. I'm very concerned with being able to cross party lines when it comes to problem solving. Those on the right and left who are hung up on insulting one another, and proving one another is stupid, ain't gonna be too comfortable with my style, I'm afraid. Part 3 will get us up close and personal with the realities, and the numbers behind the realities. Writing these pieces on the economy is draining. It's not fun, because writing the words makes the realities come to life. The good news is that we can avoid an economic catastrophe if we make the decision to roll up our sleeves and get involved. It's a mistake to think that our politicians can fix this. They're swinging at air, and can't get us out of this mess. They got us in it. You and I can do this though. I'm going to stand up to these clowns. I look forward to it. If the things I say to you make sense, give me your back. If you don't like what I have to say, go on about your business doing what ever makes you feel good. The Man With No Pants will love you anyway.
Note; the story below isn't meant to get sympathy. If you fall into that, you'll miss the message. Everything turned out fine. It does not suck to be me my friends.
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My mother divorced my dad when I was five. My daddy was a real bad drunk, and in addition to being abusive to us, he didn't feed us either. My mom never asked anyone for anything. She fed me and ate what ever was left over if there was anything. Thanks to good neighbors sending food over once in a while, and my grand parents looking the other way if Mom was two weeks late with the rent, we didn't starve or live on the street. (My grand parents owned the house we lived in) When she finally divorced him, she found a great baby sitter and went to work. The baby sitter's name was "Mother Moore." My memories are sketchy, but she was a fantastic lady of great faith. She was old school, but full of love.
Mom went to work at the bank. She started out as a teller, but was quickly moved into book keeping. I don't know about now, but then banks paid their employees bread crumbs, and my dad never paid one dime in child support. My mom was a blond haired German beauty who was raised by parents who struggled, through The Great Depression.
When it came to dressing me, she couldn't afford to buy my clothes at the Hub like the other kids. She bought my clothes at Sears on sale, and she bought them a little large in order for me to grow into them. I didn't mind. I was proud of her. My clothes never had any holes in them. We were poor, but we were clean. We ate a lot of beans, but there was plenty of milk and lots of vegetables. There was, without fail, a vitamin setting beside my plate every night at dinner. I grew up healthy. She didn't have the money to waste money on candy. I ate apples, and bananas. As I write these words, I can’t help but get a little teary remembering what a remarkable human being my mom was. If I was half the man she raised, I'd be twice the man I am.
What I want you to know is that my Mom budgeted every penny she made in order to make things work. She raised a small boy, put a roof over our heads, and never asked or received a dime from anyone. Everyone was always amazed at how displined she was when it came to our tiny budget.
My grand parents. With Pop's muscle, and Grannies' brains, they fed and clothed five children through America's worst economical times. (The Great Depression) They lived in the city, but had a cow named Molly. Granny had a large garden that was irrigated by means of a well which she dug herself by hand and shovel. There were enough vegetables to feed the family, and help the neighbors too. The chickens were generous with their eggs, and the extra was given away.. Granny had help. My mom and her brothers all had chores assigned to them, and everybody worked hard. The kids were responsible for getting good grades and holding up their end on this little mini farm.
My grandfather was a giant of a man. He stood six foot eight inches tall, and weighed close to three hundred forty pounds. Pop worked two jobs during the depression. He was a city fireman, and loaded freight cars when he wasn't putting out fires. He made a deal with the foreman. My grandfather said he'd do the work for two men, if the foreman would agree to pay him one fourth of the second man's wages. The foreman accepted, and Pop gave him the work of three men. Granny and Pop soon bought a small corner grocery store where they sold neighbors food on credit with no interest, just a promise to pay. In later years this would repay itself ten fold. The one's who had extra, helped the one's without. that's the way it was done.
