HOW ABOUT YOU? Do you know how long you will live? Well, I don't actually know how long I will live. In years. But I do know this. I'm in the beginning years of my 8th decade of life. And I saw on the news the other day, ( qualification, at my age "The other day" could have been a day or a month or even a year or more ago ) that said that a person would lose 3 sets of keys and 4 cell phones in a life time. Refering to the opening statement, I will live a long time, cause I have yet to lose my first set of keys and my first cell phone. I would purely hate to lose my keys. The cell phone, not so much.
So, I will ask for some comments here? If any one feels so inclined. Which would you like to lose, if you had to lose something. Either of the items mentioned, or something else. If you were to lose one of those items, and you had a choice, which one would you like to lose. Keys, or cell phone? Just curious.
In my humble opinion, there are a lot of things worse to lose than a cell phone or a set of keys. Like your mind, or a eye or limb. A Good friend or family member. Or your testimony of the gospel. Personally I would rather lose the alloted number of keys and phones than any of the other things I mentioned. Opinions, any one.
What would make you feel really devastated if you lost it.
One last note; The best thing to lose is your temper when you are angry. Anger makes your mouth work faster than your brain.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
Monday, May 27, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
I MUST BE HAVING FUN
WHAT ABOUT YOU? You've heard the expression, I'm sure. You know the one. Time flies when you are having fun. Well, time seems to be flying, so I must be having fun. Let me back up a few years, uh, decades, and give you a little background information.
For the few of you that may have read this blog from the beginning, you know that I spent the bulk of my working life in the mining industry. For the other one or two of you that haven't read this blog much, well, I spent the bulk of my working life in the mining industry. And during that 40 years and 2 months I worked in the mining business, I worked 16 different schedules. But the one I will talk about in this post is the one we called the 8 day off schedule.
It worked like this. We worked 12 hour shifts. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the night shift and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the day shift. Sometimes we had to be earlier for a safety meeting or some other type of meeting, but I won't get into that for this post. Suffice it to say I am talking about 6 to 6 when I talk about the shifts we worked. Now, the schedule worked like this.
We would start night shift on a Thursday and work for 4 nights; Thursday, Friday; Saturday and Sunday, coming off shift Monday morning at 6 a.m. Then we would be off Monday and Tuesday. Then on Wednesday we would work the day shift for three days and be off on Saturday and Sunday. Then we would go back to the night shift on Monday for three nights, being off then onThursday and Friday and then starting the day shift on Saturday for four days. Which meant that starting Wednesday you were off for 8 days. Yep, 8 days off in a row. Every month. In case you haven't figured it out by now, we worked 14 day and were off 14 days in every 28 day period. So after the 8 days off, we then went back to the night shift on Thursday to start the cycle all over again. And it took forever for those 8 days to come around. Cause, again, if you haven't figured it out, coming off shift at 6 a.m to start a day off, most of that first day off was spent resting, leaving you with one day to do something. So you looked forward to those 8 days off. Which took forever to come around.
Now, I mention all this to get to the point of the post. We have a young couple living next door to us and the man works in the mine, on the 8 day off schedule. And his 8 days off seem to come around really fast. He probably don't think so, but to me, being now on the outside and looking in, as it were, it seems they come around for very fast.
So, I must be having fun, cause time sure is flying by.
And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
For the few of you that may have read this blog from the beginning, you know that I spent the bulk of my working life in the mining industry. For the other one or two of you that haven't read this blog much, well, I spent the bulk of my working life in the mining industry. And during that 40 years and 2 months I worked in the mining business, I worked 16 different schedules. But the one I will talk about in this post is the one we called the 8 day off schedule.
It worked like this. We worked 12 hour shifts. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the night shift and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the day shift. Sometimes we had to be earlier for a safety meeting or some other type of meeting, but I won't get into that for this post. Suffice it to say I am talking about 6 to 6 when I talk about the shifts we worked. Now, the schedule worked like this.
