WHAT IS YOUR OPINION

HALLOWEEN:  LIKE IT OR NOT?  There has been a lot on the news lately about this being the Halloween season and the time to see scary movies.  There was even a special report on the local NBC station this morning on what scary movies to allow your children to see and at what age they could see what movie.  OK    here is my opinion.  I used to love going to the movies.  My wife and I saw a lot of movies when we were growing up.  Good movies. Entertaining movies.  Comedy's, Drama, even a musical from time to time.  Musicals like Oklahoma and South Pacific.  Western's and military war movies.  I even saw, what was a few scary movie's for the time period, but I did not particularly like them. I only remember walking out on one movie, though, and that was a movie based on an Edgar Allen Poe story called   The Fall of the House of Usher.  Now I am an old man, and I still like a good movie. The problem is, there aren't any good movies. Now, they are all slash and burn, violent scenes and foul language.  Even the so called comedy's are not much more that bathroom potty mouth humor and I don't like that.  When you have to sit through a 90 minute movie with 45 minutes of it being nude scenes and cuss words, you really can't enjoy the other 45 minutes. And as for the scary movies, why would you want to go see a movie that is going to scare you and cause  you to have night mares?  Nope, I like to be entertained, but I don't like to be scared to death or bored to death, or embarrassed to the point of being squirming uncomfortable. So, I'll just read my books and watch the few TV shows that I can stand to watch and leave the rest to you.   AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK 

A FEW REASONS

I STILL WON'T VOTE FOR HILLARY.  I watched the debate last night.  I didn't really know if I would, but I did. At least most of it.  So, I will repeat what I have said in past posts.  I don't really like Trump.  For a lot of reasons. But I just can't in all good conscience vote for Hillary. So, I will ramble along and mention a few things about why I can't vote for her.
1st. in spite of what Hillary said in the debate, she is not in favor of the 2nd amendment. And she wants to change it.  She has said so in several rally's. The DC VS. Heller that Trump mentioned that has Hillary so upset was a supreme court decision that upheld the 2nd amendment.  While Hillary tried to justify her upsetness in the debate, she was told after the decision was made that the right to bear arms was a constitutional right according to the 2nd amendment.  She then said, well then, we need to re write the amendment.  That is a quote and is on video. She also has said that she wants to follow the Australian system of gun control, which is to take everyone's guns from them and melt them down. That is also on video and has been reported in the news.  Gun safety is one thing.  Gun control by taking away a constitutional right is something else again.
2nd.  When Chris Wallace ask about a speech she had given to a Brazilian bank for which they paid her over $200,000.00 as reported by wiki leaks, she quickly sidestepped the question on went of on Trump and Putin.  She did that several times during the debate, ignoring pointed questions and pointing the finger at Trump and something not relevant to the question ask. 
3rd. A lot is being made about Trump's lack of respect for women. While some of that has been debunked, there is no doubt that Trump has said and done some things that are not good. I don't deny that.  I just have to wonder why the press/media keeps harping on things Trump did in the past, and ignores the things Hillary/Bill did in the past.  If that is in the past for them, then it should be in the past for Trump.  On that note, I lived through the Clinton's in the White House already. I don't want to do it again.  And why does the media forget to mention the fact that the Clinton's stole over $200,000.00 worth of art, china and silver when they left the white house. They did get caught and were forced to return it.  
4th. Trump accused Clinton and her party of sending people to his rally's to cause trouble, cause fights and be disruptive.  This has been proven and a news report this morning said that two people had left the Democratic party because of it.
5th.  Hillary is carrying on with Bernie's thought that education for the middle class will be free.  Uh No, Hillary, it won't be free.  Someone has to pay for that. Maybe the student won't. Maybe the government will. But where does the government get their money?  From the tax payers, AKA the middle class.  Much has been said about Trump not paying taxes. But the news that always reports on that does say, quickly, that what he did was legal. The politicians pass tax laws that create loop holes and then they are able to hide money and not pay taxes. Trump is not the only one to do this, and the bulk of the taxes do come from what is called the middle class. So, no folks, the education will not be "Free". 
So, no folks, I don't care for Trump.  Gary Johnson, or any of the other candidates have enough support to win, so I am in a position of voting for someone that I don't like.  All I can do is go vote and hope for the best for the country, because, in my opinion, no matter who wins, the American people will be the losers.    AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

A POST OF FIRSTS

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TIME?  The first time you did something that was an accomplishment.  I am in my 8 decade of life here on this third rock from the sun and I still remember a few things.  Not a lot, maybe, but some.  Like
The first time I rode a bike without my parents holding on to me.  Yes, that was a long time ago, on a Schwinn bike that my parents had bought from a cousin.  But I loved that bike, as far as bikes go, and I still remember the thrill of knowing that I could stay on it without falling over.  Yes, I remember that first.  Some of the other firsts of note were the first time I rode a horse, the first time I roped a calf and the first time I killed a deer.  I vaguely remember starting school, first grade and High School.  
I remember the first time I drove a car. Well, really a pickup.  It was a early 1950's model Chevrolet pickup with a 4 speed manual transmission. I started out in 1st gear and I thought I was really flying when I got to shift to 2nd.  I wasn't really going fast, but as a very young teenager driving for the first time, it felt like it. We were on a dirt ranch road with no traffic.  Of course, I was not a novice at driving, as I had driven a ford tractor on the ranch for a while.  But a pickup on a real road was different.  
I remember the first time I flew in a helicopter. I also remember the first time I rode a commercial bus and on a commercial airliner.  
I remember the first time I ran a caterpillar bull dozer and other heavy equipment. I remember the first time I operated a mining shovel.  I remember the last time I ran a shovel better. That is the day I retired.   I remember the first time I bought a car.  I remember the first time I became a father.   Some of the things that were firsts were just that, but few brought the sense of accomplishment of a little boy the first time he rode a bike with help and knowing that  Hey, I can do that.  And there is no other feeling like that in the world.  Regardless of what that first is for you, when you do that one "first" thing, then you know that other firsts are possible.  AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

