Wildflowers - Castlerock Canyon
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
Vacation, May-June 2005
I suppose that it could be argued that my husband and I are on permanent vacation, since we are retired. Reality is, we have more to do now than ever and we also have the time to do it. Our plans have to be realistic and within our means, but it is a glorious freedom to be able to put down the daily cares of life and visit family and friends for a month when your soul thirsts for the communion that you can only find with those that are closest to you.
Because my husband Bill is physically disabled and is frequently in pain from the Dystonia he has lived with for most of his life, and because I also have problems with osteoarthritis, our biggest issue is allowing enough time for rest and recuperation when we are on the road. We've found that short hops of under 300 miles work really well for us. We get up when we feel rested, drive for 2 or 3 hours, take a hour for refreshment and rest, then drive the rest of the miles we planned for the day and stay overnight. No deadheading. We leave that for our trips by air.
The wonderful result of this necessary planning is that we are able to stay focused on enjoying the trip. We can stop to enjoy State Parks, city attractions and those off road experiences that you see on billboards and rarely stop to enjoy when your time is more limited. We can satisfy our curiousity about historical markers and country market stands. If we get a little lost, changing our path is not a major concern. We love the variety and peaceful views on the State and County roads and often find amusements that the Interstate does not offer.
One of our major destinations this trip was Olathe, Kansas, where Bill's father and step-mother reside in an assisted living complex. We are planning more frequent visits to Kansas as Bill's father is 94 now and his step-mother will be 85 soon. Dr. Joe's health is good in many ways, but his physical abilities are suffering with age and he is now in a wheelchair. Ruth had a hip replacement a few months ago and things are not as easy for her now either. The upside of all this is that they are otherwise well, happy and as involved as they can be with God, family, friends and life in general. Dad was able to present several verses of "My Coney Island Baby" in a respectable barritone when asked to sing at the lunch table and enjoyed our trips outside to enjoy the Kansas sunshine. Ruth recounted stories of recent visits with her daughters who live nearby and showed us pictures of her grandchildren with obvious pride. We dined together in the main dining room each night of our visit. They were also full of inquiries about our lives, our health and our daily concerns. They made it easy to visit and hard to leave because they are so dear to both of us. I can only hope that we will live our golden years with such dignity.
While we know that Western Kansas has a lot to offer in the way of history and amusements, this trip was focused on people. I wish I could say the drive across Eastern Kansas and Eastern Colorado was stimulating, but there's little to catch your attention. Once you get about 100 miles out of Kansas City to the east, the land flattens, trees become more scarce and the terrain doesn't change much until you start seeing the foothills of Colorado. We were interested to see, however, that the little towns along I70 going east, were virtual islands of well tended streets and gardens with huge churches and small but busy populations.
One town seen from the road had such a large church that we went off road to take a look. There were less than a hundred houses in the township, but a Catholic church of city proportions loomed at the edge and was only beaten in size by the huge grain silos on the edge of town. It's obvious that this church must draw from a much larger agricultural community, but it was an anomaly in such a small town. The tiny houses seemed oddly in contrast with the flying butress look of the church. Talk about an awsome daily reminder of your sins. Whew!
We spent the night in Colby, Ks on the Kansas/Colorado border. The next day we departed the interstate and went south on highway 86 since it intersects with 83 at Franktown, Colorado. Franktown is about 2 miles south of our destination in South Parker where my daughter and her husband just moved into a beautiful new home. Turning on to 86, the land begins to change almost immediately into steeply rolling hills and lush green landscapes with pine, cedar, blue spruce, spring grasses, cactus and beautiful wildflowers. The bonus is that very soon you start glimpsing the front range at the peak of every hill and Pike's Peak to the southwest. Slowing down so that you can take it all in is a natural response and that's exactly what we did.