In the early fifties, my grand parents bought some land in Pasadena, Texas which they developed, then bought some old government housing duplexes from World War II (for next to nothing), and put them on the lots. Pop fixed them up, and did all the work himself. They sold it all quickly and made a fortune. By the early sixties, Pop was the Fire Chief at Ellington Air Force Base outside Houston, and Granny was raking in the money hand over fist by buying mortgages at a reduced rate when the rates were up, and sold them back to the banks for a profit when ever the rates were just right to make that profit. Granny could do this because they had a crap load of money, and didn't owe a dime. Pop passed away at sixty three. I still miss that big man very much. He treated me like a son. (very hard on me, but tons of love) Pop was the original stud. Granny lived another twenty years. Even with all her money, granny still made her own clothes, and when she went grocery shopping, she bought on sale and kept the freezer full. By the time Granny was done laying out her S&H Green Stamps, and coupons, they were paying her to take the food. She was amazing. See, she knew what caused the Great Depression, and she was convinced that there most likely would be another one because people didn't live within their means. Two things that wise woman must have told me five thousand times; “Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves, and “Just because you’re able to buy something does not mean you can afford it.” Within five years of Grannies’ death, a couple of bad eggs in the family managed to squander the family fortune. Does that suck or what?
My mid life crisis came a little early. I put marketing behind me in the mid nineties, and started a fugitive recovery business called “Have Gun Will Travel”, named after the old television series. For almost two years I lived in, and operated out of the most dangerous section of Phoenix.. . Most of the work was in California, but if you want to catch slime, you have to know slime. During this time, I saw welfare abuse at it’s worst. I saw black women as well as white women, and everything in between making a great living in the baby making business. The more babies, the more benefits and money came their way. I knew a woman who had six children with five different dads. Which ever dead beat dad that was living with her at the time would always manage to get their hands on the excess food stamps and sell em for crack. Granny and Pop, including my mom, would all be spinning in their graves if they saw this stuff.
One of the reasons I’m writing this three part series is because I’m getting tired of reading hubs, and blogs by my conservative brothers and sisters who point an angry finger at these people who abuse the system from their pedestal at the computer, and say we ought to just cut em all off. Just cut em off.. yeah right. Hello martial law. We have to wean Americans off the welfare nipple. it took eighty sum odd years to create this mess, and we aren't going to change it over night. Get mad at the system which did everything possible to guarantee these people's failure. The system failed the people, the people didn't fail the system.
In business and in management you learn two things very fast. One, if you give people an opportunity or way to fail, they usually take it. You have to eliminate opportunities to fail, and replace them with opportunities to succeed. Two, you manage people's weaknesses and build their strengths. If you've ever raised a child, you know about taking away ways to fail. When they're young, you do your best to "baby proof the home." You put the breakables, medicine bottles, and such. You put the plastic plugs in the unused receptacle, and the whole bit. You know that if you give them an opportunity to fail, they'll take it. That's just the way it works.
We are going to have to restructure entitlements, but it doesn't make one lick of sense to restructure something that's full of holes. If you restructure a system that's full of holes, you end up with a restructured system that's, well .. full of holes. Remember, those geniuses who are making these economic proposals are the same bozos that pay $500.00 for the same hammer that is bought on the private market for $7.00 . You know the guys who sign vouchers paying $22.00 for a screw? These Harvard idiots are not anywhere close to being as capable of running this economy as a typical American housewife having to manage a home budget. No where close. In part 3 of this little series, I'm going to talk about wast and abuse. When you see the numbers, you'll see how far off Washington is on solving the economic problems in this country. The good news is this. If we come together, this system will work the way it's supposed to. Politics are planned based on our ignorance. Knowledge truly is power.
I'm dedicating the rest of my life to building a platform where people can stand together, and think together. It's called The Housefire Project. I'll drop you a link below. We're gathering members. We can't even take donations until our 501 C is in effect, but we can gather strength. I'm talking about people who are tired if being afraid, and tired of being irrelevant. People who can see the writing on the wall and want to change it. Look, folks these days people are running full speed making a buck, and raising the kids. The worlds coming apart at the seams. Gas prices are going up, drug cartels are breaching or border, the the success or failure of our economy is balanced on a razor's edge, and you're worried but what can you do? Here it is. Get involved. Go to the web site, and if you haven't become a member, sign up. Get it in your head that it's up to you to make this thing work. Take responsibility and get as many people to that web site as you can. Don't think about it, do it. Don't stick your head in the sand and hope someone else will do it. They won't It's up to you. There's nothing like the feeling of knowing that you're not like everybody else. You are a warrior. You're going to take on Washington. Here's the link. Copy/paste this thing on everything you can get your hands on. You can watch things happen, or you can make things happen. Now let's go!
