- Joined
- Nov 20, 2005
- Messages
- 19,385
Right you are. I grew up as one among 7 brothers and sisters. It was a typical mother at home and father working kind of world for us. There was always food, but everything else was lacking by today's standards. We didn't expect much. But I wanted more. The reality was that I am a direct product of that environment in the sense that I sometimes relish having more than I need because I never had enough as a kid. The hand me downs.... they sucked. There was no goodwill, but if there was I suspect I would have been dressed with those clothes IF my Dad or Mom were willing to set foot in the door. (Pride)Gotta love dads' memories ... so much kinder than being there in real time!
My gardening started there. My hunting started then. My fishing started then. My love for the woods started then. My love of plants and the environment in general started then. I owe a lot to my parents. BUT my Mom died. My Dad remarried and trusted his new wife completely. He was in his 70's at that point. Dad eventually died and it was a bad time, but not as bad as when Mother passed. Boys always link to the Mother. He trusted her to the point of putting her name on every bank account. So, when he died, he wanted half of what he had given to his 7 children and the other half retained by his wife. She kept it all. We're talking over a million dollars in cash excluding property. I will never forgive that woman when I think of all the skimping we did when we were young only for an outsider to take it all because he trusted her. It isn't the money. It was the broken promise she made to him for totally selfish reasons.
People generally look back at their school years with fondness. I look back at that time with distaste. Now years later, the high school reunions and everyone not understanding why I have no interest (or little interest) in seeing any (or most) of those people again. I don't know any of my high school classmates any more. I walking away from that life the day I got out of college and never returned.
On the Goodwill thing. I didn't know and it surprises me a little, but not much actually. The impact on third world countries receiving "charity" is a double edged sword. The reference to Eastern KY was apt. I have lived there and textile industries would never work because of the competition for labor by the mining industry. It would only work after the mining industry folded as it is mostly doing now with some help from our previous president. The same applies to most any industry that might want to locate there..... if the pay isn't as good as the mines, it wouldn't work and they would not be competitive as a result in the free market. So, you're left with Walmart, fast food, and a few grocery stores. Nobody expects WM to pay the same wages as the mines, but everyone (or most everyone) likes to have the store in the area. I used to drive an hour to hour and a half just to visit a modern bookstore back then. What I would have given for a Kindle and the Internet then.....