I JUST HAVE TO SAY THIS

I GUESS IT IS TIC TIME AGAIN.  So I will say up front.  There is Nothing, and I mean nothing, that Trump can say or do that will make me vote for Hillary.  I don't like Hillary. I lived through the years they were in the White House before and the things they did and the things they stole when they left the White House and got caught and had to return the items. The lies she has told. She is a woman who is power hungry and has nothing in mind except winning the white house and the power that will give her, and she will use that power to run rough shod over any one who objects to her agenda.  And she will have an agenda.   Now, having said that
I don't like Trump either. He  is not a likable person.  He is rude, crude and socially unacceptable, as the saying used to go. He demeans women, people of various races, religion and religious people. I am a native of New Mexico and he has demeaned New Mexicans and our governor. So, no, I don't like Trump.  However, in a choice between Hillary and Trump, I would vote for Trump if there was no other choice.    However,
There is another choice.  Two of them in fact.  Well, actually more than two, but I will mention two. The first is former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson. He actually has received some national attention and has been on some of the national TV shows. he is polling around 10 % at this time, and could possibly, and I say possibly, gain enough attention and polling percentage to be on the third Presidential debate.  Boy, wouldn't that put a wrinkle in the Hillary/Trump agenda, if they had a third candidate to contend with during a debate. Gary Johnson was a good governor during his first term in office. He went a little down hill during the second term, and he did divorce his wife when she got sick. Maybe more to that story than meets the  eye, though. He is a successful business man. And he has climbed Mount Everest. Literally.
The other choice is Evan McMullin.  Other than he is a member of the same church I am, I know little about him.  There are many who are touting him on social media. He is from Utah, and could carry that State, since the populace there are against both Hillary and Trump.  He is a longer shot than Johnson, but still  he has a shot.  And here is why, or how;
In order to win the election, a presidential candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win.  If Gary Johnson should carry New Mexico and McMullin should carry Utah, for example, and if Trump nor Hillary should neither one win 270 electoral votes, then the House of Representatives would be task with picking a President.  Since Hillary is a Democrat and the House is largely Republican, and since they are not liking Trump, they could very well pick either Johnson or McMullin.  Boy, wouldn't that be a kick in the collective pants of the Clinton/Trump campaigns. And I can already hear the howling that would go up from both of those camps if that should happen.  Of course, if the House should pick either of the "Popular" candidates, the other side will holler loud and long.  Who ever wins this election, by electoral vote or House vote, the American people will be the losers.
In all my 50 plus years of being old enough to vote, I have never seen a political climate that has been so negative and so insulting to the intelligence of the American people.
AND THAT IS THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

IT'S A GOOD THING

WHAT'S A GOOD THING, YOU ASK?  I WILL TELL YOU TOWARD THE END OF  THIS POST.   BUT FIRST;   
I was raised on a cattle ranch.   When I was old enough to seek employment, I spent some time working for the Forest Service, in the logging industry and then spent 40 years in the mining industry, ultimately retiring from that business a few years ago.  So what? you may ask.  Well, I'll tell you what.
Ranchers, farmers, loggers etc. had and have a penchant to take care of the land.  They have too, since the land is what supplies their living.  They watch the water sources and develop them as needed, and rotate their cattle herds accordingly.  Then in the 1970's, or there about, the environmental movement started.  This movement had been around for a long time prior to the 1970's, I admit, but it really got a foot hold in the 70's.  And guess what.  Ranchers and farmers and loggers supported that movement.  For a while. Cause they were aware of the need to care for the environment.  It took a while, but eventually they realized that this movement was not to care for the environment, but to remove all ranchers, loggers and any one else they could off of the land.  And they succeeded, by underhanded means, using false stories and pictures.  They would show pictures of clear cut logging, stating that it took place on public forests, when actually it was from timber farms in the Northwest. Private land owned by large lumber corporations. But the politicians back east lapped it up and passed laws that affected the people in the west, without actually learning the facts.  Now the movement has reached a point that any one wanting to run cattle operation, open a mine, or any thing else that involves the prudent use of the land, they have to spend hundreds or thousands or even millions of dollars to prove that they will not damage the land in a EIS.  For those of you that don't know what an EIS is, that is an Environmental Impact Statement. And if the environmental groups decide that it is going to affect an owl or a hawk or a fish or a mouse or whatever they can come up with, then you will not be able to use the land.  So what is a good thing.    
Well, if Adam and Eve had been required to file an EIS, they would have starved to death before they were able to start tilling the land.   AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

THE BENEFITS OF OLD AGE

WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS IS THE GOLDEN YEARS:  And I have to agree that it is.  We have the years and the Doctors get the gold.  And, I may add, the pharmacies, and the ad agencies that pander to the aged and infirm. Or those who are approaching that point.  They point out all the things that can go wrong with you as you get older and the benefits of the various medications that will improve your quality of life.  You have a problem, they have an answer.  Not always the best answer, but they have one. If you listen to the message they are promoting, any medicine that caters to a certain problem will improve your health and help you live a long and prosperous life.  The problem with these medicines, is the "side" effects.  And the warnings.  It may cause cancer. You don't have cancer, but if you take this medicine to help something, you may get cancer. It may cause a stroke or a heart attack, or any number of things that you currently don't have.
And then there are the ones that say, don't drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medicine will affect you.  It may cause you to get sleepy. It may cause you to have diarrhea. The main concern in this case is that these two items don't happen at the same time.
AND THAT IS THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK