I’m an Old Man Who Has Seen A Lot
Just a Grunt
The first pearls of wisdom I’ll offer to my readers are : “Don’t wish your life away.”
Everyone does it. I wish I was old enough to drive, to vote, to have a credit card, wish I was at least a sophomore so I could date that junior and maybe best of all … to drink beer. I went through everyone of these wishes, but the astonishing thing to me was that was Last Century. That’s right … the Twentieth Century. So trust me … you’ll be old soon enough.
They say being old beats the alternative … being dead, and I can’t argue that point. I remember hearing the janitor at my elementary school when a teacher would ask him how he was doing. “I’m on the right side of the grass today,” he’d say. People joke about age and death because that’s all you can do. There ain’t no changing the process … God still controls some things.
My doctors tell me I have a Compulsive Behavior disorder, that once I start something I become consumed with it. And as I exam myself … they are quite correct. Start on a chocolate cake … can’t stop until its all gone. Start building a deck, won’t stop, no matter how many mistakes I have to backup and correct, until its finished. Start smoking, won’t stop until I have open heart surgery, two as a matter of fact. Yep, that’s me … pedal to the metal.
It suddenly dawned on me that when I began this blog, never knew what a blog was until I started one, that I never properly introduced myself. Please forgive me for my bad manners, it was not intentional. It’s just that I don’t think of myself as a very interesting person, and definitely not worth a lengthy bio.
Yesterday I was trying to explain to my dear wife, Deb, what I was trying to accomplish with this little project. Now that may seem hardly news worthy, but imagine someone, who really doesn’t know what he’s talking about, trying to explain to a person who hasn’t a clue what the subject is. It really didn’t go well. My wife, sensing my building frustration asked “Do they know who you are?”
“No,” I mumbled “How are they suppose to know who I am? It’s a damn computer.”
“Well, I’d want to know who I was listening to,” she said as she left my office. “Even if he is a grumpy old man,” she called back over her shoulder.
As usual my loving wife was quite correct. I hesitated, but did tell her she was right with a kiss on the cheek. I always do the cheek test to see if she’s mad enough to turn her head before I try the lips. So here I go … putting pen to paper, writing that boring bio.
My name is Jim and I’m quite a bit to North of 50 years old. Kinda like the North pole is kinda north of Mexico. It took me 3 times to get marriage right, but I hit the jackpot with this woman. Between us we have 5 kids, who do an excellent job of driving us crazy, and 5 grand-kids, a pure joy.
Never Was a Doomsday Believer
My oldest Son, has always been a prepper, survivalist, or whatever the current term for someone who believes the end of the world is coming. I never scoffed at him, but there were times all I could do was shake my head and wonder where I went wrong. I’m not saying the end isn’t coming … I just couldn’t see any sense worrying about it. And especially wasting time and money preparing for it.
Why so skeptical? Like I said … I’ve seen and experienced a lot in my life. They say when a life changing event happens you will remember exactly what you were doing and where you when it happened. I totally believe believe that.
I was in Lusher elementary school the day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. I distinctly remember the blackness that fell over the halls and classrooms, remembering my teacher crying, so we cried too. The screech of the intercom, which every classroom had, still echoes in my head, when the announcement was made by the principal.
I was at home recovering from open heart surgery when the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon happened. I realized how the people who were listening to Orson Wells’ broadcast of the “War of the Worlds” must have felt. It was so surreal watching reports on television as events unfolded. Was this real? Could something this horrendous actually be happening? I distinctly remember standing in the hallway watching the TV in the living room, seemingly frozen in place instead of continuing on into living room and sitting down in the chair.
I was barely old enough to remember reports about the Korean war and an armistice being signed, had no idea what that was at the time, but everyone seemed happy about it, so I assumed it was a good thing. Remember grandpa saying “Glad that war is put to bed.” Never could figure out what he meant by that. Appears that nightmare has gotten out of bed.
I was military ripe age when Vietnam went into full blown warfare. It was classified a police action, felt more like the end of the world to me. It’s extremely difficult to explain the feeling of being hit with the concussion wave of an explosive devise, and the body parts returning to their original positioning. In fact, it’s just Impossible. Then you had the clinches “Don’t worry about hearing bullets zinging over head, you won’t hear the one that gets you.” Very comforting.
