Granpaw’s Journal

What is going on in this country? Indeed, all over the world…?

A few weeks ago I was made aware by the talking heads on the boob tube that there was a problem in the US with banking and mortgage companies.

It followed that the US government was contemplating a plan to fix the problem, the problem with that was that no-one seemed to know what the problem was, well, no-one except the problem solvers in government anyway, and as usual they had a figure, (7 billion I think).

So they come up with a plan to fix “our” problems and of course it was flawed and failed…the plan that is.
So… They came up with a different plan (with the addition of multiple items) that no-one can say what it means, or even if it will work.

Now we find out that the same “problem” is apparently world wide because a lot of other Governments are doing the same as we are.

What does that mean to a senior citizen on Social Security/ SSI that lives on a fixed income, owns his/her own home, and has no outstanding loans or mortgages?..I watched all the channels, I listened to the debates, I never heard one word of assurance.

Now our esteemed political hopefuls have this current crisis to focus on in their “changes” speeches instead of a simple problem that “we the little people” could understand.

Can anyone give me a reason to NOT use the word “smokescreen”?

This from the Yahoo front page

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. -

A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer.

Jose A. Cruz, 34, of Clarksburg, was pulled over early Tuesday for driving without headlights, police said. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed three field sobriety tests before he was handcuffed and taken to a police station for a breathalyzer test.

As Patrolman T.E. Parsons prepared the machine, Cruz scooted his chair toward Parsons, lifted his leg and “passed gas loudly,” the complaint said.

Cruz, according to complaint, then fanned the gas toward the officer.

“The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons,” the complaint alleged.

He was also charged with driving under the influence, driving without headlights and two counts of obstruction.

I think only the “battery” charge is a felony…Talk about showing the “perp” whos in charge…

It’s been awhile since I posted anything here in my little corner of the world.
Even longer since I posted anything of value they tell me, “they” being the little scratchy voices in my head.

Beginning

A little over a month ago I developed a numbness in my left hand, overnight I lost the ability to play guitar, and even worse (if anything could be), I can no longer do the blacksmith work I have relied on for a few years now. Along with the numbness I also inherited a serious case of the “I don’t cares”.

What does this have to do with anything you ask?..Or was that the voices again…No matter, it only goes to show (me) that I have been right all along in that I have always been, and always will be, a day late and a dollar short.

The real beginning

I have to go back a few weeks, to when I first heard that the price of scrap metal was at an all time high, $320. a ton to be precise. I had well over a ton of cut offs and misc., short stuff in the shop that I had collected over the years in case I needed something of that size.
I loaded it all up in the truck and took it in in 1/2 ton loads and made some good bucks…till I ran low on scrap..so searching around I started taking in some of the more unusual “jigs” I had made up for various projects.
When that ran out, I racked my brain trying to think of a way to get more. I came up with nothing so I gave up on the scrap. Then along comes a freind of mine who talked to another fellow and got a deal that (we) could take this guy’s scrap iron and pay him 1 third of the profits, this was a good deal!…
It was also the onset of the numbness…
I immediately went in to town and bought two tanks of oxygen, and one of propane for cutting and got set up to cut and haul just as the bottom dropped out of the price.

To make matters worse, days later, I accepted payment to make a pair of “H-L hinges” for a lady out in California, halfway though the layout I found I had scrapped the very “jig” I need to make the hinges, and could not remember how they were made. Of course I am sending her Money back, it’s not the money that bothers me, but for years I would do anything I could for my customers, many have become friends, and it bothers me to no end that I had to go back on my word.

On top of all this

The band has talked about replacing me with another guitar player. I will still be with them ( I hope) but I don’t know what I can bring to the party anymore, which is where the “I don’t care” comes in…

Well I’m done till next time, what’s that?..oh..yeah…still nothing of value…sigh…yeah I know.