A PATIENT PERSON

ARE YOU A PATIENT PERSON? Those who know me best will tell you that I am not. If they chose to look back over the decades, they may tell you that I have improved.  What they won't tell you, probably because they don't know, is how much I have learned about myself over those decades and how much I work to control my patience. And what they won't know is that as I work and learn, it is getting easier to control myself, mostly.  Now, I mention all this just cause I can, and I will tell you the train of thought that brought me to write this post in the first place. 
A few days ago, during a conversation I was having with a friend of mine, the comment was made about how fast this year had gone by, and how it didn't seem all that long ago that people were panicking over the turn of the century and the possible problems that Y2K was going to bring.  Problems that just didn't materialize.  But as I thought on this thought and the few things that were said about how fast things were going, how fast the years are going by, I came to this conclusion. 
When we were young we were always looking forward to something. Grade school graduation, High School graduation, Proms, a first date, basketball season, the weekend dance, Christmas, getting old enough to get a drivers license, and then a car and then a job and it seems like it takes forever to get some of these things done, or to reach that date.  As we got older, we have reached these milestones and the ones we are looking forward to are getting less, and as we get involved in a busy life, it seems that time just slips away at times. And then the next thing we know, we look back and wonder, where did the time go. It seems only a few days ago I was a new husband and then a new father and now I am a Great grandfather.   Being a Great Grandfather is a matter of genealogy. Just how great I may be is debatable.  And as my time on the earth is winding down ( I guess it starts that process at birth, it just becomes more noticeable now) the time seems to slip by faster and faster every day. And my patience begins to go the other way.  While a school kid can't wait for summer vacation, I would just like to slow time down a bit. even though the days for both of us is actually 24 hours in duration.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR

THANKSGIVING IS OVER; and now it is time to start the Christmas season. I am one of those funny people who thinks we should celebrate one holiday at a time.  July 4th; Labor Day; Halloween; Thanksgiving and then Christmas. While decorations and a tree can be put up shortly after Thanksgiving, to do so before the Thanksgiving turkey is even cooked is pushing it a little.  Christmas carols after Thanksgiving is good, but start off slow and then build up. Even a steady diet of carols can get a little bit annoying at times.
But with this season, this year, there is a lot of doom and gloom across the globe. The latest shooting in Paris and then in San Bernadino, not to mention all the ones before them, and you just have to wonder what is going on.  Is this the escalation of evil that has been long predicted? The evil that will spread across the earth in the last days. Some will arguably say it is. Others not so much. Me, well I think it is an escalation. I think the end of the world as we know it is getting close.  But as awful as these shootings are, as awful as the increasing threat of the ISIS band is, much as the bulk of the world would like to see a return to sense and sensibility, I don't really think that is going to happen. Not any time soon, any way.
And as for the end of the world.  Well, the world is not going to come to a crashing halt with a grinding of gears and a smoking engine. Although there may be some smoke involved, the world will "end" with the 2nd coming of the Lord and sin, including the many wars and contentions will cease and the world will be a place of peace for many centuries.  Will this happen in my lifetime?
Probably not. In the lifetime of my children? Possibly. My Grandchildren and great Grandchildren? I would say most definitely it will happen in their lifetime. But with all that is happening at this time, all across the world, with world leaders pointing fingers at their neighbors, and while they paw the ground, throw dust across their backs and bellow like a couple of old bulls getting ready to fight, we must all remember the real reason for this season of the year. We should keep in mind that we are celebrating the birth of Christ, who came to earth, lived and died, as a perfect being, and in so doing, offered each of us the opportunity to return to that home from whence we came.  We should always remember that no matter how much pawing and dusting the world does, we need to always be mindful of what we are truly here for and what we are trying to accomplish on a personal level.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK 