My daughter Kimberly opened the door of her new home before we could get the car doors opened and was hugging us before we could unfold our stiff bodies. This alone was worth the trip. We had three great weeks ahead to visit with family and friends and to enjoy the best of Colorado. This included a family day with my son-in-law's parents, brother and sister and their families; two outings with a high school friend of my husband, who lives in Parker; a trip to Niwot, near Boulder for an elegant home cooked dinner in another old friend's home; dinner out at Maggiano's Little Italy with my long time friend Sam and his partner; repeated visits with both of my younger daughters, Deborah and Carla, who live in the Denver area; an afternoon in Colorado Springs in the backyard of more old friends sipping lemonade and telling "war" stories about Bill's beloved New England connections, and many evenings of dinner, conversation and sharing with Kimberly, Robert, Wiley(their Dalmation), Magic and Poquito(their cats). We ate out a lot and shunned the cooking and cleaning in favor of laughter and good conversation. Kimberly and I spent time at the tanning salon getting a "base" for the summer, had our fingernails, toes and hair done and shared errands, including some essential shopping for nonessentials. Carla and I had a lazy afternoon lunch at the Bluebonnet in downtown Denver,arguably the best Mexican restaurant in the area. We squeezed in a Rockies game at Coors field with excellent tickets given to us by Robert's boss. There was another night out at a another excellent Mexican Food restaurant in Englewood with close friends of Kim and Robert. The four of us took a ride to Cripple Creek the last weekend we were there and spent a minute amout of time gambling and a lot of time enjoying the scenery. One day we connected with my brother-in-law from my first marriage who I have not seen since 1982. It was a good visit and time well spent.
Between all of this family activity, Kimberly and Robert were working, so Bill and I planned and executed a few day trips of our own. We spent an afternoon south of Franktown at Castlerock Canyon State Park, a suprisingly beautiful place that looks flat and uninteresting from the road, which hides the beautiful deep canyon about 1/2 mile in. There are ruins from a dam that broke in 1933 and flooded Denver; a forerunner of the Cherry Creek Dam. Trails abound, but we are limited in our ability to climb, so we spent a lot of time looking at the views from the rim. We discovered a road on the other side of the canyon, asked about it at the info center and took it home when we left. The result was a great view of the dam ruins, and some very impressive cattle ranches on the other side of the dam. The road led directly back to 83, which took us back into Parker.
Another day we rode through Castlerock and on up 86 toward the Mountains and found our way to Deckers and beyond, ending up at Salida which is northwest of Denver. This is high mountain land, mostly above 8,000 feet and the beauty is incredible. Since there was some light rain this day, everything was emerald green and the air was incredibly clean and crisp. At one point, we came around a curve and started seeing the effects of the last forest fires on the Colorado mountain landscape and went for many miles before there were no burned trees. Even though this is an eerie sight, the signs of renewal are uplifting. To me it was symbolic of the hope we have in life through all of the tragedies we experience. New grass, seedling trees, families rebuilding out of love for the land and each other. Healing at it's best.
The day we went to Boulder we left in the morning even though our visit was not planned until early evening. We visited the city, had lunch in a great health food haunt then headed up the Mountain toward Nederland. This ride is along rushing water with towering rockfaced canyon walls on either side, reminiscient of the Big Thompson Canyon, but not so large. Nederland is about 30 miles in, but it takes about an hour to get there because of the winding roads and low speed limits. We spent our time in Nederland browsing through little shops and enjoying the local people, then spent a few minutes on the shores of the lake before we headed back down the hill. Still early for our reunion with friends, we drove out to Boulder Dam and enjoyed the scenery there for a while. I was wishing for a fishing pole and a few more hours to linger.
This was the only night that we were out really late without my daughter and her husband, so we got a good laugh when my cell phone rang at about 11:30 when we were on the way home and it was my daughter asking if we were alright! What a hoot. We drove 1500 miles to get there and she was worried about us getting back from Boulder. They say that parents and children reverse roles as the parents get older. I thought that meant about 30 or 40 years from now since I am only 58. God Bless her for loving us and thinking about our safety, even if it did make me smile.
On the way home we came south on 83 to I25, followed it out of Colorado over Raton Pass, then spent the night in Clayton, NM. Not recommended. This place is barren of just about everything, but we did manage to find one good breakfast spot. Later, we stopped to see Capulin Mountain Volcano in New Mexico, then traveled through the panhandle of Texas (much like eastern Kansas) southeast toward Pala Dura Canyon. We spent part of a day touring the Canyon and it was time well spent. I went to high school in Borger, Texas northeast of Amarillo and I remembered visiting Palo Dura as a child several times. It is magnificent terrain with more textures and color than I can describe here. The dirt is bright red with clay and it was our great fortune to be there in Spring because the wildflowers were rampant. I'm sure our cousins in New Jersey will be jealous when we send them pictures because this is one of their favorite things.