. http://housefireproject.com/
Say your prayers, eat all your veges, tell someone you love them, and don't forget to vote!
tmwnp
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Great hub! Voted it up and will be following you and house fire project.
Amy,
Thank you for everything.
geez, I don't know where everyone is. I may need to do a breath check. Maybe that liver and onions came back to bite me back!
I need to be clear about something. I think you already know this. I learned the lessons, but didn't apply them. Making money was easy for me and fun, but I spent it, and gave it away like a drunk sailor, then go make some more. I hope the Lord forgives me for my wasteful ways. I know He does cause I'm one tight SOB now! :D
jim
Jim....I think you should run for president. I would vote for you. The good ole days when people knew how to budget and lived within their means. I know all about that kind of living being a single mom with two kids to feed. You are so right about fixing this mess...we need to start over not just put bandages on the exciting problem. Love the hub and your analogy.
Amber,
Thank you so much. You'll read about stuff, that talks about my love for Jesus. Then you'll read something that makes you wonder if there are two Jim's. No, I'm just one, but I don't hook up filters to please folks that have a preconsieved idea about how Christians are supposed to talk. I put it out raw many times. I've said over and over again, " My heart and soul belongs to the Lord, and He has my permission to put what ever words he wants in my mouth." I say this because it means something special when someone who proclaims their faith follows me. I just don't want you to go into shock when you read something that brings out my somewhat distorted passion. Thanks again! :D
jim
marellen,
I actually have entertained the idea. While I'd question the sanity of someone who voted for a guy wearing shorts, I'd at the very least, get voters to focus on the real problems, and put the heat on whoever they elected to do his or her job of throwing politics out the window and getting results.
Thank you for the warm words and the read!
jim
(laughing) This is great! The hub score went from a 50 when I published to a 42 this morning. The insecure little nerd who's down voting this hub, needs to know a couple of things. My readers don't look at the score before they read, I don't write this for a score or money, and what goes around comes around. Believe it.
j.
What gets me here is the dedication you show to your mom in the realization that you were always taken care of no matter what the circumstances. A lot of kids these days hit the streets and turn into bad kids when this happens.
And what is a 501C?? Never heard that one before. Keep on keepin on and tell us where you will be speaking, there may be a massive hub rush to get there!! Great hub, not too sure about the opening pic, but ......
Linda,
Yeah, I know. The picture is questionable, but ya can't blame a guy for trying to sell tickets. (laughing) The 501 C is the type of corporate non profit I need in order for donations to be tax deductable. It's got to be approved by the Feds, so it can move a little slow. Thank you for coming by, and the warm comment. I'll keep you guys informed!
=jim
Jim,
We definitely need to start somewhere. And not to sound critical or non-supportive, but for ever dollar America prints, we owe face value plus the interest. The popular approach in Washington is to borrow more money - to pay it back. Who gets the interest we pay back? Private bankers - not the government. You hear people say - well its just ourselves we own the money to. NO its not. Those people are ignorant and haven't studied it out, they don't know what they are talking about.
Right now we borrow money to pay the interest. Under this methodicial system, America will never and can never pay the money back. We are a financial sinking ship as long as this system is in place. No matter how frugal we are all, our nation is sinking into debt and will continue to. The collateral for all this debt is the land, real property, and assests of this nation, your future taxes and labor, and those of your grandchildren. Congress has borrowed against all of that and more.
The debt could be eliminated with the passage of a bill doing so, but interestingly, those in office who mutter such words are usually shot in parade cars sitting next to their wives, or die in a strange airplane accident. The billionaires of this world have America by the shorts and have no intention of letting go. Until we force them to let go - our debt will continue to grow until our whole economy implodes.
The answer to his is obvious, accomplishing it is completely another issue which our Congress doesn't have the moxie to address. They are more worried about keeping their butts in those cozy offices and getting those kick-backs.
The only way to fix it is to get everyone on board.
I'm not sure how to do that.
- Harlan
Harlan,
I'm going to get bigger, stronger, and better at what I do every day. I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to doing, as long as it's not counter productive to God's will. Even His hand can be moved through honest prayer. I'll continue to throw more and more balls at that basket until I hit it. People want to find hope. People are looking for hope. I'm going to find six million warriors, and on the road there, The Project and it's members will have the power to put fear into anyone not doing it right in Washington.