SO MUCH TO POST

AND SO LITTLE TIME.  There have been several events that have taken place over the past few days that I could post about.  The democrat debate, the shooting event in Paris, the defeat of Rhonda Rousey. All of these could be a post on their own. Instead, I just mention them in passing as I get to the subject in my mind.  And that is
ARE ALL THE ENGLISH TEACHERS THAT HAVE PASSED ON SPINNING IN THEIR GRAVES?
If I actually believed that such a thing could happen, the spinning part, I would bet on it.  Have you listened to the news people lately.  Even old me, who mostly got poor grader in English, know better than the phrase sentences like the news anchors and reporters are doing. Repeated words in the same sentence that only adds a redundancy to the statement. Ending their sentences with words like AT.  As in   Where are you at?  Is that acceptable English now?  Any language professionals out there who can answer this question?  And when did it become acceptable to use the words like, and you know, and I mean. Sometimes several times in one sentence. And in every sentence. And to start a sentence with I Mean. How can you say I mean, when you haven't even said any thing yet.  And the weather reporters overuse the phrase "out there."  Every thing is out there.  Or the reporters that say   we will have a live report.  Isn't that better than a dead report? Just have to wonder if maybe a refresher course in English may be in order. You know, like I mean. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

RANT # 3

THE ONLY THING THAT QUALIFIES THIS AS A RANT, is that it pertains to the tics and the news media.  Other than that, it is just a comment.  
OK, I'm going to put myself out there.  But before I do, I will say this. I believe that the American public should vote and that who they, or we, vote for is private.  Now, having said that, I am favoring Ben Carson.  Who I actually vote for remains to be seen, determining on how things go. I believe Trump is probably a good business man. How good depends on how honest he is in his dealings. Things that I know nothing about.  I do know that every time one of the people gets close to him in popularity, he attacks them, usually with belittling insults.  I don't like that.  Now, Ben Carson is being attacked. Why?  Well, I think mostly by Trump because he's pulling ahead of Trump in the polls.  Mostly by the media, because they don't like him, so they are going back, in some cases way back, and digging up things that have no bearing on any thing and causing him to justify or clarify himself from 40 years ago, instead of dealing with the current issues. Do I think Trump would be a good President.  Yes I do, If you could run government like a business. Unfortunately, the board of directors, in this case, all have other agendas and someone like Trump won't be able to deal with them. Will Ben Carson? Maybe. Time will tell.  Jeb Bush maybe could, but he won't be elected. Why? Because he's a Bush and the people are tired of the Bush's right now.  They are tired of the Clinton's' right now also, but the reason Hilarious is ahead in the polls is because she does not have a viable candidate opposing her. That may change. We can always hope.  And one last thing, before I close this missive.  After the last Republican debate, the candidates complained about the moderator and the questions that were ask.  I did not watch the debate, only the media reports, but from what I was able to glean from the biased media was that the candidates, all of them, were concerned that the questions were frivolous and didn't deal with the issues.  Mr. Obama then poked fun of them and said if they can't handle a TV moderator then  the Russians and the Chinese won't be concerned.  My opinion, they weren't there to "handle" a moderator. They were there to debate the issues and that was the problem.  Maybe the Russians and the Chinese are concerned about which of the Pubs get in the final running.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

RANT # 2

DOES THIS QUALIFY AS A RANT?  With the tics heating up their campaigns, with those currently in power in the East, AKA as Washington D.C. and all the things going on, I can see my rants adding up to higher than I can count.  As in 20.   First, I want to say that I abhor war, and I eschew peace.  I don't see either one happening in the near future.  (Did abhor and eschew frighten you from this author?) I do know a few words like that. Not many, but a few.  But I digress.  Mr. Obama has said that he has a phone and a pen and he will declare law in matters that congress don't agree with him.  And congress is passing laws that make many of us in fear of our actions.  Case in point.  Recently two former Samali refugees were hired by a beer distributor to deliver beer.  But then after getting hired, they sued the company because beer is against their religious beliefs.  They were not required to drink it, just deliver it. But, the government sued in their behalf and they won $240,000.  All because they applied for a job and were hired and then didn't want to do that job. If that was against their belief, they shouldn't have applied for the job. On the other hand, the owner of Melissa's Sweet cakes was fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a lesbian couple. So the answer is why do some get money because they apply for a job that is against their belief and someone else is fined for not wanting to something that is against their religious belief.   There are many cases like this, and it makes one have to wonder why. Maybe we need to all take a really good look at those running for office and vote accordingly. City, County, State and national.  I really wonder why Hillary is allowed to run for President while she is being investigated for criminal wrong doing.  Man, I sure wish we had Mitt and Joe opposing each other and Mitt would win.  That would be the ideal match up.  AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