Our last stop was a planned visit to my cousin Bob's ranch near Mingus, Texas. This is the second time I've seen Bob in the last 30 years or so and it was like we had known each other well all of these years. We have so much common ground and his wife was a delight. This was a unique visit with a trip into Stephenville to an Italian restaurant for lunch and later a tour of the close in ranch land on golf cart and Mule (a small all terrain vehicle) which included cavorting in the field with his Angus Cattle and a single Texas Long Horn bull. Bob got out to pet the animals, but I thought foreigners might not be so welcome close up. Their pitbull/boxer mix and English Boxer pups came along for the field trip and conspired with us to get back to the ranch safely. We have an Eaves family reunion (cousins on my mother's side of my family) in August at his ranch and I am absolutely excited to go back. These are special people.
There's a lot more between the lines here. Laughter, tears, sorrow, happiness...the full range of emotions that happen whenever you connect with family. The details are too private and special to share here, but each of the individuals affected know the level of sharing in these times is deep and heartfelt. Whatever we take away from each other becomes a part of our future and strengthens our connection. When you see your family and friends, be sure to say the words that you know they long for...a simple I love you.
All's well that ends well. We are home now and dealing with the tasks that build up in a month away. Primarily reading old mail, weeding, cleaning up the dust that settles in a month and resting for the next adventure. We've already had an overnight visit from my cousins in Dallas, who we love dearly and they had to witness our disarray. We are still on vacation though, and you can find us floating peacefully in our association pool with noodles for support if we are missing in action. Use the cell phone number. lol
Life is good.
Paula
Because my husband Bill is physically disabled and is frequently in pain from the Dystonia he has lived with for most of his life, and because I also have problems with osteoarthritis, our biggest issue is allowing enough time for rest and recuperation when we are on the road. We've found that short hops of under 300 miles work really well for us. We get up when we feel rested, drive for 2 or 3 hours, take a hour for refreshment and rest, then drive the rest of the miles we planned for the day and stay overnight. No deadheading. We leave that for our trips by air.
The wonderful result of this necessary planning is that we are able to stay focused on enjoying the trip. We can stop to enjoy State Parks, city attractions and those off road experiences that you see on billboards and rarely stop to enjoy when your time is more limited. We can satisfy our curiousity about historical markers and country market stands. If we get a little lost, changing our path is not a major concern. We love the variety and peaceful views on the State and County roads and often find amusements that the Interstate does not offer.
One of our major destinations this trip was Olathe, Kansas, where Bill's father and step-mother reside in an assisted living complex. We are planning more frequent visits to Kansas as Bill's father is 94 now and his step-mother will be 85 soon. Dr. Joe's health is good in many ways, but his physical abilities are suffering with age and he is now in a wheelchair. Ruth had a hip replacement a few months ago and things are not as easy for her now either. The upside of all this is that they are otherwise well, happy and as involved as they can be with God, family, friends and life in general. Dad was able to present several verses of "My Coney Island Baby" in a respectable barritone when asked to sing at the lunch table and enjoyed our trips outside to enjoy the Kansas sunshine. Ruth recounted stories of recent visits with her daughters who live nearby and showed us pictures of her grandchildren with obvious pride. We dined together in the main dining room each night of our visit. They were also full of inquiries about our lives, our health and our daily concerns. They made it easy to visit and hard to leave because they are so dear to both of us. I can only hope that we will live our golden years with such dignity.
While we know that Western Kansas has a lot to offer in the way of history and amusements, this trip was focused on people. I wish I could say the drive across Eastern Kansas and Eastern Colorado was stimulating, but there's little to catch your attention. Once you get about 100 miles out of Kansas City to the east, the land flattens, trees become more scarce and the terrain doesn't change much until you start seeing the foothills of Colorado. We were interested to see, however, that the little towns along I70 going east, were virtual islands of well tended streets and gardens with huge churches and small but busy populations.
One town seen from the road had such a large church that we went off road to take a look. There were less than a hundred houses in the township, but a Catholic church of city proportions loomed at the edge and was only beaten in size by the huge grain silos on the edge of town. It's obvious that this church must draw from a much larger agricultural community, but it was an anomaly in such a small town. The tiny houses seemed oddly in contrast with the flying butress look of the church. Talk about an awsome daily reminder of your sins. Whew!
