"Will Work for Food".......
Saw a guy today with one of those signs.
First time in awhile.
I've seen this particular Zombie in my ER before & my guess is that his definition of food equals, Hydrocodone. (That's a Narcotic pain med, BTW)
I've always thought that doing the sign thing to panhandle was a pretty good way to go about panhandling and it seemed to work pretty well for a few years.
Word got around after awhile that most of these sign folks were not really interested in working to much and it sorta dried up after a few years.
The only time I ever panhandled was to take my guitar into a bar and play for drinks and tips. That worked pretty well, BTW. Just not a real good career choice.
I've been thinking a lot about the sign guy today. Could be he was really sincere. Not likely, as I said, I've dealt with him before. But I figure that pretty soon, we're gonna be seeing guys with signs that really are looking to work. People are being laid off at an alarming rate around here. Reminds me of the Carter years when my Wife and I were young.
I don't like thinking about other folks going through that kind of hard times. But I believe Hard Times are indeed coming.
I started my Garden rejuvenation last Summer blissfully unaware that the bottom was gonna fall out of the economy. I just wanted to get back into growing more of my own food.
I'm damn glad I got started when I did. If you've never really tried to grow, process and put up your own food, you have no idea how much work it is. It's a lot of work just to get a good garden up and running.
Upkeep requires you to be out there everyday doing something. When crops start coming in, it's a full time job keeping up with canning, drying and other things such as making jelly, pickles, etc.
It's a good kinda busy and we do it because we like to. It's very rewarding to look in the pantry and see all those jars of beans, corn, tomatoes, etc, lined up and looking pretty. Better than money in the bank.
It's also good practice. I say this because I know that, even if times get good again tomorrow, I won't have enough retirement income to live the lifestyle where I can just go and buy anything and everything I need or want.
I know that I'm gonna have to suck it up and provide as much as I can through being self sufficient and preserve what disposable income I have for other things.
That was before my retirement investments took it in the ass over the last year, too. That was also before the government started on this spending spree it's been on for the last 6 months.
Social Security wasn't solvent 5 years ago. What are the odds that it'll be worth a shit when I get ready to retire in 12-13 years, now that they've spent Trillions on buying off bankers, political friends and lowlifes?
What are the odds that my employers retirement benefit investments are doing any better than mine?
Yeah, not to good.
That's why we have been practicing now. Planting fruit and nut trees. Getting proficient and making our mistakes over the last 8-9 years. So we'll have that shit out of the way and be able to expend what energy we do have more productively when the day comes.
Hopefully we will be able to produce enough to sell and market too. At least that was the plan to generate some cash income.
"Will Work for Food".
One way or another that's pretty much what we all do every time we get up to go to our job.
If you have one.
That's what, Sign Guy got me thinking about today.
We here have been working at lessening our dependency and raising our self sufficiency because we want to. Lots of people are gonna HAVE to figure out ways to do the same.
And they're gonna get a crash course in it.
I've been telling people to start getting themselves reoriented towards doing for themselves. Shit happens and we're seeing it happen now.
As I've said before, I don't know what the hell is gonna happen with this whole economic mess we're in right now. But it doesn't look like it's gonna get any better anytime soon.
And that's why I'm glad I got the garden up and sorta ready when I did.
I could see having my kids back here if things continue to go to shit like they are. That would take a bit of adjustment, but it's not that big a deal really. That's what Family is about.
If they had to come back here they wouldn't need a sign. They know that they'd be expected to "Work for Food".
And frankly, I'd be glad to have that help if times really get that bad.
Will things continue to go bad? Damn if I know, Skippy.
Barring a complete societal breakdown or a world wide Nuke exchange, things will get better eventually, because people always strive to better themselves. That's Human nature. It took about 15 years the last time we had anything with this much, "Oh Shit" potential happen though. And none of the experts seem to be saying things are gonna get better in a hurry. But so far, The Experts have mostly gotten this shit all wrong anyway. So maybe it will get back on track. Who knows?
I'm not totally "Dooming" out here today. Just sharing this bit of what's going through my head lately. Your mileage may vary on all this and I guess that's ok.
I'm personally looking for ways to lower my spending and dependency, while raising my sustainability and self sufficiency.
That's been, "The Plan" for a long time. Hopefully it doesn't become a necessity. But if it does, I'll be light years ahead. I never would have thought that I'd be thinking this shit.
"Will Work for Food".
My gut tells me that we'll all have to work harder for that food pretty soon.
My advice? Start getting your shit together and start thinking about your situation and what you can do to get yourself a bit more prepared against hard times. Or how you can help others. Friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Network with those same people.
Getting your shit together is not equivalent to being a Kook or a crazy bastard either.
You do have smoke alarms in your house, right? Spare tire for the car? Insurance on the house and vehicles?
OK then, you already see the sense in having your shit together for unforeseen emergencies.
Give it some thought. Make your own sign -
"Work Now and Have Food Later".
Enough serious shit for tonight -
