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Who I used to be

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Was sitting here this morning drinking coffee reading about the 40 years together and such and it got me thinking about who I used to be. I was in the military for 20 years and when I left I had 123 personnel working for me I managed right around 200 pieces of heavy construction equipment, trucks and trailers. Now I work for a company chipping roads and I work for younger people most have a pretty good head on their shoulders but all I am now is an operator. But I am still happy about what I do.
 
I had hair on my head and not my face 40 years ago.
50 lbs skinnier.
Was much better looking.
Still mis-spoke so that ain't changed.
 
40 years ago , I was still in high school. Dreaming about fast cars, girls , and having my own farm some day,but not to sure about how to get any of these things on my list. Got it all sorted out over the next 3-4 years , got over the fast cars.
 
40 years ago I was working at a family owned John Deere dealership in my town,,,now I am doing more repair here than we ever thought about back then...and still learning how to repair John Deeres....
 
If I live until the 15th of August, I will have been in business for 40 years. Times flies and life is short. Probably would have done a lot of things different, if I were starting over. But there are no dress rehearsals in the game of life. Retirement is just around the corner.
 
Pulled out my voter registration to vote in the GOP primary last week. It was issued in 1975 and stated hair color, eye color, height and weight. The only thing that had not changed was the eye color.
Richard in NW SC
 
It seems like I just blinked and the last forty years have flashed by. I have lived a "full" life. I have gotten to see and do things most never do. I have few regrets about my choices in my life.

I do worry about the next generations not having the same opportunities. The "educated" people have recited the mantra that all NEED a college education so much that many jobs are not getting any replacement/younger people train to do them. Examples of these jobs are: skilled trades- plumbers, electricians, welders, mechanics etc. The funny thing sis these skilled tradesmen make as much or more money than MANY college graduates. Many college graduates with BAs and Master degrees in fields like history or math but that are not teachers are only making $35-45K. Many tradesmen are making more than that.

This lack of opportunity also has a financial side to it as well. The future generations are having a harder time "getting" ahead. The wage of the average person, college educated or not, has not keep pace with inflation and the erosion of purchasing power of the dollar. The basics requires to support a family where a much lower percentage of my wages compare to those younger people receive today. This really is even more evident when looking at retirements. Many of you on here are living retirements with incomes that where never dreamed of years ago and will not be available to those younger people in the work place. This we will be seeing people have to work longer and retire with less than those retiring now.

So with this all in play right now I am glad I am not 20 years old trying to start out in life again.
 
Ahh 1976! Our country,s bicentenial year. My first born (daughter) was born. Bought a new car ('76 Cutlass $4300) July 4th our mobile home blew over (we and new baby just got out earlier) . Tractors and other things were painted in stars and stripes. Built new home (abt. $ 25000) Last year of my 6yr Nat. Guard obligation. Self employed auto body/paint. Weighed 30 # less and wife 40#. Remember the song " You're Gonna Miss This" ? Doesn't matter how the times were, there's a lot of truth to it. Best times I ever had were high school in the 1960,s! Talk about "missing" a time in ones life. Wish I could do them years again.
 
Yes Randy that was a wonderful time to be growing up, I bought a new Grand Torino Sport in 72, my son was born in 74, growing up with Muscle cars was the best..
 
Believe it or not,Tim, I had a deal all but signed on that exact car but my boss at the Olds dealership found out about it. Asked if I didn't like the Cutlass? I said yes I do but couldn't afford one. He said "how do you know since you never asked"? Told him what we were getting on the Ford and he came back that evening with a price that beat the Ford by $300 and had the 350 as apposed to a 302. The rest is history. Brand new '72 Cutlass for $ 2900 out the door! We paid cash for it too. Wife and I didn't want car payments to start out out new life. That's where I started out my auto body/paint career. Yes,life was good.
 
I have much more patience and self discipline now. Because of one major event that happened in my life inanimate objects are no longer as important as they used to be.
 
When I was 20 years old I was just getting ready to get out of the USAF. Things were not good economy wise and when I did get out I found it hard to get a good job. A year later I got married and then I went to work in a packing plant,. The pay was 85 cents per hour but I worked as many hours as they would allow. I worked my way up the wage scale and eventually reached the highest pay level in that place.

While still employed there I started a water well drilling business as a part time endeavor until it became a full time operation. There was a 2 year college near my home and I enrolled because I thought I needed some more business skills. I found it quite easy to learn new ideas and I graduated with honors. Next I went on to get a degree in education from a 4 year college. Still running my water business though.

Next, I went on to be a teacher until I retired. While still teaching I started buying and selling farm equipment and I began to operate my farm as a profit making business. And here I am, stuck in a rut! There are many interesting things that I would like to try but I keep thinking that I may be getting to old. I should know that my thinking is flawed as I am only in my eighties.

Yes I did keep drilling wells while I had my teaching job and I did install a lot of water pumps during those years but that job began to be to physically demanding so I slowly gave up on the water business. Don't miss that much though. I do love farming though and I will keep at it as long as I can.

Also I spent several years as an adjunct professor at the local community college in their evening division [night classes].



Back to the main theme of this post. I believe that there are as many ways to make a living now as there ever was. Today to many people think they should get top wages on the first day on the job when in reality nearly everyone who has been successful started at the bottom and worked their way up by hard work and desire to succeed. I bet that there are very few on this site that did not work hard to get to a place where they can relax a little and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Happy farming!
 
I was thinking how lucky I missed the senior field trip a lot of boys went and some never came back. I just finished vocational school and wanted so bad to farm unfortunately my dad had other ideas and I worked off farm and farmed with what I had.
They were good years could work 20 hours a day pull fence post by hand and stack a load of hay in 7 minutes .
Now a spare tire 1 shoulder rebuilt and the other one is gone. What hair I got left is going white. The real sad thing I gave up family travel good times to buy this farm and if I went to a bank I get told the farm doesn't exist neither does the farm income kids next door that daddy gave them everything have no problem. You can't help but wonder if it was worth it
 
I was in the Seabees. I was at boot camp 10 days after graduation Dad was smiling from ear to ear did not want me to farm or drive truck. I was only going to do 3 years then 3 in the reserves but uncle sam offered me a good deal and Dad sold the farm after I joined so I said what the heck lets do it. 20 years later I had had enough could have gone for 24 but things had changed too much.
 
It must be depressing after 20 years to get out and your not the boss anymore . I always figured no matter what rank you achieved enlisted there was still a million officers that could tell you what to do. I always thought it was funny in the Marine Corps when guys were Staff Sargeants and they didn't do anything all day when they went to re-enlist they were told re-enlistment wasn't offered to them . Who would think you could get laid-off from the military?
 
When I was in High school we weren't farming much,,about 400 acres, so I would work on local cars for spending money, my Dad would not let me work on anything but his at our old shop so I rented a little shop in town. One evening I was at the local Ford car dealer , the next town south ,looking at this new Torino, and the owner came out and wanted to know if I wanted it,, I said yes but I didn't have a real job to enable me to make payments,, he replied that he knew I worked on cars in my town,, and said that he needed a mechanic,,he would give me a job and sell me the car..and the deal was made,,worked there for a couple years and the local Deere dealer came in for a truck repair,,and asked me if I liked working on cars,, I said not really,, so he said he needed a mechanic and wondered if I would be interested in working on Deere's,, so after my 3 week notice that's what I did..
 
2underage ,, I agree with you completely,,young people think that they should be able to have all that their parents have and more,,right off the get go...Those that earn their way through life are indeed happier..
 
Shoot! Even my eye color has changed. Darn drops (for glaucoma) have turned my hazel/green eyes brown. ("Don't it make your brown eyes blue"?)
 
Lessee here...40 years ago...that'd be end of February of '76.

I was an E4 in the Navy, been married a bit over a year to a purdy little gal with three kids, and the bunch of us had just packed up everything we owned and jumped on an airplane for an all expenses paid 3 year vacation in beautiful Misawa, Japan.

Worked out pretty good. Getting married got me off my butt and paying attention to my career. After spending 6 years as an E4, made E5 and E6 in Japan, E7 at my next duty station (Pensacola, Florida). Kids got out of the pizz-poor excuse for a school locally and got an actual education in DoD schools overseas.

I finished up after 22 years as an E8, got out for the same reason the OP did: Too many changes and not many of them good. I actually ENJOYED being a worker bee again and not having to worry about one of my subordinates doing something stupid.
 
Once as a Staff Sergeant in the Corps, I appeared before an officer selection board. One of the officers on the board asked me if I thought I'd be a good officer. I replied, "Probably not".

That turned some heads and they asked me why.

I replied, "Because I'm convinced half my fellow Staff NCO's are so much excess baggage and if I was an officer I'd be inclined to do something about it".

I was recommended for a commission "with enthusiasm". I got shot down because I had asthma when I was a kid.

Those officer screening and officer selection boards were always fun. You'd take a couple of hours off from work and mess with their minds. I kept getting shot down for various medical reasons. It's all subjective.
 
Her I am at 75 and still want to be in the shop working on tractors, but dont think i will be able to do much as foot problems took hold about 6 weeks ago. Sure am getting depressed. Drs. dont seem to know whats takeing place. I have been very active up untill then.

So guys,keep doing what you want because there will come a day.
 
(quoted from post at 11:57:27 02/28/16) 2underage ,, I agree with you completely,,young people think that they should be able to have all that their parents have and more,,right off the get go...Those that earn their way through life are indeed happier..
Click to expand...

I don't see the career paths that were available to my generation. Specifically, apprenticeships. Local companies complain that they cannot hire trained workers, but most will not train anybody. Add in the loss of a couple million jobs in Michigan over the last 30 years. We are producing record amounts of stuff, with fewer employees every year.
 
Told my wife often that it seems like I have lived two lifetimes.

The life I had with my dad farming full time, and then my second life when I worked as a crop ins. claims supervisor.

But, I got to travel a lot. Been all over the US. Hunted in lots of other states. Just got back from a vacation to see the Northern lights in Iceland.

No regrets.

"If the sun dont come up tomorrow, people I had a good time"

Gene
 
I agree with you Spook,, but apprenticeships are not being used now because of expensive workers comp and liability factors...I have a high school boy working for me now, a bright young man that pays attention to all that I show him,,but I am doing it under the table..and at a risk that I am aware of.. he will learn more here than when he graduates and goes to a Tech school and he is "making" money,,not spending it on an over priced school..
 

Well I feel like I have packed a few lives into the last forty years. I have two kids doing real well, I raced motorcycles. I started a business and built it up to nearly $1,000,000 and sold it ten years ago. I got into farming and sold a lot of hay over a thirty year span. The wife and I explored the world, I was a volunteer firefighter for 35 years, and got just as much adrenalin pumping through my veins doing that as I wanted. I am now semi retired and happy to let younger people do the pushing, and I have no need anymore to pack every day full, because all that really counts now is to do what I can to glorify my Lord, and rest in confidence of what eternity holds for me.
 
Tim S: Your issue with the young man working for you is part of what I was trying to get across about this generation not having the same opportunities that we did. Many complain about how "lazy" the youth are today but then see nothing wrong with the rules and regulations that make hiring anyone under 18 a high risk for most people. I started working at 13. I was married an supporting myself and my wife at 16. These days I would not have been able to get much of a job at 16 let alone 13.

You have knowledge that is valuable and you could pass it along to a young person. You have to do it under the table. The system today has taken the ability for most of us to easily/legally pass our knowledge along to a young person while they earn a small wage. The "approved/certified" are the only ones that are supposed to "teach" the next generation. We are taking advantage of the youth if we try to do it directly.
 
Forty years ago, I was just a twelve year old kid with most my life before me.

Wanted to become a vet - mom talked me out of it.

Then wanted to drive truck, see the world from my very own Kenworth - dad talked me out of that. :)

I did some factory work until I got into the secretarial scene.

Married (over 30 years now), have three kids that we are so proud of. Also two little grandmunchkins who are 2 and 3 years old and loads of fun!

Have traveled east and west a bit - but don't get very far from El Rancho anymore. Wish I had the time, money and the guts to just aimlessly travel the US for a couple years and record it all in photographs and short stories... picking up some interesting rust and a few small antiques as tokens of my travels.

I've had an occasional lemon here and there - but when handed a lemon, I usually try to make lemonade. So all-in-all I'll go with the proverbial "It's been a good ride."

(Love the ending line by Gene MO... fantastic!)
 
I used to be a mathematics educator. They called me Mr Math. Now I bale 10 to 13000 bales of hay a year. They call me the Hayman. The suit of clothes I wore for my 1961 graduation still fits. I spend a lot less time combing hair.
 
Up until a few months ago, I was very active at 74. Now my hip needs to be replaced. It has kept me from doing any squatting work Very painful. I will have it replaced if I can stand it until my mowing business is through. Stan
 
(quoted from post at 09:25:40 02/28/16) I had hair on my head and not my face 40 years ago.
50 lbs skinnier.
Was much better looking.
Still mis-spoke so that ain't changed.
Click to expand...

Well said! Pretty much(I was 30 then and had a mustache) fits me, too! :lol:
 
(quoted from post at 20:42:37 02/28/16) Tim S: Your issue with the young man working for you is part of what I was trying to get across about this generation not having the same opportunities that we did. Many complain about how "lazy" the youth are today but then see nothing wrong with the rules and regulations that make hiring anyone under 18 a high risk for most people. I started working at 13. I was married an supporting myself and my wife at 16. These days I would not have been able to get much of a job at 16 let alone 13.

You have knowledge that is valuable and you could pass it along to a young person. You have to do it under the table. The system today has taken the ability for most of us to easily/legally pass our knowledge along to a young person while they earn a small wage. The "approved/certified" are the only ones that are supposed to "teach" the next generation. We are taking advantage of the youth if we try to do it directly.
Click to expand...

I'll be considering all of that when it comes time to vote. Common Core and Political Correctness be [b:a32071c1ec]hanged[/b:a32071c1ec]! :twisted:
 
Hallmark of the Marine Corps (Semper Fi!). The Marine Corps philosophy is to replace all three bottom ranks every three years. In fact, they readily admit to that.
 
(quoted from post at 17:50:41 02/28/16)
I do worry about the next generations not having the same opportunities. The "educated" people have recited the mantra that all NEED a college education so much that many jobs are not getting any replacement/younger people train to do them. Examples of these jobs are: skilled trades- plumbers, electricians, welders, mechanics etc. The funny thing sis these skilled tradesmen make as much or more money than MANY college graduates. Many college graduates with BAs and Master degrees in fields like history or math but that are not teachers are only making $35-45K. Many tradesmen are making more than that.

This lack of opportunity also has a financial side to it as well. The future generations are having a harder time "getting" ahead. The wage of the average person, college educated or not, has not keep pace with inflation and the erosion of purchasing power of the dollar. This really is even more evident when looking at retirements. Many of you on here are living retirements with incomes that where never dreamed of years ago and will not be available to those younger people in the work place. This we will be seeing people have to work longer and retire with less than those retiring now.

So with this all in play right now I am glad I am not 20 years old trying to start out in life again.
Click to expand...

My company still has a pension plan, funded by the company and a 401k plan that they match up to 6%. Being a financial services company, among other pursuits, they also give us discounted or free in many cases financial advice with company personnel and no commission products. The pension plan is not as generous as it once was, but since I've been here 36 yrs. I have my choice of the better of the old plan vs. the newer when I go out (I tell them 2 - 4 yrs.). I will also still get a company contribution toward a retirement health plan (which in reality is a medicare supplemental once you are 65). New people hired after a certain date don't get this at all.

When I started out in life the country was in a recession and any job was hard to get. My FIL got me on as an apprentice drywall finisher and I started in the very building I'm sitting in today, so I tell the people I work with that I've been here longer than anyone in the company. My wife was in one of the first departments to occupy the building back in 1976. I too wouldn't want to be 20 again and looking for a job.

The effect of young folks not being able to get good jobs is going to (and is!) have profound effects on the economy and the social and political change we'll see will be considerable. Young folks are forced to delay home and family formation for many years and that in turn effects housing construction and all the things that go into that house. As parents they will be older than probably any time in history. In this city the construction of rentals and condos is at an all time high, with single family housing limping along. I see these young folks being more abundant and more apt to get sucked into the abundant desire to have the government take care of them. We know that has never worked out in the long run, there are only so many "rich" folks to steal from. When that won't do they'll come after the middle class.
 
I've been retired over 16 years now, worked most of my life doing maintenance work in production machine, precious metals processing, industrial ceramics and plastics processing industries....Always liked the work even though it was pretty mundane compared to the jet bomber crew chief job I held in the USAF. But, if I had it to do over I would do my darned best to work for myself in my own enterprise......All I really did was work for money.....sad, no real accomplishment at all........
 
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