The 1%ers

Across my feeds and, I'm sure in other social media I do not have, it is amazing to me how many out there vilify millionaires and billionaires. To so many, they are the root of all evil in this country. Well, I beg to differ. Please keep in mind, I am not a millionaire, nor in this lifetime will I achieve billionaire status. I'm just a normal guy who worked his entire life to achieve what he has, not relying on anyone else, except my wife.

I don't understand how people can vilify those who were successful in life. Just because others aren't, doesn't mean they should be scorned and ridiculed. I see this all the time, oh, they should give all their money away to ease the plight of others. Billionaires just don't have stacks of cash lying around. Their wealth is in stocks and bonds and the companies they have built. They are the ones supplying the jobs everyone works to make their own monies and pay the bills. Without them, there would be a surge in poverty like never seen before.

Today's generations, especially in the United States, only know a level of wealth never before seen in the world. Those that criticize the rich may not think of it that way, but that is the way it is. The rich fueled the industrial revolution. That begat the auto they drive and the steel that build this country. They built the railroads which opened up commerce. They fueled the technology revolution, so without the rich, you wouldn't have the computers we have, electric or self-driing cars (neither of which I will ever own) or a $1000 phone on which you can complain about the wealthy.

If it weren't for the millionaires and billionaires, we would be barely above an agrarian society that our forefathers struggled to survive. Are there wealthy that do not do their fair share? Of course. But there are also many more of those that sponge off the social programs of the government and the gracious nature of others because they are a generational welfare family that has no accountability.

Time in Retirement

I have reached that time of my life where "things slow down", and, "you have time". Well, in some respects, that is the case. This year I entered the world of retired persons. Sounds easy, doesn't it? To some extent, I do enjoy a shower pace, but things still need to get accomplished.

As I have often said to others, "I don't idle well". That more than likely is a product of my work habits as a 40 plus year career as a retail manager. There is always something to do, always someone to take care of, always issues to take under my wing. When I called it quits, it was in the spring and what happened was I missed the busy season in the hardware business. What that allowed me to do was to actually get spring things done outside of our home that needed to get done in the spring, and not get dragged out through the end of July. That is something My Beloved hopefully appreciates; things not put off, especially outside chores.

What is true; I don't idle well. I find it difficult to "sit and relax". I see things that I want to accomplish, tasks that have been put off too long, for as a retail manager, my short work weeks were a minimum of fifty hours. When you add it travel time, that creeps it up to over sixty hours, (I haven't worked within thirty minutes travel time of my home in twenty-five years). I am generally always looking for something to do whether it is home tasks, an art project or, what is calling to me lately, a return to writing and finishing off a book.

I tend to be a creative person, not that what I do or create is any better than what anyone else can do, however keeping on that horse also means getting better at that craft. One of the problems with letting things lapse, whether it is drawing and painting, or writing is the techniques begin to fade. To keep up, one must stay on one's game. That is one of the things I look to reignite in retirement is all those things I have let fall away due to the work-a-day world.

But let me also be clear, the work I have done to pay the bills over my lifetime is what has made me who I am, though hopefully, I ma more than the sum of my professional career. But since my work-life was one of specialty service to others, it has taught me many things, and that is hopefully something I don't lose as I now count myself among the retirement generation.

What I do hope is those habits of helping others through my career stay with me and keep me on track as a partner, father and grandfather.

One other thing, I will no longer use my old blog to put forth my thoughts on life and the world. I have let it lapse, though it was a good tool for writing and a link to my deceased brother Donald who was a strong voice in the blog, it is time to put that aside. What thoughts I have or chose to put forward will come from this page.

Welcome to my website...

This Christmas Eve

The day is nearly over. Not a typical Christmas Eve around these parts; there is no snow in Snowville and 50 degree days belong in Florida this time of year.

Today is my favorite day of the year. The hustle and bustle is finished both in my work world and the personal one. The gifts are wrapped and slipped beneath our wonderful tree as we await Santa's visit down our chimney. It's easier in our present home for Saint Nicholas as we have a real chimney to slide down.

But on this night my thoughts turn to My Beloved. This night belongs to her as well. She is the engine that turns our world, that makes this house a home for both myself and our little boy. It is her touch, her imprint, her love for us that wraps our world in a cozy blanket of warmth.

This year has been difficult as I have been away in the working world more so than nearly any year of our marriage. She has taken the challenge to keep our world from tilting on its axis. Through little league baseball games to fifth grade projects to caring for her aging mother, My Beloved has shown the world how strong she is, how caring, and wrapped that with love for everyone she touches.

When I kneel this night on Christmas Eve I realize that everything I could ever pray for on this day I already have. Trinkets and bobbles and tinsel and lights fade in comparison to who I walk beside each day of my life.

So this is my Christmas card to you this year, My Beloved, for you give me the gift of Christmas every day of the year.