My Dad

I was thinking about my dad so I would like to share a few thoughts about him and our time together.
I hesitate to write about my dad because I know and remember so little about him. He was adopted soon after he was born and raised in a very strict home in Nebraska, that is what I discovered later. He had a darker completion and black hair,  He loved gymnastics and was very physically fit. He was also a very hansom young man who like the girls and drinking alcohol.
Dad was serving  in the army when I was born and was not discharged until I was 4 years old.
My first memory was around Christmas when he took me to town to buy some presents while mom stayed home with my baby brother. We bought a few things, and was waiting for the bus outside the bar. He wanted to have a beer before the bus came so he started drinking one after another until all of his money was gone,even the bus fare.I was scared but he said we could walk. It was a long walk home, and so cold. I sat on his shoulders most of the way and when we got home my legs and arms were white from frost bite. Sixty years later and I still remember the sting when they put my hands and feet in a bucket of cold water.
My dad was addicted to alcohol and he used it as an escape for dealing with everything especially authority or conflict of any kind.. He could not pass by a bar if he had $1.00 in his pocket.
My last near tragic memory was a ride in the country one afternoon, again on our way home we stopped in a small town bar. I think there was four of us kids riding in the car and we were heading home when dad turned where he thought the bridge was, instead it was a fishing access and he drove right into the river. He managed to get us out and onto the bank safely. Then a farmer down the road saw us and called the sheriff, who came and took us home. The sheriff then took dad off to jail again.
There was several outings with my dad where it was near tragedy for me and my brothers and sisters, because of the bars and him spending all of his money on drinks. His thirst for alcohol was one thing that he could not control. Time after time he would come home from rehab and start right back up drinking. Unable to keep a steady job he was gone from home a lot looking for work, then he would come home long enough to get mom pregnant and back out looking for a new job again. After the eighth child they got a separation and I never saw my dad again.
I was 22 years old and in the army overseas when I heard that my dad was killed by a hit and run driver as he was crossing the street from the bar. Until that time I hated my dad and swore that when I got out of the army that I was going to make him pay for what he did to our family.I wanted to beat him so bad that he would be permanently disabled or kill him. I am thankful to God now that never happened.

In his few sober days my dad was fun and loved gymnastic. we would wrestle and tumble around the house or yard. Those memories are the good ones and are far and few in between the years. I am thankful that I had a dad that I could learn from his mistakes and change my life for the better. I have forgiven my dad and believe God has too and one day I will see him again. Unwittingly dad taught me some hard lessons which has helped me to simply live life each day.

Paycheck to Paycheck OR Paycheck to Savings

I am a paycheck to paycheck kind of guy. I've been that way all of my life. Way back in my teenage years I started working partime while still in high school. My dad was away alot working odd jobs and barley bringing enough money home to support our growing family of eight kids. I started working so I could help out with the financial obligations of our family.



Since I was the oldest, I was given most of my fathers responsibilities at home to help my mother raise my brothers and sisters. I was in the 10Th Grade when I started my first partime job, and I gave my WHOLE check to my mother. ($7.50) I really wanted to keep it , but back in the 50's that amount would buy a few groceries. From then on it was decided that I would keep 1/2 and give the rest to support the family. I continued working all through high school, and was able to buy a new console TV and pay for my first car. I bought a 1942 ford for $75.00 down and $5.00 a pay period. That was the beginning of my paycheck to paycheck life.



I finished high school and went right into the Army. It was kind of a relief to get away from home and work. I continued to give half of my Military pay to my family all through my 3 year tour of duty. My dad was killed 8 months before my discharge, and I was stationed overseas and not able to get home. At about the same time I was planning to marry a German girl that I had been dating. I was married in a German court and then brought my new wife to the U.S.. Most of the money from the military was spent on travel and setting up a new apartment. Then it was like beginning all over again living paycheck to paycheck. BUT you know what, for me that was OK ,because I was determined to simply Live life as it Came , and I have.

Now it's time to change my attitude about money. I have been semi-retired for a couple of years, and slowed down on the spending. I still want to spend all of my pay each month, although I have developed the habit of putting some into a savings account each pay period. My new plan is to work the Internet to build up a steady income, so that I can put 90% into savings and live off of the other 10%. I now have three programs that I am working, and the one I like best is the click bank code, ( http://46cd3dk80cae0naqv8p8dfk63-.hop.clickbank.net/ )this is some of the best training I have gotten so far. I am not to old to learn new lessons, and keep on simply living life.

On the job

I started a new job in April of last year as a caretaker for two buildings for people who have disabilities.The job intales keeping the building and grounds clean, checking and maintaining operating equipment, stocking toiletry supplies, doing maintenance repair issues, and general monitoring of the building. With three years of rental maintenance under my belt I thought this job would be a breeze. I was wrong.
There had been five different caretakers before me in the last three years, and none of them had done any maintenance to speak of. So to start my first week off, the main hot water tanks went out and we went a week with only limited warm water for showers. Then I had a stack of maintenance requests (72) for the tenants apartments. The cleaning was another big issue to deal with. One month later we had to do a major repair on the roof. This pattern of cleaning, repairs, and never ending maintenance requests has lasted all year, but now I feel like I have a handle on most of it. The buildings are fairly new (16 years) and are brick, so the structures are in good condition.
Several acts of vandalism has taken place in both of the buildings over the last year. These have usually happened in the middle of the night, and because I am on call 24/7 I have been woke up at many early morning hours. Just last week we had a fire out on the second floor deck, and this week a tenant flooded her apartment by forgetting to turn off the water to the shower with the drain being plugged.
I am not complaining, just trying to give you a glimpse into my job as a caretaker. I work for a corporation who has buildings all across the U.S..I am my own boss and have random visits to my site by the regional property managers. My last inspection went good and I feel confident in the work I am doing. I will continue to simply live life as it comes even at work.