We spent the night in Colby, Ks on the Kansas/Colorado border. The next day we departed the interstate and went south on highway 86 since it intersects with 83 at Franktown, Colorado. Franktown is about 2 miles south of our destination in South Parker where my daughter and her husband just moved into a beautiful new home. Turning on to 86, the land begins to change almost immediately into steeply rolling hills and lush green landscapes with pine, cedar, blue spruce, spring grasses, cactus and beautiful wildflowers. The bonus is that very soon you start glimpsing the front range at the peak of every hill and Pike's Peak to the southwest. Slowing down so that you can take it all in is a natural response and that's exactly what we did.
My daughter Kimberly opened the door of her new home before we could get the car doors opened and was hugging us before we could unfold our stiff bodies. This alone was worth the trip. We had three great weeks ahead to visit with family and friends and to enjoy the best of Colorado. This included a family day with my son-in-law's parents, brother and sister and their families; two outings with a high school friend of my husband, who lives in Parker; a trip to Niwot, near Boulder for an elegant home cooked dinner in another old friend's home; dinner out at Maggiano's Little Italy with my long time friend Sam and his partner; repeated visits with both of my younger daughters, Deborah and Carla, who live in the Denver area; an afternoon in Colorado Springs in the backyard of more old friends sipping lemonade and telling "war" stories about Bill's beloved New England connections, and many evenings of dinner, conversation and sharing with Kimberly, Robert, Wiley(their Dalmation), Magic and Poquito(their cats). We ate out a lot and shunned the cooking and cleaning in favor of laughter and good conversation. Kimberly and I spent time at the tanning salon getting a "base" for the summer, had our fingernails, toes and hair done and shared errands, including some essential shopping for nonessentials. Carla and I had a lazy afternoon lunch at the Bluebonnet in downtown Denver,arguably the best Mexican restaurant in the area. We squeezed in a Rockies game at Coors field with excellent tickets given to us by Robert's boss. There was another night out at a another excellent Mexican Food restaurant in Englewood with close friends of Kim and Robert. The four of us took a ride to Cripple Creek the last weekend we were there and spent a minute amout of time gambling and a lot of time enjoying the scenery. One day we connected with my brother-in-law from my first marriage who I have not seen since 1982. It was a good visit and time well spent.
Between all of this family activity, Kimberly and Robert were working, so Bill and I planned and executed a few day trips of our own. We spent an afternoon south of Franktown at Castlerock Canyon State Park, a suprisingly beautiful place that looks flat and uninteresting from the road, which hides the beautiful deep canyon about 1/2 mile in. There are ruins from a dam that broke in 1933 and flooded Denver; a forerunner of the Cherry Creek Dam. Trails abound, but we are limited in our ability to climb, so we spent a lot of time looking at the views from the rim. We discovered a road on the other side of the canyon, asked about it at the info center and took it home when we left. The result was a great view of the dam ruins, and some very impressive cattle ranches on the other side of the dam. The road led directly back to 83, which took us back into Parker.
Another day we rode through Castlerock and on up 86 toward the Mountains and found our way to Deckers and beyond, ending up at Salida which is northwest of Denver. This is high mountain land, mostly above 8,000 feet and the beauty is incredible. Since there was some light rain this day, everything was emerald green and the air was incredibly clean and crisp. At one point, we came around a curve and started seeing the effects of the last forest fires on the Colorado mountain landscape and went for many miles before there were no burned trees. Even though this is an eerie sight, the signs of renewal are uplifting. To me it was symbolic of the hope we have in life through all of the tragedies we experience. New grass, seedling trees, families rebuilding out of love for the land and each other. Healing at it's best.
The day we went to Boulder we left in the morning even though our visit was not planned until early evening. We visited the city, had lunch in a great health food haunt then headed up the Mountain toward Nederland. This ride is along rushing water with towering rockfaced canyon walls on either side, reminiscient of the Big Thompson Canyon, but not so large. Nederland is about 30 miles in, but it takes about an hour to get there because of the winding roads and low speed limits. We spent our time in Nederland browsing through little shops and enjoying the local people, then spent a few minutes on the shores of the lake before we headed back down the hill. Still early for our reunion with friends, we drove out to Boulder Dam and enjoyed the scenery there for a while. I was wishing for a fishing pole and a few more hours to linger.
