Five Days in November

This is the fifth day in as row that I have not been required to be at school.  The Thanksgiving "holiday"is my favorite and this year has had some special moments.  That is not to say these moments have all been on the good or pleasant side of the scale.  Some have just been different.

I know for Maureen, and many ladies, Thanksgiving is a working holiday.  Preparing a meal is work, plain and simple.  We had planned a small, just for the family meal. It didn't end up that way, but wasn't too much, at least for me.  Maureen cooked and prepared for two days, and I am thankful.  The plan was for just the children, hard to say that now as they are all adults, to be here.  We ended up honoring Maureen's mother and having brother and his family, and sister over also.  They would have been alone and this was a good thing for them to come.  Though we had to ferry them here and back home afterwards.

Being away from school doesn't mean I haven't been at my classroom.  If I go today it will be the fourth day I will have gone to do some work, or pick something up.  That is not a cry or whine, just a fact.  Living in a small town makes it easier to blend home and work for me.  I've tried to keep school at school over the last few years and hope for my family it has worked.

One of the biggest insights lately is the differences and enjoyments in the relationships with our four "children."  Oldest son is married and has a job he likes.  It is fun to talk to him about work and marriage and it is a joy top see him with his wonderful wife. They are truly made for each other.  We got to spend some time doing a woodworking project that will be her Christmas present.

I spoke with Army son three different times and each showed a new facet to his life.  We spoke about his job, but more interesting is other parts of life we hadn't spoke of before at such a depth. The mundane; food and such; to college, future jobs, cars and where to live.

Our son living at home is a cutthroat card fiend.  He takes advantage of me when I'm not at my full capacity after 8:00 pm.  He taught this dastardly game called Shanghai to us that seems to change rules every hand.  I lose one hand, usually in a spectacular meltdown,  and lose the entire game.  What is great is his wonderful sense of humor and wicked understanding of words and language.  I am in awe when he speaks at times.

Darling daughter, who dislikes me using this phrase, has become a young woman that is comfortable with herself. She doesn't suffer fools and is witty and sharp with her words.  When she decides to do something, it is all in and done well.

The biggest joy was watching Maureen.  I am truly blessed to have a companion that is so skilled and disciplined.  This is a tough time and she has ploughed ahead.  I look forward to where we will be in the next year.  I see difficulties for many, ourselves included.  Both at work, home and in the world we will be moving in new directions. Not all of these choices will be made by us, and I am feeling charmed to have Maureen to share with this journey.

We May be Lost

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."   John Adams in 1798



“Manners are of  more importance than laws. Upon them, in a great measure, the laws  depend.” Edmund Burke

The first quote above I found at http://downrangereport.blogspot.com/2012/11/and-we-wonder.html. It reminded me of a quote I used for a writing assignment I would give in classes. I tried to get students to think about how they live.

Maybe I should remind myself more often.

". . .What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been"

Apologies to the Grateful Dead for borrowing their words, but they seem to sum up what I've been thinking lately.  Let's see if I can capture what led to these thoughts.

The election process: It was finally said in print.  No one likes the nasty mud-slings words of politics, but they will continue to use them because they work.  Is my message so correct that I can use any means to make it happen?

The elections themselves: Never before have I felt that so many people will not be represented by their elected representatives.  Not just nationally, but statewide and locally. I have a very real feeling of being a minority.

California: I am one of the 30% of Republicans.  Forget about the party or label.  Just the knowledge that the only place my vote counts is in the county and city I live smacks of not living in a republic.

California II: Proposition 30 was nothing more than blackmail by the people in power to get their way.  I work in the field of education and the pressure to for vote this was tremendous. Dire consequences spelled out by CTA, the governor's office, the California Department of Education, the local principal and superintendent. Now let's see what happens with this new money.

California III: A new book, Crazifornia by Laer Pearce (Thank you Alan Caruba for the blogpost about the book). As if the previous items didn't give a sense of foreboding, finding this book and blog sealed the deal about California.  I haven't read the book, and don't think I will at this time.  Seems like it would be "piling on" to what I already feel.

California IV:  We now have a super majority in the state Senate and Assembly.What new taxes await us?