We would start night shift on a Thursday and work for 4 nights; Thursday, Friday; Saturday and Sunday, coming off shift Monday morning at 6 a.m. Then we would be off Monday and Tuesday. Then on Wednesday we would work the day shift for three days and be off on Saturday and Sunday. Then we would go back to the night shift on Monday for three nights, being off then onThursday and Friday and then starting the day shift on Saturday for four days. Which meant that starting Wednesday you were off for 8 days. Yep, 8 days off in a row. Every month. In case you haven't figured it out by now, we worked 14 day and were off 14 days in every 28 day period. So after the 8 days off, we then went back to the night shift on Thursday to start the cycle all over again. And it took forever for those 8 days to come around. Cause, again, if you haven't figured it out, coming off shift at 6 a.m to start a day off, most of that first day off was spent resting, leaving you with one day to do something. So you looked forward to those 8 days off. Which took forever to come around.
Now, I mention all this to get to the point of the post. We have a young couple living next door to us and the man works in the mine, on the 8 day off schedule. And his 8 days off seem to come around really fast. He probably don't think so, but to me, being now on the outside and looking in, as it were, it seems they come around for very fast.
So, I must be having fun, cause time sure is flying by.
And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
Friday, May 17, 2013
WHERE DO YOU FALL ON THE LIST
NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU PERSONALLY: But the place, or State, where you live. What list? you ask. Well, the list of corruption. I think the two or three of you who actually wade through this drivel I call a blog are aware that I live in New Mexico. And a lot of New Mexicans will say that New Mexico is the most corrupt State in the Union. Many years ago, even decades ago, a New Mexico politician commented that if you want a degree in political corruption, go to Chicago. If you wanted a Masters degree, go to Louisiana, but if you wanted a Doctorate, go to New Mexico. People from the East Coast will probably say New York or New Jersey are the most corrupt, so it might just depend on where you live on what you think about corruption in Politics. For this post, however, I will concentrate on the Land of Enchantment.
Residents of the State will point to Manny Aragon, a politician serving prison time for kickbacks on a federal courthouse contract. He is also drawing a pension check while in prison, cause he's "eligible". There are others serving prison terms for a variety of reasons. Our past Governor had to withdraw from on offered cabinet post in the Obama administration, cause he was, ( and still is ) being investigated for receiving big campaign contributions in exchange for campaign advise. The pay to play is still working it's way through the system. I could mention more things, but I think you get the idea. A past report put New Mexico as the 45th worst State for corruption, but a more recent report has us at number 39.
I am now going to mention a few things Martinez. As in Governor Susana Martinez. In case you haven't realized this yet, I like her. Is she a perfect Governor. No. Has she made mistakes? Yes. But as a general rule, she has done many good thing for the State and has tried to do more, but has been stymied by the legislature. I will mention just a few.
During the 2013 Legislative session, she sponsored a bill to fix the above corruption items. Her bill never made it out of committee. She has tried to get the policy repealed of giving drivers licenses to illegal residents. A practice started by the previous governor. The legislature just don't seem to understand the word Illegal. And they come up with some of the stupidest reasons for not fixing this problem. Our County Senator among them. One more item. Or two. Our State's corporate taxes were the highest in the region. She wanted to lower it in order to attract more businesses to the State. Without going into the things that took place, this bill was passed. Many legislators fought this bill, including our own County State Senator, saying that the State would lose money. It was finally passed because the legislative persons are in love with all things Hollywood and this bill meant those filming in the State also got a tax break. And what has happened since this bill was passed. Businesses are already moving into the State and more businesses are looking to move here. Lower taxes, but more businesses, thus more jobs, thus more taxes. A win win situation, it seems to me.
So I'll end on this note. Our legislature, including the afore mentioned State Senator, has worked with Governor Martinez on a lot of things to improve the State and it's people. They have worked together to cut spending and to balance the budget and keep the State in the Black. Something Washington requires of States, but not of itself. I think if those in Washington would take a lesson from our Republican Governor and mostly Democrat Legislature and how they are willing to work together for the good of the people, at least most of the time, we could find our nation once again in the black financially and that our unemployment rate would decline as more people would have jobs. Now if we could just get the State politicos away from the corruption trough. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCHBANK.