You're getting a little ahead of me with a couple of your comments (which are right on, by the way) but wait for part 3. We can do this Ernest. People just have to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves if they have any guts. If they do, they've got to grab theselves by .. whatever they've got, sign up with my gig, and gather strength. Sorry bro. I believe we can do this, and I never quit pimping.
jim
I signed up to Housefire over a month ago. I love a good political fight especially when freedom is the victor.
The very essence of the federal reserve system is set up so that it is impossible to pay back. I'm just saying, until we change that - the financial side of the ship will continue to sink.
In the days of the original colonies, the government coffers were overflowing with wealth, the was no public debt and there was no tax on personal income either.
Interestingly, while our Constitution is a recipe for our success as a nation, it is also a recipe on how to destroy it - simply reverse its effects through tons of regulation.
What if we send every American a bill for their share of the debt - maybe that will wake them up?
Jim, I'll never understand how a hub can go down several points within seconds of publishing. Nobody even had time to read it yet, and you lose 3 or 4 points.
Oh well, like you said, nobody in our group even looks at the points so it doesn't matter.
This was a very interesting hub. You and I had covered some of these topics in conversation, but it was good to see it in writing.
Keep plugging away with The Housefire Project and we will be able to start things turning around. I have faith in you and now believe this is the reason you were put on this earth.
Harlan.
I know you joined. Now, while I'm trying to rustle up some dough to get some exposure while we're wating to be able to take donations and be all nice and legal, I'm going to get you guys busy making things happen. More later.
You might have a brain storm with that sending a bill thing. We could send every American a bill for 86,000,00 or what ever it is, then in return have them forward it to their senators. Maybe start taking em to court and garnish some wages. Hmmm .. got me thinking bro.
jim
Mike,
My hub score is now a 42. It's showing 12comments and ZERO hits. That's a cool trick!
Support is everything. I'm so consumed by this, it's crazy. There are some times when I wonder if I'm nuts, but then someone comes along and says something nice like you just said, and it's Go Time! I see this as recruiting, training and preparing for battle against an army made up of suits, blubber, and bull shit. Bro, I'm ready to lead the charge. Summer's here, and it's time to start recruiting that army heavy. We can sit on our hands or make the committment for victory. somebodie's got to do something. It might as well be us.
thanks my friend.
jim
Yea! Send them a bill, file liens on their houses, vacation houses, etc., which I believe is entirely possible. A judge would probably throw it out - but it would make a point! We could pay them in monopoly money - which is what they gave us when they took our inflation proof gold and silver away.
oh yea...
Misslizzie - can I send you some 501's or something HA HA
too funny!
Harlan,
Awesome. We should ride this thing hard. All it takes is one break with the media finding out we want give all leaders a piss test, lie detector test, back ground check, test on the constitution (you're idea) and sending them bills for ripping us off. Then my No Pants ass will be on every talk show on TV, pimping The Project and our ideas. Hard work, a little luck, and dreams become a reality. Assuming Ken gives me 10 minutes on that stage, we won't be a secret anymore.
jim
Manwithnopants, You are right it will take all of us to come together to change things. Our government give some welfare moms lots of food stamps and money to sit on their behinds. When it comes to the elderly they may only receive $10-20 dollar in assistance. This makes no sense. You really had some great grandparents. Your hub score will come up. Voted up and awesome. Gonna check out your link.
Mimi,
You're awesome. I'm with you on all that you just said. Thanks for everything, and God bless!
jim
Jim - I've been out of town and one of my girls graduated from the 5th grade yesterday. I've been saving my reading:)
I loved hearing about your life - my gramps and step dad were raised during the depression so they had similar ideas. Thank goodness they preached to me about never living beyond your means, and neither of them believed in credit cards either. Cash on the barrel or you didn't get it. I raised my oldest having 3 jobs (her dad just couldn't seem to hack the stress of having a back bone). I did fine and used my head and resources available to me. I worked at a farmers market on the weekend and got all my vegetables (and flowers:) free for the whole week. I worked 9 - 5 and a couple nights a week selling bottles of beer for a dollar! Omg! I put myself through college too! Haha! Who needs welfare, really Jim?