This was the only night that we were out really late without my daughter and her husband, so we got a good laugh when my cell phone rang at about 11:30 when we were on the way home and it was my daughter asking if we were alright! What a hoot. We drove 1500 miles to get there and she was worried about us getting back from Boulder. They say that parents and children reverse roles as the parents get older. I thought that meant about 30 or 40 years from now since I am only 58. God Bless her for loving us and thinking about our safety, even if it did make me smile.
On the way home we came south on 83 to I25, followed it out of Colorado over Raton Pass, then spent the night in Clayton, NM. Not recommended. This place is barren of just about everything, but we did manage to find one good breakfast spot. Later, we stopped to see Capulin Mountain Volcano in New Mexico, then traveled through the panhandle of Texas (much like eastern Kansas) southeast toward Pala Dura Canyon. We spent part of a day touring the Canyon and it was time well spent. I went to high school in Borger, Texas northeast of Amarillo and I remembered visiting Palo Dura as a child several times. It is magnificent terrain with more textures and color than I can describe here. The dirt is bright red with clay and it was our great fortune to be there in Spring because the wildflowers were rampant. I'm sure our cousins in New Jersey will be jealous when we send them pictures because this is one of their favorite things.
Our last stop was a planned visit to my cousin Bob's ranch near Mingus, Texas. This is the second time I've seen Bob in the last 30 years or so and it was like we had known each other well all of these years. We have so much common ground and his wife was a delight. This was a unique visit with a trip into Stephenville to an Italian restaurant for lunch and later a tour of the close in ranch land on golf cart and Mule (a small all terrain vehicle) which included cavorting in the field with his Angus Cattle and a single Texas Long Horn bull. Bob got out to pet the animals, but I thought foreigners might not be so welcome close up. Their pitbull/boxer mix and English Boxer pups came along for the field trip and conspired with us to get back to the ranch safely. We have an Eaves family reunion (cousins on my mother's side of my family) in August at his ranch and I am absolutely excited to go back. These are special people.
There's a lot more between the lines here. Laughter, tears, sorrow, happiness...the full range of emotions that happen whenever you connect with family. The details are too private and special to share here, but each of the individuals affected know the level of sharing in these times is deep and heartfelt. Whatever we take away from each other becomes a part of our future and strengthens our connection. When you see your family and friends, be sure to say the words that you know they long for...a simple I love you.
All's well that ends well. We are home now and dealing with the tasks that build up in a month away. Primarily reading old mail, weeding, cleaning up the dust that settles in a month and resting for the next adventure. We've already had an overnight visit from my cousins in Dallas, who we love dearly and they had to witness our disarray. We are still on vacation though, and you can find us floating peacefully in our association pool with noodles for support if we are missing in action. Use the cell phone number. lol
Life is good.
Paula
Monday, May 09, 2005
A Political Rant from an Apolitical American Woman
Paula Roberts - May 2005 - Commentary
I can most often be described as apolitical, but I do have a set of core values that I believe in strongly, and I also have strong opinions on issues affecting the lives of the human community and our home, earth. The polarity of views put forth by political parties and the disgusting trail of promises unaccomplished, ethics unpracticed, wars unsubstantiated, healthcare unavailable and children unfed is just more mental garbage than I can bear most days. I am most certainly not a Republican; however, being registered as a Democrat is not always a badge of honor. There is no safe harbor in this arena.
All of this said I am also a Christian, patriot, believe in the underlying values of American living and do not take lightly the responsibility of being born in such a privileged and blessed country. Because of this, I am unable to escape the realities of how politics influence every niche of our existence. Nothing is sacred or untouched by congress, including the original rights guaranteed American Citizens by the Constitution. If you take a walk in your garden and look at the flowers, you can bet that there is a federal regulation somewhere on the books that regulates the flower seed, the water and the fertilizer. The point is, politics are never out of sight and no matter what our feelings may be about the practice of politics, we better make damn sure that they are never far out of mind either. Your future and your present circumstances are dependent on the policies and practices of your government.