I watched the clashes between police and anti-war protesters, Kent State was a travesty.
I saw Nixon’s downfall and thought how stupid he had been. There wasn’t a whole lot of love loss between he and I due to the war.
I watched Watts burn on TV and thought how dumb burning your own part of the city. If I were black I’d burn the white part of the city.
Martin Luther King’s assassination was a blow to anyone of any sense. It seemed a peaceful solution died when he did.
Then came the Iran hostage situation, I knew one of the Marines captured, Rocky was from Washington, Mo. It was a trying time. Home interest rates were 19% … you heard that right. The country was in a recession and gasoline was on the verge of being rationed.
The two Gulf Wars. Taliban, Isis, Bin Laden, terrorist bombings.
What Changed?
“Okay, you’ve been through more bad times than some and less than others, why all of a sudden the change of heart towards becoming a survivalist?”
In a word ….. Trump !!!
“Oh, here we go with the politics again!” “Another bleeding heart liberal gonna trash the conservative god.”
Number one I consider myself an Independent. For instance, I believe in food stamps for hungry children, but not welfare for any able body male. Sounds sexist. Maybe it is, but women are normally forced to tend to the children because of a dead beat dad … there must be different rules applied.
We have had great Presidents, some not so great and some just pretty much plain bad. But…. we have never had a president whose sole purpose is to destroy America. I firmly believe that is what Trump and his comrades are intent on doing. My reasoning?
Anyone, in the face of overwhelming proven facts, who doesn’t believe the Russians attacked Americas’ election process to insure Trump’s winning is an absolute fool! I’m not debating the extent of Trump’s involvement, although I believe he’s in it up to his weird hairdo, but rather the influence of a hostile foreign government playing a hand in electing our President.
At the current time, 9 months into the administration, 90% of all government vacancies, created by Trump firing the people, are still vacant. These are not janitor positions. These are ambassadors to foreign countries, which squash disagreements between us and others before hostilities break out. Judges are not appointed creating a massive clogging of the judicial system, etc, etc. In fact the State Departments’ budget is being gutted leaving a shell of an agency. A structured breakdown of peaceful resolutions.
The EPA, those people that keep smog from hiding cities from view, stops rivers from bursting into flames and keep our children safe from cancer causing toxins. It’s also being gutted and regulations that have stood through Democratic and Republican administrations are being eliminated.
National Parks and protected areas are being reduced by millions and millions of acres, sold off to mining and oil drilling companies. These are parts of America set aside for the enjoyment of current and future Americans and can not ever be reclaimed.
The hoopla you hear on the daily news is nothing but a well designed distraction from what is actually happening behind the scenes. America is so embroiled in its bitter hatred of one another, something Trump is amazing at exploiting, nobody sees are cares about the destruction going on around us.
This is not the America I fought for, nor want my grandchildren to grow up in, but I’m only 1 little old man, and more or less powerless to change anything.
That’s why I am feverishly working on this survival blog. I want people to have the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming crisis. I want to educate and make things available for people, who through no fault of their own, will be plunged into despair.
I gotta say “I’m not the bearded robed guy on the street corner predicting the end of the world and demanding you repent. Even though that may not be a bad idea,”
What I am is an old man who has seen a lot in his lifetime and have Never, with the exceptions of rice paddies, been afraid of anything. But my friends, I am quite fearful for our future and as long as God allows me to … I’ll bring all the information and products I can to help you protect your families.
Energy Creation and Survival Techniques 
I`m so happy to read this….In Ireland we laugh nervously at America and its leader Trump…but it is no joke… Ireland is a place where our government have made bad decisions, but to see America… a place we helped build, fall like this under this guy, loose its morality…measuring dicks with other world leaders. its not good. I`m happy to read this because there is an assumption that many Americans support this. Thankfully, in fact.. many like yourself do not. It is not America. I`m glad voices like you exist and you have support of the Irish and majority of Europe! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you my friend. May Ireland pray for us.
LikeLike