Election Eve

 

Only one day to go for the midterm elections.

It has been a long two years since Trump was elected president. Millions of Americans and people worldwide have had to suffer the consequences of the incompetent and lawless Trump presidency. A presidency that was only made possible by the profound ignorance of his supporters, the cowardice of Republican lawmakers, business leaders, and a corrupt Supreme Court who enabled Trump and his thugs and cronies to get away with their crimes. I will vote early tomorrow. I hope you will too.

Change Those Clocks!

 

That time of year again! Time to change all the clocks back one hour to Standard Time.

I hate this twice a year ritual. Mainly because I have so many damn clocks. At last count I think I have between forty-five and fifty-clocks that I have to change. And almost every one of them has a different method of changing. 

Thank goodness I do have a handful that change automatically. But most I have to figure out the secret sauce how to change them. Some the dial doesn't work so I have to take the battery out and wait for that time to arrive (usually 11:00 AM) and put the double AA battery back in. I have two clocks that are high up on the wall. One in the kitchen and the other in the garage that I look at all the time. I have to change those because those are the ones I depend on. But both require me to stand on a step ladder to get the large clock off the wall and take it down to a flat surface to change. And as you know these days this old man isn't too steady on his feet. 

There are other clocks that I don't bother changing because I rarely look at them. I leave them be.

Why do I have so many clocks? I like clocks and over my lifetime I've collected a lot of clocks. I just like clocks. I remember each one, where I got it and what time of my life that I got it. Memories, that's the story of my life.

This morning I had a scare though when I got in The Princess (my new Hyundai Venue). I had no idea how to change the clock in my car. Then I realized my car doesn't have a clock. I use Apple Play and whatever time is on my iPhone is what is going to be displayed on my navigation screen in my car. But I had no navigation screen. "What's up with that?" I thought. Then I realized I didn't have my iPhone in my pocket. Phew! I almost made a trip without my iPhone. I hate when I do that because I feel so vulnerable leaving the house without my trusty iPhone. How would I record an accident if I had one or call somebody in an emergency. We are all so dependent on our smart phones these days aren't we?I am totally dependent on mine, I know that. It's like driving. Before I drove I really didn't miss driving but now that I've been driving these past decades I can't imagine my life without having the use of a car to get up and go whenever and wherever I want to go. 

Have a great day everyone, I have a dozen or so more clocks to change.

Halloween 2026

 

Here I sit at my computer in my home office which is right next to my front door. It is 6:08 PM Halloween Night. I will not be opening my door to trick or treaters tonight nor any Halloween in the future. There is a good chance I won't even be here next year so that's a moot point.

There was a time when Halloween was a big deal in my life. Especially when I was young, in elementary school. I was lucky in that I lived in a small town and the streets were easy to traverse. Also the time was in the late Forties and Fifties when getting free candy was a big deal. Also a time when candy tasted like candy not that plastic, processed, tasteless stuff they call "candy" nowadays. 

Then came a time when I was an adult and Halloween resurfaced as an adult treat. That was fun to dress up and go to a Halloween party. I went to a few of them and it was fun. Alas, in this day and age of fear and strife, those days are no longer. Especially this year with the mid term elections only a few days away and the possibility of finally ridding our country of the scourge of Trump and his enablers and allies who are dragging our country down. 

Does this year feel like Halloween to you? I have a feeling of anticipation like I did when I was a kid on Christmas Eve. I just can't wait until the Republicans are thrown out of power, finally and we can get our country back on the right track. 

That's it. My Halloween rant. 

Update On Pat's House

 

Pat's house (yellow door) is on the left, the druggie house is in the middle and Samantha's house is on the right

Finally, good news on Pat's housing situation at his home in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. 

His druggie neighbors are gone. GONE! 

Their drug haven house is boarded up! 

One half of the duo (Ray) is in jail for the next five years. We don't know why, probably for theft and/or drug dealing, both of which was conducted out of that small house located between Pat and his neighbor Samantha. 

The other half of that duo (Kim) now has a new boyfriend and have relocated to whereabouts unknown to Pat and Samantha. 

That druggie couple lived and conducted their "business" (selling stolen goods and drugs)out of that house for over three years, paying no taxes of course. The house actually belonged to her father who left no will. Her father also owned another house in Hamilton which has been boarded up for quite a while. 

Pat and Samantha are hoping that the city of Hamilton puts that house up for sale to recover their back taxes but it's complicated. Normally when a house is abandoned a bank owns the house through a mortgage. In this case the father apparently owned the house outright. I see many houses down here in Delaware that have long ago been abandoned and are now slowly deteriorating  and being swallowed up by vegetation. Apparently because of a similar situation, a family member died without a will and it's unclear who actually owns the property. I hope that's not the situation with this house. Pat hopes someday to sell his house and move in with me here in Delaware (when he gets his green card approval which could still take years). Having a falling apart house like that right next to your pristine property doesn't help setting a decent sale price. One good thing though, Pat and Samantha don't have that headache next to them now. Both of them can now get some sleep.

Meeting a Blog Follower

 

I've been blogging over twenty years now. Occasionally I get to met in person someone who follows my blogging. Last week during Pat's visit I got to met one such person. To protect her privacy I won't name her or the place but I will say it was a pleasure to meet her. 

When I was a teenager I had pen pals. At one time I had over sixty pen pals. Never met a one. Which is a shame. One girl who lived in Council Bluffs Iowa I did so want to meet. A few years ago I tried to look her up but didn't have any success. She probably married and took on her husband's name which is why it is so difficult to look up the whereabouts of some women.