Firing of a coach:  I recently found out that a coach I know and respect was fired.  This coach has been subjected to onerous conditions for them to continue to coach over the last few years because of numerous parent complaints.  The gist of the complaints is playing time and position the athlete plays. The complaints have taken many nasty paths, though.  What has the coach produced in their 20+ years of coaching?  The most successful record of any sport on campus, and athletes that have moved onto the collegiate level to play.  There has been no abuse, just good solid fundamentals being taught and reinforced bringing about team success.  I guess they weren't supposed to win so much.

Firing of a coach II:  I think I'm next on this list.

The reaction to this is flight at this time.  I know that is not necessarily the proper response, but I am still trying to find the correct response. Should my family become another of the 225,000 Californians leaving each year?  And where to go?  We have heard from friends that have moved.  Their word is, "It's so much better to move."  But is it correct?

Half of my family moved to California in the second great migration of the 1880's.  The other half in the Dust Bowl/Great Depression of the 1930's.  Maybe I will follow their lead and find the next place to plant this family.  It also leads me to think of another song.

Two Questions for Those that Read this Blog Space

Just a pic of my Halloween costume as Sergio Romo.

First question: What is a book you are recommending to others?  Now that I have time I'm looking ot add books to my list of books to read, not that I need many more to add.

Question 2:  Maureen and I have planted, cared for and harvested a garden for some time.  Though it sounds wonderful, I remember reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle with a bit of envy of not having a crop during the winter. Does anyone have anything to offer on this topic?  Is there something good about having a season off?  Or is the blessing of a moderate climate outweigh the extra work?

Book Review: The Worst Hard Time

I grew up with stories of the Great Depression, and have tried to compare our present hard times to those times.  Both sets of my grand parents married in the very late 1920's.  My parents were born in 1930 and grew up without much.  My mother's side of the family lived in our present home town and "owned" a ranch, but my grandmother was the youngest of five children.  When she married, she moved with her husband as he tried to earn a living in various ways.  I never knew this grandfather as he died before I was born. He was a gas station owner, turkey farmer and long haul truck driver before settling down to drive truck for a local gas distributor.

My paternal grandfather left his wife and son, my father, in the Midwest and came to California to find work.  He was more fortunate than most and found work and stayed here in the Central Valley.  After a year he drove back and moved Grandma and Dad here to California.

I have heard the stories of working for a dollar an hour.  I have listened in history classes of the reasons and the results of the stock market crash.  I have read The Grapes of Wrath and learned. But I have never heard of the hubris and the indomitable spirit of Americans as told by Timothy Egan in The Worst Hard Time.

I've heard of the Dust Bowl, but never realized the extent and what the term really meant.  Egan does a great job of showing and describing what the Dust Bowl was and what it did.  For me it was an eye opening read. I started the book after Maureen had started reading it.  She described it as being about people living through the hard times of the Depression.  The author had interviewed people about their lives in the Dust Bowl.  I thought it might be a good insight into what people did to survive in hard times, and might offer some ideas in helping us through these hard times.

I then found out the book was written in 2006, before our hard times began. But more staggering was the overwhelmingly difficult obstacles these "Dusters" lived through. Egan's book gave me the origins of the tumble weed we know of today.  Dust pneumonia that killed many. And the only surviving grassroots program of the New Deal, the Soil Conservation districts Hugh Bennett started. It was a great history lesson on a subject I thought I knew.  But it was also more insight into the human spirit. We all can still learn about that.

A Day Late, But Thank You!

Thank you to all that have served and are serving!

Reminds Me of "Cowboy Logic"

"Cowboy Logic" is a poem by Baxter Black I used to teach my English students. Search for it,it's worththe read. Now that I don't teach English, I'll have to do with the following from simpleeverydayliving.blogspot.com.

Bar Stool Economics I saw this today at shtfplan. I have seen it before over the years and it is a good reminder of how our tax system works. I don't know if the author is known.

 Suppose that every day, ten men go out for a beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.00
The sixth would pay $3.00
The seventh would pay $7.00
The eighth would pay $12.00
The ninth would pay $18.00 T
he tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.00.

So that’s what they decided to do. The men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with arraignment, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers, he said, I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.00. “Drinks for the ten men now cost just $80.00.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $ 20 windfall so that everyone would get there “fair share?” They realized that $ 20.00 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay! And so:

The fifth man like the first four, now paid nothing ( 100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of 12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid 14 instead of 18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before! And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar out of the $20“ declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!” “Yeah, that’s right, shouted the seventh man. “why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in union. “ We didn’t I get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!” The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that; boys and girls, journalists and college professors; is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Real Honor and Integrity

What rain?