The more things change the more they stay the same.

Never ceases to amaze me when politicians put their personalpower ahead of the people they are elected to serve.  The scandal in New Jersey glares as a primeexample.  What will come from it?   Governor Christie will just enrich himself more with books and a possible movie deal.scandals

Hello again

I have not written in a while actually, it's been a while and a half. I thought there would always be something to complain about. Lately, I have seen some things to feel good about. I have taken on a job as an independent contractor for health screening. I find myself meeting all sorts of people in northern Ohio and I have found a great many of them are very nice people and not bothered near as much as I am about the events of the day or at least not bothered enough to complain. I have had to take stock of my attitude and wonder if I am not just an old curmudgeon. Maybe, I am alone out here in the world constantly mad and that the local, state and national government. Maybe, the rest of the country is living there lives and taking what is happening in their towns and states and in Washington n in stride and not worrying about it. I wonder if maybe I am screaming at the choir and should stop complaining and just go on with my day. Although, I do hear that voice that says something about how evil persists as long as good men do nothing. I am not going to go as far as to say I am a good man but, I will say that I think that a there are people in local state and national office who are evil. Maybe, I will keep one eye open.

What’s happening here in the ghetto?

Maybe that title is a little strong now but, in a few years I think it will be more than correct here and in many neighborhoods in Lorain. Our home was built in the early fifties and built for the folks who worked at Ford and US Steel. When I moved in with my wife the neighborhood was a nice place to live and most all the folks took very good care of their homes. Sprint forward to 2013 and now the neighborhood has become dotted with section eight homes high grass and trash in the street.

Through bad breaks, some self inflected and some because the economy is what it is all my old neighbors are gone. Now, let me give you an idea of how this happened. Immediately to my left a middle class couple with two kids lived in a home that was a show place for the neighborhood had some bad luck. Husband lost his job and things went from bad to worse. Empty for months the lack of maintenance soon took its toll and the house fell into disrepair. Foreclosure then sheriff sale found the home sold cheap and now is a section eight property. Next door on my right the family was an older retired couple who had some family issues and they fell into foreclosure and again the house sold for cheap and again section eight swooped in and now the shingles on the roof are gone the siding is loose and the grass is always in need of cutting. Across the street the home was rented and the gentlemen that owned the property was taking the rent and using it for vacations in the Caribbean and not paying the mortgage. Guess the rest…foreclosure and a good friend and a nice neighbor was literally out on the street and did I mention he is disabled. Talk about add insult to injury!

Now, what's my point is all this? The folks that live in these homes now are nice people every bit as nice as the folks that left them behind. Problem is the folks that live there now have no vested interest in taking care of the home. Just a stop on the road to somewhere else and or something better. Consequently, the home continues further into disrepair and the cancer continues to eat away at this city. I am sure that there are many more neighborhoods that are in the same predicament. Moreover, what does this mean for me and my wife? Stay and continue to take care of our home no matter what happens? Conversely, do we let try and sell if we can and run for the country or a better neighborhood. Can we try to lead by example and continue to make are home and yard look as nice as possible in hopes the new folks will take the hint.

I suspect only time will tell and will be based on facts that we do not know ourselves. Should things get worse for us this part of our neighborhood could be a section eight hatrick.

Rain Barrel

I can't speak for everyone but, I believe the water department here in Lorain is raising the rates by the day. I find that our bill for the amount of water we use seems high and considering the steps I have taken to reduce the amount of water we use it seems out of proportion. I am washing the dishes by hand and using the clothes washer on one day only and it still seems the water bill is still too much.
Consequently, this year I have gone one step further and decided I will institute the use of a rain barrel to water our garden and the flowers. Additionally, I have installed a soaker hose in the garden to water the plants on a slow steady basis. Should you also like to cut the amount of water you use continue reading. The rain barrel is nothing more than a large plastic barrel which you can get from factories of manufacturers who throw them away. Make sure you clean them out thoroughly because more than likely what came in the barrel to begin with was not good for you and your plants. Drill a one inch hole near the bottom and you will need a ¾ inch tap and a bulkhead fixture. These can be purchased from a big box hardware store for about sixteen dollars. Install the fixture and the tap and you're in business. I have mine under the downspout from the gutter on my garage as if you set it out in the yard it will take a long time to fill. When it rains the rain from the garage roof fills the barrel up completely. You might want to cover the top with screen to keep dirt and animals out of the barrel. Animals will drown as they have no way out once there inside the barrel so, bear this in mind.
I have been able to water my garden everyday for two weeks on one barrel of water and with no help from the city. Water like the air should be free but, we all know that will never happen.

New Bridge

Several months ago I posted pictures of the Ford road bridge over the Black river. Basically, it was unusable and closed to all traffic. I had been told that the bridge would be fixed and traffic would be restored. I was very skeptical at the time as we were still in deep recession and I did not think that the state had the funds. However, I am happy to say I was wrong and the bridge and the road are well on the way to being finished.

My First Clue

Recently, I had an interview with a large Lorain County hospital for an emergency department position. The experience was not what I expected from the start. I had submitted my resume and application online and received a call from human resources that was a little startling to say the least. "So, you want an interview"? Yes, that is what the woman on the other end of the line said and it should have been my first clue that this job was not to be. While I waited the three weeks for the scheduled interview I studied all the interview questions that could be asked. I was ready.
Interview day finally arrived I was ushered into a small room and introduced to the nurse manager and another nurse from the department. Questions were nothing new and are pretty standard. What wasn't standard was the other nurse yawning away while I answered questions guess that should have been my second clue. Finally, I should have realized that I was wasting my time as the nurse manager was not taking any notes. I checked my email when I got home and had already received thanks for submitting your interest but we are going to go with someone else.
Being unemployed mean suffering all kinds of indignities in search of a job. Overwhelmingly most places are very nice when they interview and the above incident is not the rule.

Over 50

Should you find yourself out of a job and over fifty years old you are probably going to find yourself falling on hard times. People want to believe that age discrimination does not exist but, I am here to tell you that it is alive and well and you would do well to hide your age at every turn. Lucky enough to be currently employed then if I were in your shoes I would start the process of thinking, acting and looking younger. What I mean by that is if you are going gray then color your hair. Should you have wrinkles around your eyes or on your face then get Botox. Start some sort of exercise and go on a diet and lose some weight. I am not talking about women here I want men to do this also. More than ever you need to do whatever it takes to keep your job and looking younger is they way to go. Should you lose your income and you're over fifty you are in a world of hurt and probably this will be the toughest time of your life. The stress it puts on you and your family is significant and you cannot imagine how bad it can get and I do mean divorce and worse. I believe it is the same as being told you have a terminal illness.

Should you become unemployed then you need to start looking for a job on day one and spend at least eight hours a day trying to secure new employment. Don't take the severance money should you get a check and think you can coast for a time and then look for a new job. You're behind the eight ball from the moment you are let go just because of your age. You may not feel old and everyone tells you that the fifties are the new forties. Nice sentiment for the over fifty crowd but, nothing but empty platitudes as far as employment is concerned.

Friends and family for most of us can be a saving grace and tend to help out as best they can but, they can only do so much. This is as I said much like a terminal illness and you have to go all out to save yourself. Many of you already know what I mean and have suffered through this terrible time but, for those of you who will lose your employment its war in every sense of the word. How do I know this? I have been living this hell for over a year. The take home message is hold on to your job as best you can and if you find yourself out of work fight like hell to get another!

This is my last blog post as we will be losing are internet service due to our own budget cuts. I want to thank the morning journal and specifically editor Tom Skoch for affording me this opportunity. I would also like to thank the readers and those who choose to interact.