RH,
I guess it's no secret, women like you and my mom ARE my heros. You are cool girl! :D
jim
So what you're saying is that you're going to straighten this country out before my daughter comes of age? Right? Just kidding...sorta. I'm all for this and you know I support you all the way bcause I have a young child and I want this world to be better for my daughter than it is right now fo me.
I can't help but think some of our economic problems also have to do with health issues. When I applied for disability benefits, I learned how many people, and how much younger they are getting who are on disability ad especially because of cause unknown autoimmune illnesses like mine (RA). UNfortunately, our pharmceutical people and doctors are all out to make money on meds that do more damage than help. Our country is very much in a reactive state rather than a proactive and preventative state of mind concerning many affairs. So my point is we are giving out money to the wrong causes and making money off the wrong things, like people's health issues. If we actually put to use natural cures or medicines that acually work without all the side effects, many people wouldn't be on disability (the stats are astonishing), but in efforts to make money, awful medicines are supported which cause other things that need medicine too. Anyway, there is my personal rant.
On your hub, I loved knowing about your past- great story. I know we've talked about how making money is a fun challenge, but I also think saving and budgeting money is a good challenge too. I am lucky to have had one parent (my dad) who has always lived well, but well below his means. My mom, well that's another story...
Great hub! Love it when you mix business with personal stuff.Hey you're up from 44 to 46!
Sis,
I'm stoked! This sucker might hit 50 before it goes starts going down again. You're dead on regarding the waste and the bogus meds. Glad you took the time. You know I thrive on the support! :-)
jim
Jim - I wouldn't have had it any other way - I bet your mom was the same. I made sure I worked at jobs I really enjoyed and had fun doing. Laurel stayed with her grandparents while I worked - we all worked together, it is a good life!
Your bio here produced a wide range of emotions & thoughts. You certainly have the bona fides for your particular interests. What a mother you had. Good luck on your housefire project & why people would vote something like this down is puzzling.
6/3/11 10:00 am
A whopping 51! Woohpo You're climbing!
I have unpublished hubs with higher scores than that! LOL.
- Harlan
HW,
Where I come from, a person is proud of working hard. Now days work is a dirty word. We can change that!
jim :-)
Alastar,
Thank you for your support my friend. I've got some people on the extreme left and right who can't stand what I say even before the words come out. There is also a writer who feels threated by my work. I don't care that much. People who've debated without manners me in the comments section have been roasted and made a fool of by me as a result, so now they just hide in the bushes and throw rocks. They've managed to get part three unpublished. I made some changes with a link. We'll see if Hub puts it back up. Pathetic.
Thank you again for the support!
jim
Harlan,
(laughing) The Hub unpublished part 3 for what reason I'm not sure.
jim
IDK Jim - sounds like I'd have to get off my fat a@@! You're scaring me! Lol:)
(laughing) RH, your ass is about as fat as mine, and you're not afraid to get off of it when you need to girl. You're one of the things that's not broken in this country!
jim
This was great... I admire those people who are able to stretch a dollar... those that don't live out of their means. We need to go back and teach everyone the basics... take away credit (slowly - we dont want people dying from shock!) and stop the abuse of the system.
Oh yeah - and I just have to say - the other day I was watching this show on TV about extreme couponing... I bet your granny could beat them to the punch - she might have even invented it from the sounds!
Hey BG!
I was just getting ready to shut down the computer and hit the racks when the flag went up. Yes in deedy dum, we've got to start becoming responsible and teaching our kids and grand kids the "new old" way. Man I'm glad you stopped by. I was thinking bout ya!
jim
BBG - you got that right! In my community - nearly everyone is living beyond their means. I have seen so many lose their houses this year. It's sad but it was their own undoing. You can't use credit in place of cash! the interest rates are too high to ever catch up.
I could live in a much bigger house - I bought this house myself. They approved me for a loan value that was double what I felt I could afford. Lots of people don't realize this. I could never have afforded the inflated note during the down economy. Thank goodness I wasn't so worried about impressing my friends with a big mansion:) I'd be living in an apartment today!