Residents of the State will point to Manny Aragon, a politician serving prison time for kickbacks on a federal courthouse contract. He is also drawing a pension check while in prison, cause he's "eligible". There are others serving prison terms for a variety of reasons. Our past Governor had to withdraw from on offered cabinet post in the Obama administration, cause he was, ( and still is ) being investigated for receiving big campaign contributions in exchange for campaign advise. The pay to play is still working it's way through the system. I could mention more things, but I think you get the idea. A past report put New Mexico as the 45th worst State for corruption, but a more recent report has us at number 39.
I am now going to mention a few things Martinez. As in Governor Susana Martinez. In case you haven't realized this yet, I like her. Is she a perfect Governor. No. Has she made mistakes? Yes. But as a general rule, she has done many good thing for the State and has tried to do more, but has been stymied by the legislature. I will mention just a few.
During the 2013 Legislative session, she sponsored a bill to fix the above corruption items. Her bill never made it out of committee. She has tried to get the policy repealed of giving drivers licenses to illegal residents. A practice started by the previous governor. The legislature just don't seem to understand the word Illegal. And they come up with some of the stupidest reasons for not fixing this problem. Our County Senator among them. One more item. Or two. Our State's corporate taxes were the highest in the region. She wanted to lower it in order to attract more businesses to the State. Without going into the things that took place, this bill was passed. Many legislators fought this bill, including our own County State Senator, saying that the State would lose money. It was finally passed because the legislative persons are in love with all things Hollywood and this bill meant those filming in the State also got a tax break. And what has happened since this bill was passed. Businesses are already moving into the State and more businesses are looking to move here. Lower taxes, but more businesses, thus more jobs, thus more taxes. A win win situation, it seems to me.
So I'll end on this note. Our legislature, including the afore mentioned State Senator, has worked with Governor Martinez on a lot of things to improve the State and it's people. They have worked together to cut spending and to balance the budget and keep the State in the Black. Something Washington requires of States, but not of itself. I think if those in Washington would take a lesson from our Republican Governor and mostly Democrat Legislature and how they are willing to work together for the good of the people, at least most of the time, we could find our nation once again in the black financially and that our unemployment rate would decline as more people would have jobs. Now if we could just get the State politicos away from the corruption trough. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCHBANK.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
DO YOU REMEMBER
IN A DECADE NOT SO FAR AWAY, AND THE NOT SO DISTANT PAST: But farther back than the memory of my grandchildren, and maybe even some of my children, a president resigned from the presidency because he was caught spying on people. He was a Republican. I am not writing this post to hash over all that took place with him and his consorts back then. It is ancient history. I just brought it up as a way of reminding us of what happened during that time. A quote says that history repeats itself, and I wonder if it may be doing that now. The Infernal Revenue service spying on groups, delaying their applications over a word in the title of their group. Spying on news reporters. Boy, that got the media's attention.
Now, there is political posturing on both sides of the aisle. Instead of trying to do what is the best for the country and it's people, the opposing parties seem only to point at each other and try to make the opposite party look bad. Fingers are being pointed. The President says he won't stand for things and calls it Republican posturing. The Republicans are blaming the President and his cohorts of cover ups. In my Ditch Bank viewpoint, I think they are both right. And both wrong. But in any case, they neither one are concerned about the country. And Nancy Pelosi recently said that the Obamacare bill was lowering insurance premiums. I ask, how can she know. Most of the bill doesn't even kick in till next year. I do know that my retirement insurance premium has went from $106 a month 4 years ago to $260 a month now, 4 years later. I know that my Medi Care insurance premium went from $90 a month to over $100 a month now. And less is being paid. We will wait and see what happens on this one, but I fear the worst, and hope for the best.
In that not so distant decade, there was watchable TV shows and movies we actually looked forward to attending. Now, we refuse to go to a movie and we watch very little TV. Most of the shows are not only vulgar, but stupid. The so called comedys aren't even funny. Except in a potty mouth kind of way.
