Grumpa Joe's Place

Crossing the Bridge

Posted on 20/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

Today is one of those days when I feel the need to write something, but don’t have a clue about the topic. So here I am jumping into the fray hoping inspiration will kick in.

I just got off the phone with a buddy from grammar school. We discussed many things and one of them was our paper routes. It turns out that I got his route when he quit. We discussed dead beat customers who never paid on time. Those were the days when a route was a franchise, and I bought the newspapers and delivered them. If I wanted to get paid I had to collect from my customers. There were weeks when all my pay (profit) was tied up in unpaid subscriptions. Eventually, I hounded the dead beats into paying up. The hipocrisy of these folks was that they were the ones who complained the most. The paper is late, the paper was in the bushes, the paper was wet, I didn’t get the paper, the list went on and on.

I kept the route for two and a half years, starting in the sixth grade and finishing in the eighth. When I started high school it was time to give it up. Another boy from the neighborhood took it over and had it until he finished school.

I crossed over the bridge to high school, and a new chapter of my life began. I was partially liberated from my parents and free to join clubs and sports activities at will. What did I choose? A job.

The priests who taught at my school lived in a monastery and needed someone to answer the phone and take messages for them. I was the one. It gave me a place to do homework while I waited for the phone to ring. The job started at 4:00 p.m and ended at 7:00 p.m. That gave me a little time to wander around the local business area before I started. I caught a streetcar to go home and was usually home by eight.

Kids today, don’t have experiences like that anymore. When school is finished they run to catch the school bus to take them home. If they are in sports or a club they run to catch the special bus which runs later. Too many kids today, have their own cars to use, and don’t even use buses.

I was a senior before my dad allowed me to use the family car to get to and from school. He always allowed me to use the car for weekend activities, but very seldom did he give his ride to me. I didn’t own a car until I finished college and bought one for my self.

Filed under: Aging, Biography, family | Tagged: Deadbeats, High school, Paper route | Leave a comment »

Happy Father’s Day?

Posted on 16/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

I’m trying to understand why we still have Father’s Day. Clearly half of the marriages in the world fail and women are bearing the responsibility for raising kids by themselves. So just what are we celebrating? Are we giving men credit for getting their jollies off to get their woman pregnant? What?

Growing up, Father’s Day meant something. Our father’s were all present in the home. The only kids without a father were those whose dads died either by accident, war, or disease. Divorce was still a dirty word. Couples stayed together for the good of the children. It seems today that we don’t have the same temerity to grin and bear personal suffering for the sake of our offspring. Granted, there were some unhappy people but nobody knew they were unhappy because a show of marital unhappiness was taboo.

Most likely the kids of these unhappy people were the ones who started the trend to divorce. They probably resolved to not live in an unhappy relationship like their parents did. More likely than that couples today are more narcissist and would rather not be bothered with marriage vows, or kids. We can blame Hugh Hefner and Playboy for the sexual revolution that opened the doors to pre-marital sex, and birth control pills for the practice of recreational sex.

You may think I am being stupid with my statements, but the fact is that all highly developed countries are now importing child bearing people from less developed countries to keep their populations sustainable. Our government leaders have been pushing us to become more like Europe and I cannot understand that because Europe is in a world of hurt. Why? Europe’s population is at a point where they cannot sustain their cultures anymore. Maybe our leaders want our population to be decimated by a lack of interest in propagation. Seriously, people have forgotten why there is sex and why we have it. The new thinking is to have sex for fun only, and an attitude that maybe if someday I get married I’ll think about having a kid. Have you ever wondered why there is such a problem with abortion? It has become another form of birth control. Planned parenthood means you only have a kid when you want one, and not when nature deems.

The fight for open borders is strongly due to keeping the birthrate in the US above 1.83 children per family. That is the number required to maintain the stability of the culture. Do we think Germany was right to allow so many mid-eastern people to march into their midst? Their birth rate is less than 1.3 kids per family which is below the point of recoverability, good-bye Germany. In the meantime, existing Germans will have a young population of muslims to pay German pensions. What do they care about the future German generations? They have destroyed their culture by adopting the politically correct program to save the planet by adopting population control. They just didn’t know how, or when to stop. The cure was really simple, allow Nature to run it’s course, and the population would have happened. The problem is that we are so smart that we really believe that a minuscule bunch of people can affect the course of a planet that has been in existence for billions of years. How smart are we to believe that the answer is to reduce the number of people by artificial means when natural selection will do it for us. We really believe that disease, pestilence, war, natural disaster, asteroid collisions is never going to happen, and we will run the planet out of resources. Poor us. We will be crawling all over each other stealing food from neighbors trying to stay alive. Yet these same smart people cannot see themselves being smart enough to solve starvation problems when they occur. Instead they resist using genetically modified foods which grow well and in abundance because they are afraid of eating something strange. Organic is the name of the game, eat healthy, stay healthy, live longer.

