What A Life

Today is a good day for me to feel sorry for myself. I don't do that often, but life is chafing my ass, lately. I am angry, and that's what it takes to bring about change in life for me. I am also tired of wondering how I am going to make it from week to week, day to day and so on. Life isn't much fun struggling to survive. At my age I should be winding down and starting to enjoy life, not struggling to eat.
Jobs are hard to come by in this land of milk and honey in northern WI, so I make very little, basically I am working for insurance, not good insurance, but insurance. I had surgery on my hand a few months back and it didn't work, so my fingers are numb and getting worse. The job I have damaged it and would continue if I let it. I miss work a few times with doctors etc., and can't afford the time off. Workmen's comp only pays if you are off for seven or eight days so I haven't been able to collect for the time off. The job makes you come in and do light duty rather than pay you to be off work, even if it isn't in every one's best interest. They seem to think every employee is ripping them off, and couldn't possibly be the jobs themselves that harm employees. If you get hurt at work you in effect are punished in lots of ways. The brass don't talk to you, you do some meaningless work, you have to have drug tests and breathalyzer, and can't get raises if raises come while on light duty, and that doesn't mean you get the raise after you are off it either. You just miss the raise period.
It seems they feel you are either lying about the injury or trying to make money off them. These are just some ways the American worker is being treated in the workplace. All the while making record profits. I am all for profits, and competition, but not on the backs of the people paying the price.
I will go back to school somehow, and I plan to fight industry somehow in the future to protect the American worker. I am sure at this point industry has pissed on the wrong leg this time!

Thoughts For Today

Dubbya says he is not changing policy in Iraq, and Rummy says the Iraqi government needs to take control sooner than later. Good idea boys!
I'm sure the Iraqi people were happy to get rid of Saddam, and looked forward to their version of freedom, and maybe even supported us and our efforts to rebuild their country.
It doesn't take much thought to understand that for any effort to succeed, we need the support of the people. It doesn't take much effort to see that the support isn't there any more. And why should they? You can't rebuild in violence, people can't work, the violence is destroying buildings daily, many are being killed and tortured daily, and the government, and I use that term loosely, doesn't have the guts to do what is right for the people. Their government needs to say there will be peace at all costs, no sectarianism, no favoritism, just peace period. Politics can come later, corruption and loyalties need to stop, the country and people must come first. If Dubbya and the Iraqi government can't see that, then things will never change.

School Shootings

I was just watching a program about the rash of school shootings, including one in WI, and bomb threats also in WI. It angers me to no end, and is a cowardly act against kids. And then in most instances they kill themselves, another cowardly act. I would rather they deal with Bubba in prison for the rest of their lives. I think they would get their just dues in prison by other inmates for their crimes.
Then to top it off there is some nut politician in WI that wants to arm the teachers, sure so they can lose the guns to the bad guys and use it on others. School just isn't the place for people walking around armed, except for the police. If teachers need to be armed, then something is wrong in our society.

The moon and Son

My son, a SWAT Officer with the Kansas City, Kansas PD, is the one holding the M-16. They responded to an attempted hold up at the speedway there. An off duty female detective, who was working at the speedway was shot 4 times with a .44 magnum but is living yet. The bad guys, or two of them were caught a few blocks away. Proud of the boy!
My wife, dog and I was just outside looking at the harvest moon, which is supposed to be 12% bigger than normal tonight. The night is warm and clear, perfect, and so was the company and the moon. I was looking for a comet that is visible but the brightness of the moon prevented seeing it. Oh well it will be closest to the earth later this month, maybe I can see it then.

The Dash

Not long ago my sister was here for a visit, she showed me a thing on the computer on some site that caught my attention. It was a ditty about the dash between when you are born and when you die, like on a head stone. This ditty said that the dash was the important part, and meant the life in between. It was brought up at a funeral some place and the person talked about what people will say about our dash when we die. As it happens, there was good things in this persons life yet asked what we would leave behind in peoples minds who have known us. Maybe what we want people to say about us. Maybe to live our lives like we want people to say good things.
In any event I will ask now, what is it you would like people to say and remember about you?
I know what my family and close friends would say, but not really what other who met me would say. I know I have fallen short on what I would like others to say, in my mind at least, maybe there is still time to improve. I guess in the end a life is what you can live with yourself, not really what others think. What do you think?