Well, I got those things off my chest. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCHBANK
Now, there is political posturing on both sides of the aisle. Instead of trying to do what is the best for the country and it's people, the opposing parties seem only to point at each other and try to make the opposite party look bad. Fingers are being pointed. The President says he won't stand for things and calls it Republican posturing. The Republicans are blaming the President and his cohorts of cover ups. In my Ditch Bank viewpoint, I think they are both right. And both wrong. But in any case, they neither one are concerned about the country. And Nancy Pelosi recently said that the Obamacare bill was lowering insurance premiums. I ask, how can she know. Most of the bill doesn't even kick in till next year. I do know that my retirement insurance premium has went from $106 a month 4 years ago to $260 a month now, 4 years later. I know that my Medi Care insurance premium went from $90 a month to over $100 a month now. And less is being paid. We will wait and see what happens on this one, but I fear the worst, and hope for the best.
In that not so distant decade, there was watchable TV shows and movies we actually looked forward to attending. Now, we refuse to go to a movie and we watch very little TV. Most of the shows are not only vulgar, but stupid. The so called comedys aren't even funny. Except in a potty mouth kind of way.
Well, I got those things off my chest. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCHBANK
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Don't you just hate that
Hate: a word used in many contexts. Like the title of this post. When people say that, it is usually in a context of irritation or sometimes just as a joke when something happens that causes aggravation, but not really meaning HATE.
A little story of history. I started to say past history, but if it is history, it is past. Many years ago, even decades, actually. While working with a crew of men, the supervisor did something that caused friction between him and another employee. Most of those on the crew had had trouble with this supervisor at various times, and this particular employee was one of them. Because of the incident that took place, the employee, who was stewing about it( I don't remember what the situation was) made a statement that "He hated the supervisor." He turned to me and said "Don't you?" I replied "No". He ask why not, cause this supervisor has caused you more problems than most of those on the crew. I will probably paraphrase what I said, but it was something like this. "Hate is an emotion, and so you have to spend time hating an individual when you give in to that emotion. I have other things to spend time on rather that hating someone." He could not understand that statement. Probably still doesn't. But that is how I felt and how I feel now. We have just too little time to spend it hating someone or seeking ways to get revenge on someone.
Now, having said that, I am getting to the point where I just hate the phrase " The new normal". This is saying that things that were normal no longer are and the things that take place now are new and they are normal. That is like saying the "New Morality". All that is, is the old immorality." If it used to be immoral, it still is, as listed in the Bible. If it used to be normal, and no longer is, maybe we all should look at what was normal and see if the New Normal is a good thing. And id it is not, then lets go back to the "Old Normal" and outlaw the New Normal. And quit saying the new normal. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.
A little story of history. I started to say past history, but if it is history, it is past. Many years ago, even decades, actually. While working with a crew of men, the supervisor did something that caused friction between him and another employee. Most of those on the crew had had trouble with this supervisor at various times, and this particular employee was one of them. Because of the incident that took place, the employee, who was stewing about it( I don't remember what the situation was) made a statement that "He hated the supervisor." He turned to me and said "Don't you?" I replied "No". He ask why not, cause this supervisor has caused you more problems than most of those on the crew. I will probably paraphrase what I said, but it was something like this. "Hate is an emotion, and so you have to spend time hating an individual when you give in to that emotion. I have other things to spend time on rather that hating someone." He could not understand that statement. Probably still doesn't. But that is how I felt and how I feel now. We have just too little time to spend it hating someone or seeking ways to get revenge on someone.
Now, having said that, I am getting to the point where I just hate the phrase " The new normal". This is saying that things that were normal no longer are and the things that take place now are new and they are normal. That is like saying the "New Morality". All that is, is the old immorality." If it used to be immoral, it still is, as listed in the Bible. If it used to be normal, and no longer is, maybe we all should look at what was normal and see if the New Normal is a good thing. And id it is not, then lets go back to the "Old Normal" and outlaw the New Normal. And quit saying the new normal. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.
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