Sacrifice

 

What is it to sacrifice?  To give something up.  During the recession so many have lost their jobs, many of no fault of their own.  Layoffs were a common occurrence, companies closing.  Onto the government dole went many people,

 

So how many government workers did you hear of getting laid off?  In our area it was teachers who got the pink slips.  Other government employees, none got  laid off that I know of.  One of the more critical jobs we pay taxes for took the brunt of the economy.

 

Look at what the politicians are saying about the economy.  Are any talking about cut backs in pay for government employees and or layoffs?  What kind of sacrifice is forthcoming from the bureaucrats and politicians to help the taxpayer?

 

When there is a downturn in the economy it is the everyday worker that takes it in the drawers.  The government workers just keep on drawing their check.  Who do the politicians say should help?  The people on the dole, welfare, food stamps… etc.  Government layoffs are not even mentioned.

Why is it the work a day Joe has to sacrifice the job and the taxes do not stop being paid to the bureaucrats.

 

The average government worker makes 20-25% more then their counterpart in the private sector.  So the public employee could take a pay cut and still make a nice wage, better then average. 

 

The public sector has become bloated but do the politicians talk about the wages they pay?  Government sacrifice is not in their lexicon. 

 

Bet that if there was an across the board pay cut of 10% that the national debt could be reduced by 50% or better.  Low level government administrators make 6 figure incomes into the 200-300,000.00 dollar range.  What government job is so critical and pressurized to warrant that kind of pay?  Most government jobs are cookie cutter work.  I don’t even want to talk about incompetence.

 

One of the things one can do is to bug their congressman and ask them what kind of sacrifice their agencies are going to make to help the country?  In this day and age of electronics it is easy to send your Representative an e-mail, they all have one.

 

Why should the private sector take the brunt of the bad times. 

Politicians gripe about welfare, but what really is welfare?  Look at all of the people that get government checks.  When we send tax dollars to DC….. what do you want in return?  Let the politico's know.

 

We’ve had some rain but it won’t last long.  We could use some more buckets of wet stuff.  Cost of living is going to climb, not only at the food store, also the gas pumps and other places.  The government wants to throw more money out to those dealing with the drought, farmers.  This will push prices up even higher for it will be more taxes floating across the desks of bureaucrats.

Crisp Fall Approaching

 

The heat is subsiding and the days are shorter.  The dog days of summer have departed.  Nights are almost cold, mid 40’s.  Time to explore the roadside stands.  The fruits of summer are on stands in the Valley.

No longer is the produce hauled by the rick.  The stand has been by the road for over a half century.  The family still goes out and digs in the dirt and bring their goods to market.  There are some things that will always remain the same.  Dig in the dirt, put some seeds in, add some water, pull the weeds, harvest and there are rewards for hard work.

Ever since recorded time man has tilled the soil for his livelihood.

The colors of fall are very distinctive.

Whether they harvest is for decoration or function.  Fall is the theme of cool crisp air.  No longer is there the fresh smell of burning leaves.  Store the fruits of summer away in a cool place and the fruits will last through the winter. 

Man is at the basic with nature.  No aspirations of control for nature has the rhythm one has to follow.  The pulse of life moves at its pace

The drought continues.  The ground is parched.  The pocket book feeling pinched.  weeds are brown.  Dirt is powder.  Dust swirls into the air.  Prayers for a snowy winter.

Passing of time

Time has passed and I missed it.  Being laid up in the  hospital and convalesce for about two months I lost track of time.   All of sudden it is Memorial Day and here is summer. 

People are flying down the road in their campers.  Summer vacations are under way and the heat is rising.  Looking for cool spots is the game of the day.

All I wanted was the pain to go away, be able to stand with no pain, sleep without drugs.  My focus was on myself and healing.  Time was but the change from light to darkness.  The nurses would ask what the day was, where I was.  That was my only reckoning with a time space movement.