Not a Republican, it follows that I am not enamored by Bush and Bushites either. Look at the record. Weapons of mass destruction? Where? Yet we are fully engaged militarily in a war that kills American Citizens and Iraqi nationals every single day. What is the real story about what happened to change our focus from Afghanistan and the global war on terror to sending thousands of troops into Iraq? I have no doubt that the American Troops are doing their best to assure a democratic system is continued in Iraq now that Sadam Hussein is captured and out of power. Is the price worth the result? Will Iraq embrace democracy when Americans withdraw or run out of money to support this war? When so much is being spent on Iraq, what about the American governments responsibility to Americans? What about the American responsibility to global politics and environmental issues? Focusing back to the core issue of our government, what about the governments fiscal responsibility to the citizens of the United States of America? I think that one of the unfortunate purposes engagement in a foreign war serves for politicians is to take the focus off of their domestic policies. God bless and keep our American Forces and their families while the politicians work this out.
My ongoing argument with the Republicans has always been their flagrant disregard for the human aspect of politics. Admittedly, Democrats can go overboard with funding of some pretty questionable small programs, but when Republicans get into office, you can bet there will be a wholesale beheading of federal programs for the disadvantaged. Their high-minded blather about family values seems to only apply to families above the poverty level. What viable set of political values turns a blind eye to the social ills of its own country while promoting laws to allow excessive profits for the wealthy and spending billions of dollars on wars with substantially unfounded motives and questionable outcomes for the global community? Is it possible that some of this money could be spent more appropriately to feed and clothe victims of this war and participate in global solutions to relieve their suffering? I'd like to know.
I can most often be described as apolitical, but I do have a set of core values that I believe in strongly, and I also have strong opinions on issues affecting the lives of the human community and our home, earth. The polarity of views put forth by political parties and the disgusting trail of promises unaccomplished, ethics unpracticed, wars unsubstantiated, healthcare unavailable and children unfed is just more mental garbage than I can bear most days. I am most certainly not a Republican; however, being registered as a Democrat is not always a badge of honor. There is no safe harbor in this arena.
All of this said I am also a Christian, patriot, believe in the underlying values of American living and do not take lightly the responsibility of being born in such a privileged and blessed country. Because of this, I am unable to escape the realities of how politics influence every niche of our existence. Nothing is sacred or untouched by congress, including the original rights guaranteed American Citizens by the Constitution. If you take a walk in your garden and look at the flowers, you can bet that there is a federal regulation somewhere on the books that regulates the flower seed, the water and the fertilizer. The point is, politics are never out of sight and no matter what our feelings may be about the practice of politics, we better make damn sure that they are never far out of mind either. Your future and your present circumstances are dependent on the policies and practices of your government.
Not a Republican, it follows that I am not enamored by Bush and Bushites either. Look at the record. Weapons of mass destruction? Where? Yet we are fully engaged militarily in a war that kills American Citizens and Iraqi nationals every single day. What is the real story about what happened to change our focus from Afghanistan and the global war on terror to sending thousands of troops into Iraq? I have no doubt that the American Troops are doing their best to assure a democratic system is continued in Iraq now that Sadam Hussein is captured and out of power. Is the price worth the result? Will Iraq embrace democracy when Americans withdraw or run out of money to support this war? When so much is being spent on Iraq, what about the American governments responsibility to Americans? What about the American responsibility to global politics and environmental issues? Focusing back to the core issue of our government, what about the governments fiscal responsibility to the citizens of the United States of America? I think that one of the unfortunate purposes engagement in a foreign war serves for politicians is to take the focus off of their domestic policies. God bless and keep our American Forces and their families while the politicians work this out.
My ongoing argument with the Republicans has always been their flagrant disregard for the human aspect of politics. Admittedly, Democrats can go overboard with funding of some pretty questionable small programs, but when Republicans get into office, you can bet there will be a wholesale beheading of federal programs for the disadvantaged. Their high-minded blather about family values seems to only apply to families above the poverty level. What viable set of political values turns a blind eye to the social ills of its own country while promoting laws to allow excessive profits for the wealthy and spending billions of dollars on wars with substantially unfounded motives and questionable outcomes for the global community? Is it possible that some of this money could be spent more appropriately to feed and clothe victims of this war and participate in global solutions to relieve their suffering? I'd like to know.
Since they are already on the table, let's look at some of the domestic issues for a moment. Healthcare is a long disputed and unresolved domestic issue. There is nothing democratic or fair about the healthcare system as it stands today. Our country should be shamed by the statistics of families without healthcare, seniors who are suffering or dying for lack of or inadequate care and all American citizens who are the victims of poor nutrition and the lack of facilities, medical practitioners and resources for adequate preventative care.
