Vagaries of life from the Cumberland Plateau

There is usually only one real reason, and many good reasons. Trying to figure out the real reason can be tough.

Advancing an argument with a degree of truth is much tougher to respond to than an outright lie.

Everyone is an expert on everything, from being an arm-chair general to a financial advisor to a earth science expert. Hence trust your own advice and counsel, too. And it sure is easier to give advice than follow your own advise.

Defrosting an old fashioned GE refrigerator (1928 I think) is easy, if you know how to do it. The design is pretty much like an icebox with a compressor substituted for the ice box on top.

Some people are speculators, some people are investors.

Life has more elements of a high school clique than most want to forget.

As bad as life seems here, the USA is still a good new world USA place to live and raise a family. Just try the alternatives.

The old fashioned ideas of food, shelter, and clothing are timeless. In the same vein, it is kinda embarrassing if we have to even think about it.

Thugs and other low lifes exist, and have always been around. And this is in spite of all the good efforts extended throughout history to reduce the numbers in terms of a percentage of population.

Most thugery is human based. All cultures and races seem to suffer from their thugs.

Now some human efforts to improve things have made this thugery problem worse, it seems by observation.

We USA humans have lost a lot of old time skills that might still help in our near future. We have not lost our humanity, though. My guess is the skills we have lost are more for our convenience; and of course, food, shelter, and clothing.

Just because you are born a male, doesn't mean you know how to drive a tractor, use a chain saw, or work on mechanical things like an engine or plumbing. Somebody still has to teach you, and most schools don't teach these kind of things. And why do many think females are born knowing how to cook?

Boys and girls are different. If predicting the weather is tough, try predicting how a fellow human of the opposite sex will act.

The old fashioned societal concept of shame has changed. Girl's having a child out of wedlock is no longer embarrassing. Like it or not, girls are still in charge of birth control in the new world USA.

The idea of it takes a village to raise a child is silly. Most adults appreciate having a mom and dad at home, as periodically painful as it probably was and is from both sides.

We humans need governments at all levels for traditional reasons, like our self-defense ( I even have a child at West Point right now); and the basics again, like food, shelter, and clothing. And this idea is at all levels, federal, state, county, city, and school board. I would add local government things like police (protection from our thugs), fire, clean water, and waste water things as a big deal that most will have as a consideration when they vote.

Last, and to reinforce what things are wherever you live, one will have to "work" just to do what you think is important. Often your Family will come into play. Go for it I would say, but also don't be surprised by the unexpected outcomes.

To many, I think, the idea of "work" sounds just like it is in the new world USA.

There are many truly poor, and then there those who filch off of the government programs.

A trip to the local big flea market shows a lot of obese, tattooed, and pierced people with a lot of kids, and new vehicles to boot.

I would rather have too many lawyers than a government that does not follow the rule of law.

Why do we humans generalize so much? I always resent being categorized by someone I don't even know.

Am I having puppies stolen or do they just otherwise disappear?

Why won't my postman walk the last 20 yards to my house (from his USPS car), while the maid, and UPS and FedEx people do the same? The postmaster suggests there are union rules involved. My having a heart attack doesn't count, it is suggested.

The population is growing, so why do governments not expand our police protection, to include the amount of police, jails and courts?

I bothers me when politicians and appointed bureaucrats announce what laws they will and won't enforce. I still believe our legislatures and our votes decide what laws we want to have. And if it turns out we have a crummy law, then it is the legislature's job to improve it, or get rid of it. If necessary, then the people change the politicians and the legislatures. Now this does take time.

Most of the things that affect my quality of life are more local than federal. And so the votes will go, also. And the emphasis will go more towards the basic responsibilities of governments when not all good ideas can be funded.

Such are the present observations and thoughts from this new world USA person on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.