RH,
You're a self disciplined person, and should be proud of yourself. Hell. I'm proud of ya!
jim
Jim - no thanks to me really. I'm getting scared because I realize I'm sounding exactly like my step father these days! Boy was he ever right about stuff. You know he blamed the likes of J.C. Penny & Co. For the downfall of the economy. He said they tricked Americans into spending their money there before they had it. Smart guy - I'm just the parrot but thanks anyway:)!!!
RH
If people like you and me this message out to people in our everyday conversations, it'll get inside their head, and it'll spread. I think I told you about my step dad. Smart dude. Too bad God opted not to give him a personality. (laughing) "Just kidding Big Guy"
jim
Well let's say it loud and clear then Jim -
PEOPLE - DON'T USE CREDIT! IT IS A BIG SCAM ON YOU! Pay the house note first - you've got to have a roof over your head - then food and utilities. If you can't pay for cell phones, cable, internet with cash you can't afford it. Ask yourself - do you NEED it? Or do you WANT it? Save, save, save!
There - that's what my people preached:) haha! I hope people do hear that Jim - you're a saint for putting it out there!
And you are special for recognizing it. You'll end up doing more than you imagined to help this country get back on it's feet you little HootNanny!
j
I really need to learn more self-discipline. I used to have a lot of self-discipline but then I met my husband. He is a spender and I am the saver - but I also have a hard time saying no. We lost our house - but we lost it for other reasons.... not because we couldn't afford it. Think Money Pit - the movie with Tom Hanks. Because I am such a person that believes in living in my means - it just kills me to know that we did that. My husband says I need to get over it - but I am just not that kind of person. However, on a good note - it has given me much more time to write on here... so I guess everything comes around in the end.
Jim - Sorry for knocking you out of bed... I just closed my laptop when I saw you had responded, but my battery was dead and I wasn't about to go search for the cord. Ok - so I didn't have to search, but it would require me to run downstairs. We watched a movie instead... lol
BBG - you could hardly help that situation. Somebody really ripped you off and you should have sued for that but I do know it would have been a long battle and in the meantime you'd still have no functional home.
When Dave and I owned the body shop - our partner went to jail and left us holding the bag. It was a bad, bad deal. We had nothing to do with his problems and didn't know he was even in trouble. We had to shut down the shop and it was a killer. Luckily I made enough money to cover our personal stuff but we lost the shop and after clearing everything up I still have a credit card bill for 7000 that our partner used for personal stuff and we got the bill! I refuse to pay it and a lawyer handled it but - I know - even though things aren't your fault you think you should have done something different. We started over and thank goodness that happened - now Dave does what he likes to do and we built our lives again. You will too so enjoy it no matter what you have.
BG,
No, you didn't get me out of the sack. I was just getting ready to head that way. It's crazy, but all the stuff going on with the Hub Geeks, and a personal situation regarding a friend which disapointed me badly, led up to my decision to make the changes. The whole thing just wipeed me out for some reason. I don't handle disapointment very well I'm afraid. It was great to hear from you. Actually perfect timing .. put a smile on my face!
jim
RH and BG
I've been poor, and I've been rich, and I've been poor some more, and rich some more. I should mention that I was raised with all the wisdome I described, but I spent all my puppy dog years trying to beat my mom and grandparents system. Money was always easy for me to make, so when I ran out, I just went and made a bunch more. I lived a fun life, and my wife and kids have always been well taken care of. Whatever I do, I do excessivly. When I worked, I worked hard. When I played, I played hard. Starting about a year ago I started being very conservative with a buck though. They say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. If I set out to put together one of those little fortunes, I'll completely lose focus on what I'm trying to put together for my country. This is what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, and I'll probably have to follow Granny and Pop's principals whether I like it or not. lol
jim
You said it Jim - I've been there and back and you just learn from stuff and you do better the next time around. I'm still working on my fortune - Dave and I work pretty hard and put in way more than 40 hours a week. We will both probably die from computer exposure. Oh well - I just can't complain. We like it this way;)
I've known a lot of wealthy people who've lost the ability to smile and have fun. You guys are younger than me so I'm going to give you a link to something I wrote a long time ago for my kids and posted as a hub. I hope BG reads it too. When I think of you two, it makes me think of this.
http://hubpages.com/hub/-Today-by-the-man-with-no-
jim
Good poi t about age too BBG - I've got 10 years on you and I was about your age when the shop closed. I didn't have credit card bills or anything personal to pay off so it really took me less than 5 years and I was a ton better off than when I closed the shop. We just put our noses to the grindstone and I cut off the cable, cells internet - like that until I felt we could afford it and still save money. Looking back now - it seemed like the worst but it turned out for the best!