The only conclusion I have come to is that Father’s Day is still alive because I am a father, and my kids need a special day to remember that. They need a day to show their kids how to venerate their dad so when their kids have kids they will know to do the same. Living by example is the philosophy I used to raise my kids, and that is why they just stopped by and brought me lunch on this day.

Oh yeah, father’s like to lecture like I just did above, and on Father’s Day my kids can’t say anything negative about my lectures.

Happy Father’s Day!

Filed under: Aging, family, Society | Tagged: Divorce, Hugh Hefner, Population Control, Sexual Revolution | 1 Comment »

What to Do While You Wait

Posted on 15/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

I haven’t reblogged something in a long time, but today, I found this piece very informative and want too share.

Necessary and Proper

(graphic credit)

By Jeff Rutherford

We may be waiting a loooong time for political sanity and public civility to return to America, so I’m tossing out eight ideas to keep us busy helping our countrymen and our great nation while we wait. They are meant to draw our attention away from distant Washington DC, and back to our own homes and

View original post 1,415 more words

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

Wisdom Shared

Posted on 15/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

I love when friends send me stuff. The wisdom being passed around on the internet is amazing. All we have to do is separate the facts from the fiction and we are safe.

“SIX LITTLE STORIES” –

{1} Once all villagers decided to pray for rain On the day of prayer all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella.

That’s FAITH.

{2} When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them.

That’s TRUST.

{3} Every night we go to bed without any assurance of being alive the next morning, but still we set the alarms to wake up.

That’s HOPE.

{4} We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future.

That’s CONFIDENCE

{5} We see the world suffering, but still we get married and have children.

That’s LOVE.

{6} On an old man’s shirt was written a sentence ‘I am not 80 years old; I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience.’

That’s ATTITUDE.

Have a happy day and live your life like the six stories.

When I was a child, I thought nap time was punishment. Now it’s like a mini-vacation.

“GOOD FRIENDS ARE THE RARE JEWELS OF LIFE. DIFFICULT TO FIND AND IMPOSSIBLE TO REPLACE!

Filed under: Aging, Characters I knew, Warm and Fuzzy | Tagged: Senior wisdom | 2 Comments »

Congress In Action????

Posted on 15/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

The Americans With No Abilities Act (ANAA)
Senators are considering introducing legislation that will provide new benefits for many more Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills and ambition.
“Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society,” said California Senator Kamala Harris. “We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability (POI) to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing.
In a Capitol Hill press conference, Nancy Pelosi pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has an excellent record of hiring Persons with No Ability
Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million mid-level positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.
Finally, the Americans With No Abilities Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the non-abled, banning, for example, discriminatory interview questions such as, “Do you have any skills or experience that relate to this job? “As a non-abled person, I can’t be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them,” said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, KY due to her inability to remember “righty tighty, lefty loosey”. “This new law should be real good for people like me. I’ll finally have job security.” With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Senator Dick Durbin, II, said: “As a senator with no abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her inadequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation and a good salary for doing so.

This message was approved by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Diane Feinstein, Kamala Harris, Maxine Waters, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, Jeff Flake, Chris Van Holland, AO-C, Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi…….. all of whom certainly are; Americans With No Abilities whatsoever!

Filed under: Government, Humor, Sarcasm, Satire | Tagged: Congress, Durbin, Kamala Harris | Leave a comment »

Cross At Your Own Risk

Posted on 13/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

cross bridge at own risk_1551498067591.jpg_6842487_ver1.0_640_360

Illinois is a great state to live in if you are socialist. We put California and New York to shame when it comes to one party politics, graft, and families who make politics a business. Our last election put a democrat governor back in the statehouse and our legislature can’t increase taxes fast enough. The increases are not going to fix real problems but to fuel unmet pension obligations for public sector workers. By law the pensions are funded every year, but our politicians have seen fit to use the money elsewhere. The funds are in dire straits. My town is loaded with retired teachers and supervisors. All I can say is what I observe. These people live a whole lot better on a pension than they did working.

Meanwhile we have some very serious infrastructure problems which are going unaddressed. One in particular is the Inter-state 80 bridge over the DesPlaines river in Joliet. Here is how the Illinois politicians have addressed the problem.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/392512332-video

By the time you see this sign it is too late to exit I80. To convince myself of the seriousness I tested the bridge last Saturday afternoon by driving over it. The structure seems to be sound, but the road surface is a total mess. I found my self in the center lane of the three lane road. I could not change lanes because I was in a sea of trucks in front, back, and on the side. I slowed down to make myself feel like that was the correct thing to do. At the very center of the crossing the road surface dips a full four inches over a twelve foot span. On land this would not concern me, but while crossing a river a hundred feet in the air it scared the crap out of me. On land when a road dips it is because the roadbed has compacted but on a bridge there is no dirt below the road surface, only air. This is a terrible accident waiting to happen at any moment.