THIS WILL BE THE SECOND TIME that I have written about this.  So, does that qualify it as a rant?  Since it is politically motivated, perhaps it does. So, before I get much further into this rant, let me give a little back ground information.  In 2005 our federal government passed the Real ID Act.  Since our "esteemed" governor at the time thought it necessary for those entering the country and the State illegally should have a New Mexico drivers license, the federal government said it would not honor New Mexico drivers licenses as a valid form of identification. The powers that be in this State ask for an extension to "fix" the problem and that was granted. For a while.
Then a new governor, Susana Martinez, was elected and one of her campaign platforms was to get rid of these illegal drivers licenses. She has tried every year since she has been governor to get the legislature to fix this problem. They refuse to do so. All they do is ask the feds for another extension, and so far they have been getting that extension.  And every year the State Legislators keep the law that says those who are here illegally can have a valid New Mexico Drivers license. 
Now, the latest extension runs out on January 11, 2016. And there is no extension approval this time.  And our legislature don't meet again until January 19. So after the 11th, residents of New Mexico will have to have a pass port to board a plane, enter a federal facility that requires a valid ID, and many other things that drivers licenses are routinely used to identify a person. They will no longer be valid. Period.  When a legislator, was recently ask why they had not fixed this, she said she said she was trying to be sympathetic to the needs of the thousands of people who have made their way to New Mexico to make this their home. Well, what about being sympathetic to those of us who already live here, and have for decades. One just has to ask,   What exactly is it about our elected officials that they don't seem to understand about the term  "illegal".  What about that word is it that they fail to understand. 
So, I feel that we as New Mexicans need to inundate our legislators with e mails and phone calls every day until they fix this problem.  Either that, or we move to Arizona, Texas or Colorado. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

HOW'S IT WORKING FOR YOU NOW?????

I JUST HAVE TO ASK.  40 years ago, while I was still a young man, relatively speaking, and working full time, and raising a family, I was paying into the Social Security system.  I wasn't ask if I  wanted to pay into the system, I was just told that I was.  In fact, I have been paying into the system since the late 1950's and continued to do so until just about 3 years ago.  Even though I "Officially Retired" in 2009, I continued to work part time here and there and continued to pay into the system.
Now, back to the 40 years ago thing.  In 1975, the government put into place a rule, or law or whatever they called it, that when the cost of living went up, so would the social security payments. And for the last 40 years they have done so, with an average increase of 4%. Except for 3 years in that 40 years.  And all three of those years have happened since 2010. And the years we did get an increase since 2010, it has been less that 4%. So, how can this be?  Well, it is in the way the law, or what ever it is, was wrote.  It's based on the CPI.  And when the economy is good, the CPI will go up and so will the social security payments.  Well, in 2015, most indicators went up, but the price of gas came down, so that "offset" the other, according to the powers that be back east. However, the government mandated health care system that is now the "law of the land" has risen out of sight, so we, the old and the infirm, are going to have a large chunk of said social security taken away to pay for the higher costs.  Well, if health care is up, food costs are up, housing costs and insurance costs are up, and if I don't drive any where to use the lower fuel costs, it would seem to this old curmudgeon that the system I paid into for 55 + years could afford at least a small increase in benefit payments. Or at the least, not penalize me for getting old and infirm.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK