This time of year is bad for me.  When I was a kid living in the Valley, This was the time of year to go duck and goose hunting.  I also liked hunting rabbits.  When I was a young man living in Southern Oklahoma, this was my favorite time to go squirrel hunting.  I preferred to wait until snow to hunt rabbits; but I would also take them in late fall.

Now, I sit here at this machine and remember.  That’s really all I can do.  If I was in Southern Oklahoma, there are still Public Hunting Areas where I could go hunting; but the price of gasoline would keep me home.  Even if I went, with my health, someone would probably find my body in the spring.

If I was in the Valley, there are no such things as PHA’s, so I couldn’t go at all unless I had a friend who owned a large tract of land out in the boonies.

Yeah, I’m somewhat depressed.  With high blood pressure, diabetes, 25% heart function, COPD, and gout, who wouldn’t be.  Hell, I won’t even go into my personal problems, except to say that they don’t make life a lot of fun.

Still, I keep on plugging along, giving whatever happiness I can to those I love; and hoping that, someday, it will be appreciated.

Posted on November 29th, 2007 by torone
Filed under: Personal | No Comments »

November 22, 2007

Reprinted from My USA with full permission

— Tags: fruits, george bush, gravy, ham, mashed potatoes, prayers, pumpkin pie, stuffing, Thanksgiving, turkey — admin @ 9:09 am Edit This

In these times of trial and tribulation, I do still find something to be thankful for…
I am still breathing after the heart attack.
George Bush is still our President.
Although the CLD’s are working hard to change it, we are still a free country where I can write this blog without hearing the authorities at the door.
Turkeys are still legal to kill and eat.
So are mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, fruits, pumpkin pie, ham, and all the other goodies that will grace our tables today.
So are the prayers that most of us will say over those goodies before we indulge.

So, again:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

And May God Bless America!

Posted on November 22nd, 2007 by torone
Filed under: Fishing & Hunting, General, Personal | No Comments »

More and more, I feel the spirits of my ancestors calling me.  I find myself wishing that I had never left The Valley; and remembering only the good times.  Normal?  Maybe, and maybe not.  Logically, I know that hardly anyone there would welcome me back; and I know that there is little there for me, in my current condition.

Still, as I sit here and view the webcams showing places I used to go, I am very aware that my heart could stop after its’ next beat.  There is so much that I have left undone and so many things I’ve left unsaid…

Posted on November 21st, 2007 by torone
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The price of milk is reaching all-time highs.  Why?

Farmers and the media like to blame it on the use of corn for ethanol production, the cost of fuel, and price supports on feed.  I blame it on several factors:
The USDA, which is riddled with socialists
Price supports not only on feed; but also on milk, itself
The price of fuel
Political ‘caving’ to the farmers.

There is no debating the known fact that the bureaucrats at the USDA are socialists.  All bureaucracies are riddled with socialists.

Price supports are a different story, however.  The price support on milk, for instance, is based on delivery from Wisconsin to wherever.  Dairy farms are located all over the USA.  No matter where you live, you pay for your milk to be delivered from Wisconsin, even though it may come from a farm just down the road from you.  Just changing that would drop the price of milk significantly.  Corn is another price-supported crop; and it doesn’t need support.  Hell, the dairy farmers are claiming that there is a shortage of corn (and soybeans, another price-supported feed crop) as a reason for the high milk prices.

Ready for a shock?  Corn that has been used for ethanol production is actually better feed than raw corn.  It has a higher percentage of protein than raw corn.  The same can be said of soybeans (used in the production of bio diesel fuel).

Peanuts are not only price-supported; but there are high tariffs on imported peanuts.  Wheat?  Price-supported.  Milo maize?  Price-supported.  Sugar?  Price-supported and tariff-protected.  Google almost any food product; and refine the search for price controls. You are in for a shock.  Even tobacco (not a food crop and in great disfavor) is price-supported.

Further, price supports were established at a time when farmers did not have the access to world markets that they now enjoy.  Price supports are no longer necessary.

Another factor in the rising prices is the practice of paying farmers not to plant.  Millions of acres of land lie fallow so that the owners can collect a guaranteed share of your tax dollars.  Those acres could be producing corn, soybeans, milo, or another valuable crop.  Instead, they lie fallow; and sometimes turn sour to the point where they must be renovated before they can be planted.  In the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, there are large tracts of salt land that are paying the owners well just to own them.  Oh, did I mention that, even though crops aren’t planted on a piece of land, the owners still graze cattle, goats, etc on it?  In other words, they are double-dipping!

It is definitely time to commence a letter-writing campaign…

Posted on August 11th, 2007 by torone
Filed under: General | No Comments »

Stuck in Houston, for now, at least.  I made several bad decisions that put me here.  I won’t try to rank them as to importance; because the effects are cumulative.  I left the Rio Grande Valley to service a computer maintenance contract with Fedex, because I couldn’t hire anyone in Waco.  I moved on the weekend; and called in on Monday to let Fedex know that I was ready to take calls.  My contact there informed me that Fedex and Techforce had broken their contract over the weekend; and that I would be covering the areas that I had been covering for Fedex directly for Techforce.

OK.  I called Techforce, gave them my numbers, and started accepting and dispatching calls.I was still making good money; and this continued for about eighteen months.  Then, President Clinton signed the H1B Visa program into law.  My larger competitors immediately began importing techs from India and Pakistan to work for far less money.

In a very short time, they were able to underbid me on contracts; and I was forced out of the contracting business.  Since I no longer needed the building I was leasing; and the lease was expiring, I made the decision to move to Port Arthur, where I could still run the online computer parts sales, and there was good fishing.

I actually found a decent job in Port Arthur, and we moved there.  The online business fell apart when I lost my best supplier.  After four months on the new job, my employer decided to add me to the group insurance; and discovered that adding an older man to the group meant an across-the-board premium increase.  Suddenly, my services were no longer needed.  I managed to stay in the area until July thanks to collections from former clients; but then my son showed up with a U-Haul truck, packed us up, and moved us to Houston.

We arrived at my daughter’s house late at night; and waited until the next morning to unload.  By noon of that day, my eyes were so irritated from the pollution that I could barely see.  That situation is still happening. 

In fact, my eyes are blurring right now (it’s just after 2:00 pm), so I’ll stop and name the mistakes made so far…

Leaving the Valley
Not returning there when the contract ended
Giving up too soon on my business.

I’ll pick up this thread again, next time.  I can promise you much to come, including the reasons behind my heart attack.

Posted on June 7th, 2007 by torone
Filed under: Personal | No Comments »

I gave up the Valley, where I was born and raised, where I knew all of the good fishing holes, where I actually had to say ‘no’ to women, for Houston, where I know virtually no one, can’t find fish, and am stuck with one woman.  I think I got the worst end of the bargain.  Remember, procrastination steals your very life!

Posted on May 14th, 2007 by torone
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I’ve heard it many times: “Procrastination is the thief of all time.”.  I believe that it should be “the worst thief of all time.”, because the original quote implies that time is what is stolen.

Actually, procrastination steals much more than time.  It can steal time, yes; but it can also steal friends, family, opportunities, money, your future, even your very life!

Procrastination has stolen all of those things from me.  Recently, I asked my wife to take a trip to Corpus Christi, TX just to get away.  She was mad at me about something; and absolutely refused.  Now, gas prices are so high that we can’t afford the trip.

It has stolen my friends because I put off things that were important to them.  The same with many family members.  I’ve put off opportunities, only to watch them disappear before my eyes.  This has cost me money; and my financial future.

Procrastination has, also, basically cost me my life.  I started smoking when I was about 11 or 12 years old.  There have been a number of times when I could have quit; but I didn’t.  Now I have COPD, diabetes, and a heart that is functioning at 25% of normal.  My life expectancy doesn’t look good.

I urge you, don’t miss a single chance.  Don’t end up as a very old man with a long list of coulda, woulda, shoulda!  Make your life your life’s work.  Enjoy it.  Build it.  Live it!

Posted on May 12th, 2007 by torone
Filed under: General | No Comments »

Welcome to Bob’s Philosophy!  I’m very old and not that long for this world; and I hope to pass on a bit of what life has taught me before I go… 

Posted on May 12th, 2007 by torone
Filed under: General | No Comments »