Why is IDOT waiting to repair the problem? Good question with many answers none of which will hold water after the section of road decides to take a swim. On my return trip I exited the interstate one mile before the bridge and took the city streets. I’m lucky I know the area well enough to be able to do that. What if you are a vacationer from another state passing through. You will ignore the sign even if you do see it, and proceed.

Anyway, when the event finally happens Illinois will be on the map right up there with California and New York. The world will see the news broadcasts of our finest politicians passing the buck and blaming the republicans. Oh wait, they can’t do that there are no republicans.

Why is this bridge crumbling? It is a long story. Once upon a time there was a Congressman from Frankfort whose name was George Sangemeister. There was also a giant parcel of US Government land know as the Joliet Arsenal. George wanted to leave a legacy so he legislated that the land should go back to the people. The arsenal was no longer being used to make bullets, bombs, and torpedos, and is made good sense. George’s plan split the land into three parcels. The first parcel created the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery for veterans. The second parcel created Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie. The final parcel was designated for business. I’m sure George made some side money on that one. The business that settled there is a giant terminal for transporting goods coming from China. This is the culprit. There are thousands of trucks coming into and out of the terminal. Container trains come in from the east and the west they get unloaded and then trucked to our local Dollar General stores with all the crap the Chinese send us. We get cheap goods to fill our garages and basements with and the states get a bill to rebuild highways, and bridges. Now how cheap is that? What we don’t pay for in goods we wind up paying for infrastructure.

GR3A0941 Abe Elwood Enterpise Zone 22032357_119192876909

Filed under: family, Government, politics, Travel | Tagged: I-80 Bridge, taxes | 2 Comments »

I Resent That

Posted on 12/06/2019 by Grumpa Joe

Yesterday, John Dean, a lawyer from the Watergate-Nixon era testified before Congress. His mission was to bash Trump and to point us toward impeachment. What really pissed me off was not that Dean was a credible witness which he is not, but that the news people kept telling me that he is eighty years old. So what? The implication was that being eighty makes one unknowledgeable and not credible. I’m over eighty and I believe I can keep up with the best of the younger generation. Not only that, I hang with a group of men in which I am the baby. Any of us would be capable of debating any newscaster in the country. We keep abreast of the news, and we regularly debate current issues all while remaining friends.

Aging definitely comes with problems, many of them are memory related. Those of us who are lucky enough to retain our minds live active cognitive lives. One thing for sure, we aged have to put up with too many memory loss jokes, although I find most of them hilarious. When one experiences age related memory problems as I have, the age jokes don’t seem very funny no matter how true they may be.

I happen to live with a wife who is one of the unfortunate aged who has lost her ability to remember anything. The sadness of her disease is that she is at a point where she has given up chewing and is now forgetting how to swallow. Think about that one. Try eating (baby food) without being able to chew or swallow. Her best meal these days is breakfast. She seems to be most functional after twelve to fifteen hours of sleep. She eats a decent breakfast but then goes downhill from there refusing to eat either lunch or supper. Some men consider me lucky since she has been unable to speak for over three years. Speech is a valuable function we take for granted. For instance, she cannot tell me how she feels, or what hurts. The only sound she can make is a siren like whine when we (me and her caretaker) move her to change her. I have to read her body language to get an idea of her situation.

My advice to people these days is to pray for a quick death. People who drop dead instantly receive a gift from God. In my wife’s case she is the opposite. Looking back at our history together her first symptoms began to appear seven years ago. She is at a point where the skin on her lower extremities has very poor blood circulation and the result is she gets pressure sores that cannot heal. One doctor told me that her disease is terrible because the brain dies before the rest of the body. I agree with that assessment, but will add to it. When the body does begin to fail it does so in a slow creeping manner. The life force of blood is needed to support major organs so body parts like toes, feet, legs etc. lose.

My philosophy is to give her the best drug-free quality of life possible. At this point the quality is in how comfortably she sleeps. When my beloved sleeps twenty-two hours a day, and is frowning the whole time she is in some kind of discomfort. Right now I am wrestling with a decision to use morphine to ease her discomfort. I get an argument from her caretaker that morphine will make her to sleep more and accelerate her death. The hospice nurses argue that morphine merely relaxes a person so they don’t fight so hard to live with pain. The relaxation allows them to pass comfortably and peacefully. One argument I make with myself is that if she is no longer eating or drinking, and sleeping twenty-two hours a day what difference will it be if I administer morphine and she sleeps twenty-four hours in peace.

Filed under: Aging, Biography, health care, Seniors | Tagged: aging, Alzheimers, Decisions, Dimentia | 2 Comments »

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