How about the Social Security contribution distribution issue? That is a political hot potato. Say you are a young mother and you have 2 children. You are divorced and living in a trailer park, you rent your parents basement or maybe you live in a rent by the week motel. You have 2 jobs and work 16 hours a day, none of which is overtime because it's two employers. You spend very little time with your children because theres not much time left after work. You make minimum wage. That is $4.85 an hour x 16 = $77.60 a day, which is $388.00 a week. You work 51 weeks out of the year and your greatest potential for income, if you are not sick and if your children are never sick and have no need for you to stay home from work with them, is $19, 788.00 for the year. You are very lucky and you find a neighbor/babysitter that will take $100 a week to take care of your children while you are at work. That leaves you $288 a week. You have a great deal on rent and you are only paying $150.00 a week. Your cash flow is down to $138.00. You are a very careful shopper and always cook at home, so you can feed your family for about $75.00 a week. Now you have $63.00 a week for utilities, phone, clothing, entertainment, healthcare (remember that at this level of employment, few employers provide health insurance). Wait a minute; you did not get all of that $388! About 12% was taken out for taxes and social security;l ets see 388 x .12 = $46.56. Gee, that leaves you with $16.44 a week for all of the necessities of life after rent and food. I guess we will have to forego the entertainment, healthcare, insurance and planning for the future, duh? And oops, the baby needs Pampers.
I will tell you what this young mother thinks about: she worries about how her children will get an education if they are not basketball wizards or a physics dynamo. She is terrified that someone will get sick or have an accident and the hospital will ask her for an insurance card. She wishes she could pay for insurance on her broken down car that her parents gave her so that she could drive legally. She's worried about coats and shoes when winter comes. She also wonders about the care her children are getting and how their values are being formed. Her angst is in the present.
In your wildest dreams, do you think that this young mother, while she is applying for ADA and taking the bus to pick up government rationed cheese, will think to herself; I am so relieved that I now have the privilege to invest ½ of my 6.2% payroll contribution (3.1% of $19,788.00=$613.43) in the stock market? Do you think that she believes that Social Security will save her in her retirement and that she will finally be able to take up golf and attend political dinners at $125 to thousands of dollars per plate? The premise is ridiculous, and the promise is an unethical tactic of epic proportion. Even with dollar cost averaging, $50 a month over 30 years will not ensure this womans retirement income, or the retirement income of most other Americans.
We hold out hope that this woman will see a brighter future. That she will be promoted and educated. That she will remain healthy and have the ability to provide adequately for her children and their future. However, we have the moral responsibility to see that things get better for her and the hundreds of thousands of people in our country who are in situations as desperate as or worse than hers. She is employed. What about the 6%+ of our employable adults who have no work? They do not even have the privilege of being taxed for social security. What about the percentage of our elderly population who have no savings, inadequate health care and nutrition, whose retirement consists of waiting in various government lines for the scant help we provide to the indigent in our country. What is the level of our moral responsibility to provide adequate care and proper respect for this aging population of the generations who cared for us in our youth?
If congress is going to fix social security, all of the options should be considered.
- Maybe we should go to a sliding scale for social security deductions.
- Maybe we should spend less on war and make a significant contribution to the welfare of future generations by committing to a government purchase of stocks using dollar cost averaging over the next 100 years and pay the profits back into the social security system with no loopholes for government spending of excess profits. The gains could be redistributed proportionally to social security recipients. This would boost our stock market, contribute to stabilizing our economy and leave the current contributions in the social security fund where they belong.
- Maybe our government should pay back the loans they have taken from social security funds over the years to fund other programs, with interest.
- Maybe the government should reconsider the impact a collapsed social security system would have on the economy.
- Maybe lawmakers should be required to take a five year retreat where they are forced to live on minimum wage and provide for a family of 3 or more as a requirement for their job.
The math may not be perfect, but it's close enough to this woman's reality. With cutbacks that are currently being put into place, she doesn't have great prospects for collecting social security at the level that seniors do today, and even they are having a very hard time when Social Security is their only fall back income for retirement. She also will need a great deal of help deciding where to put her money into the stock market. Will the Republicans provide her with this help? Not likely.
Who do the politicians and investors think the shoppers are who keep Wal-Mart stock alive?
That is it for today.
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