With time though I am slowly healing.  There are less pains and less pills.  Small steps are easing across the floor without the walker. 

During this period most everything was blocked out.  Politics became irrelevant, daily news was ignored.  It was a battle with pain. 

Today the reality creeps back into life.  It is summer.

Everyone enjoy the moments of the time.

Gone Looking for a cold melon……. Like a slice?

Looking for Cheese

 

I post on a couple of other forums plus facebook.  One of the things that has been popping up is how easy people whine anymore.  They act so helpless.  It is almost as they expect someone to fly over and sprinkle fairy dust on them and all will be well.

There is some turmoil in the local schools over money cuts and programs.  Again lots of griping but few willing to bite the bullet and deal with the issues.

Geography is another trouble spot.  So many ask where is it.  Rather then doing some looking, they whine expecting me to tell.  Well the door is well marked: MEN.  Then they ask, where is it?  I slowly boil up into an aggravating chuckle and……. guffaw.

History is the other pet peeve.  It’s like the schools want to avoid teaching some history for it will upset their agenda.  The world according to, GARP.  So many do not know to get a book out and look up information or they do not want to.

Yet here on the internet is one of the fastest tools for looking up info. 

Now the circle, what are the schools missing?  By all test scores and standards that have been set forth, all the government programs have been failures.  Graduation rates are lower, students are less educated.  Oh there are exceptions but overall.  So when will people admit that big government in schools is a failure?

Look at how successful schools were in the early 20th century.  These little schools produced the people that invented the phone, light bulbs and even the computer. 

So when I hear whining I wonder who failed?

Such is life, there are foibles and successes.

So often the focus is on the failures and the successes are just there.

Wonder if there would of ever been an apple if Steve Jobs would have been a whiner…….?  His mother chose to not have an abortion and gave him up for adoption.

I Say So….. So It Shall Be

 

Kind of a cute cartoon.  This was on the First page of the calendar for January.  The year is a collection of Dennis blurbs of wisdom.  The saying strikes one as being cute but look beyond it being cute.

In arrogance so many think that if they vote for something it will be.  Listen to the politician's as they are on the stump.  How arrogant they have become and how unattached they are from the general populace.

It is the republicans campaigning and they are basically saying the same thing that Dennis is.  I will vote for this and it will happen.  That is the mantra that Obama used to get elected president.

All kinds of promises are made and almost none are kept.  Wonder if there is such a thing for malpractice for politicians.  About the only recourse is election time yet we vote for the same old bunch of cronies expecting different results.

There is a time when the circus of politics becomes a cartoon.  Only problem is their cartoons are not cute nor benign like the sayings of Dennis are.

The weekend is here.  Time to recreate and get ready for another moment in time.  The days and weeks on the calendar slide along.  The days are growing longer and the chill is settled in.  Soon the warmth of the sun will chase the frost out.

The Calendar Changed

 

When the first day of the month arrives, my calendars I should go forth and change them.  No, I do not go forth and change the months.  It is nor until I look at days to try and schedule things do I realize I have not changed. 

I have become so spoiled by the puter that I seldom use a calendar any more.  In my gadgets bar I have a clock plus a calendar, day and month.  So when I turn the machine on all this nice information jumps up on the screen and says hi.

So the wall calendars tend to collect dust hanging from their hooks.  This year I got a bunch of calendars and probably could get some more.  Lots of the local businesses are giving out calendars and I have collected a pretty varied group of pictures to hang on the wall.

 

The days of life march past and I am but one little character in the play of life.  So as my chapters unfold I desire to enjoy them. 

There are a few events that happen I want to remember, otherwise the days melt into each other.  Passing as ships in a fog but hearing the chimes of the bells floating past.

The snow if passing in front of the wind, a touch of white patches the brown grasses of the dormant ground.  Birds huddle in the trees, search the rafters for protection seldom venturing out.  The hawk of the north has sent it icy breath across the prairies.  Soon the eve will arrive and the calendar will mark another day.