RH
That's the good stuff. People have to learn to do this. They can do it now, or be forced to later on ..
j
I am glad I could light up your smile by commenting on your hub when I did. :D
I have to say, I have been rich and poor - however mostly poor. I remember as a kid I got a "new" Tshirt from goodwill and I was estatic because it was actually new (never worn by someone else) My parents didn't have much money - they struggled alot. They ended up losing their house when I was younger but I never knew anything different. My grandparents used to bring over brown bags of groceries... I didn't realize it was because they couldn't afford to feed us. But we survived.
Now - I am richer because of the people I have met here on Hubpages - there is only one person that I have actually met in person on here (my sister) but yet I have found a better support system and all around much better people right here! :)
BG,
I feel the same way. I've met two in person. One is my friend and neighbor OldPoolman. There are several that I yak on the phome with, and it's a lot of fun.
jim
BBG - I think the whole world was like that for a while;) It gives you character. Listen - all the kids that I so admired when I was younger - you know the ones who got cars for their sweet 16 party! Or the ones who had designer jeans and attitudes? Well! I have run into a few of those folks as an adult - guess what? They are all LOSERS now! Omg! All the kids who had it all - who could have gotten college paid for - free rides - they didn't take them. So I think they just couldn't cut it when they grew up. The never learned to work to acquire anything. Their parents did them a
huge dis service by making life too easy.
One guy - four boys in his family - huge beautiful house to live in - the boys all got several cars,
wrecked them, got new ones. 2 of the boys are dead now and one is suicidal. So? I'm thanking
my lucky stars now that I learned young - the value of just one earned dollar:)!
RH,
I agree, and have to admit. At reunions, I am the freaking stud. Everyone else got fat, died, or went to jail. (laughing)
jim
Funny how that works out. I almost felt bad a couple of times for being successful:). Like in talking to this one person, I pretended like I was struggling to get by too:). It's awful I felt like a liar but at the time I knew it wasn't supposed to work out this way. That poor person used to look down on me.
Who would vote this down? Sorry I'm getting here a little late. I give you so much credit for being so open and honest, not always easy to share details of your personal life. Great hub my friend.
By the way, your point about giving people chances to succeed instead of chances to fail is 1000% correct.
LRC,
Thanks my friend. I've been slackin on getting with your stuff too. Truth is, I haven't gotten any notices. I don't know what's up with that, but I'm not getting them for a bunch of people. Do me a favor and drop me a link when you publish. tmwnpblog@aol.com
jim
![On Principle and Pragmatism II - Ratification of the U.S. Constitution Almost Didn't Happen [29]](http://s2.hubimg.com/u/4035337_50.jpg "On Principle and Pragmatism II - Ratification of the U.S. Constitution Almost Didn't Happen [29]")
Amy Becherer Level 7 Commenter 12 months ago
Dear Jim, Where is everyone? This is a beautiful, tribute to your grandparents and the lessons you learned from them about responsibility. It is touching, endearing, loving and telling. What struck me the most is how you, just a little boy, watched, learned and retained their valuable lessons about gut level basics; we are responsible for our own mistakes and successes. Yet, you show sincere empathy and a willingness to band together to help those that need a hand to get to their feet with the expectation of paying it forward. This goes beyond politics to the meaning of humanity. When I saw the first photo of the naked girl on the picnic table, I thought, "I gotta read this to see what Jim's up to now!" Yep, time to clean up the mess. It's all about the basics. Once again, you amaze me with your analogies that make it perfectly clear with "baby proofing". This is a great piece, Jim, on grabbing the task at hand by the horns and breaking it down into small bites, because it is the overwhelming enormity that can derail the efforts before it gets started. Your logic is brilliant and your beautiful mom did a great job. I can see it clearly here.