People have shown up where I used to work at the hotel in Lewes, Delaware. I met Pat through my blog even though he wasn't a follower of my blog. And in fact still doesn't read my blog. He saw my photo testifying before the Delaware State Legislature for Marriage Equality and found my blog. He contacted me and asked to meet me. That's a long story in which I went into several times in this blog. It was meant to be. 

It's interesting that two of my best friends I met through my blog but they don't follow my blog. The only friend who does follow my blog is Spo of Spo Reflections. He's a dear. Coincidentally, during one of his visits to Delaware one of his blog followers met him by serendipity at a restaurant

where we were having lunch. Such is the random nature of blogging. I love it!

Seventy-Five Years Ago, My First Job

Little ten year old "Ronnie" Tipton

 Seventy-five years ago I was ten years old. I was in third grade at the East Ward Elementary School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. 

I had just begun my first job as a paper boy. A job which I held for five years until I entered ninth grade and I thought I was too big to ride a bicycle. It's funny to think of that now when adults riding bicycles but back in the Fifties the only adults riding bicycles were Europeans we saw in newsreels who couldn't afford cars in postwar Europe. Interestingly that paperboy job I had was probably the best job I've ever had in my lifetime. I was my own boss. I got exercise, I had money and learned responsibility. The reason I had that paperboy job was because I asked my Mother for an allowance and she told me "If you want money, you earn it." She's the one who got me that paperboy job which I wasn't too thrilled about. Later I realized that was probably the best decision she ever made for me in addition to minding my manners and respecting my elders. Something of which I rarely do these days since I am approaching the grand old age of 85 years. 

Until I left home to join the Army at eighteen years old, neither one of my parents gave me a cent. Not in allowance or any other form. 

As I grew older I had additional jobs, some of which I like and some I didn't like too much but they all had a purpose. To teach me self reliance and earn money. Some of the jobs I held were office cleaning which I did five nights a week for about four years. I also worked weekends at the local farmers market at a meat market. Marty Brill and Sons. I stood behind the meat counter and hawked passerby's to buy our ham (at 39 cents a pound) and souse meat (look it up. I worked at the farmers market from six PM to 12 PM Friday nights and 12 PM to 12 AM Saturday night. I was paid the grand total of $14 for the weekend. For my office cleaning job I was paid fifty-five cents an hour. For my paperboy job I usually cleared about five dollars a week. 

I also had some sporadic jobs on the side like mowing lawns (50 cents) and sweeping out my local barber shop on a Sunday morning ($2.00). 

When I graduated from high school, I was told there was no college money so I joined the Army. My first pay there was $69 a month.

Private Ronald Tipton

When I left the Army after three years I was making E-5 (sergeant) pay. $355 a month. Tax free. First job after the Army was at the Pittsburgh Hilton as a night auditor. I was paid $250 a month. This before taxes including a wage tax in Pittsburgh. It was tough going for me the few months I had that job. I rented a furnished efficiency apartment in Shadyside Pittsburgh for $8.00 a week. I had to share a bathroom with four other apartments in the old Victorian building where I lived. 

I've never earned more than $38,750 a year once I began my adult career in back office trust operations in banking. My first job at the bank was $70 a week. This was in March of 1965. 

Also in March of 1965 I moved in with Bill. He was making four times what I was making (about $12,000 a year) as an electronics technician for RCA. Eventually our salaries matched at $22,000 a year. When Bill was fifty-five years old he took early retirement from GE (who bought RCA) and for the next forty years until he died at 95 years of age, I was the main income earner. For the seven years after he took early retirement (from 55 to 62) I was the sole income earner. I really didn't mind because I encouraged Bill to take early retirement because he was traveling so much and it was better for us if he stayed home and took care of the house and pets while I worked at the bank. We managed.

So what is the whole point of this post? I'm just glad I'm not a young person now the high cost of living and housing. We managed to buy our first house at $27,000 (center city Philadelphia town house) by combining our incomes. That house now is valued close to $900,000 on Zillow.  

I eventually did get a college degree by going to night school three nights a week after work for four years. I only got an Associate's Degree in business management which did nothing for my banking job but I was the first in my family to have a college degree. The GI Bill from when I was in the Army paid for that schooling. 

At this time of my life as I look back over the past seventy-five years of my life I think I did pretty good for a guy of middling intelligence (I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I do know how to survive). I attribute my success to my Mother's direction seventy-five years ago when I asked for that allowance and she told me instead "get a job."

Thanks Mom. You did good.

Me and my Mother April 26, 1997

Where Is Toronto?

 

When Pat comes down to visit me, I take advantage and visit some of my favorite local restaurants. 

I like to dine out but not alone. Pat doesn't mind dining alone. I feel uncomfortable though dining by myself. I feel like I'm one person taking up a whole table and the servers are anxious to get me out of there to get a larger group. 

Pat also has his favorite restaurants when he visits. One of them is Zava Cafe in Milton. This short video was an interchange we had with our server. Usually I ask our server to take a picture of me with who ever I'm dining with. This time I asked her to take a short video. I'm glad I did because we had this spontaneous reaction when she asked Pat where he was from. Check it out.

By the way, I'm going to post more of these short videos of me and Pat. I take them and yet I don't post most of them. That's dumb Ron. So be prepared. Pat is good company and I do so enjoy his visits. I am looking forward to the day when he is a permanent resident of the United States. That's the goal, he wants to be a U.S. citizen. We're working on it. Still waiting for his green card approval. Could take another year.