Friday, July 31, 2009
View from the sticks
I had a very close call last night on the way home and I thought I would share it. I was driving home on a street i don't often take at a time I was tired and not paying close enough attention to my surroundings. There is a road right next to the local grain elevator and the railroad tracks cross the road here. Like many RR crossings out here in the sticks there is no automatic barrier or lights. It is up to you to look and listen closely before crossing and that is where I screwed up. I have poor hearing with constant ringing in both ears plus I had the radio playing. The railroad tracks curve around the back of the grain elevator so there is no more than about 50ft of visibility. So I am driving and just as the front tires of my car hit the railroad tracks I hear a train whistle and it is LOUD. I look to my right and no more than a car length away is a fast moving train engine. I floored the gas pedal on the car and just cleared the track as the train went by. There was maybe a second of margin but no more. So in the end nobody got hurt but it was very close. The AAA was right in there old advertisements that most accidents happen within 5 miles of home and I think it is due to the familiarity of our surroundings giving us a false sense of security. So learn from my mistake and look and listen closely when crossing railroad tracks. You DON'T want to look up like I did and see nothing but fast moving train engine filling your vision. ;-)
Friday, July 24, 2009
View from the sticks
I was working with and talking to the co-owner of the shop I work in yesterday when he happened to mention that he had just found out that he had come in to a small five figure inheritance from his grandmother. I just listened as he wondered what he could do with the unexpected windfall. Should he buy this or that or the other thing?
This went on for a while and I did not say very much, then he asked me what I would do with it. I think what I said surprised him.
What I told him was I thought he should either stash it away as an emergency fund or use it to pay down debt. Then when he wondered why I told him my thoughts on personal finance.
I told him that I am completely debt free and have been for almost a decade. That I do not buy anything unless I can pay for it up front. That when I do buy something I buy the best I can find and pay the extra cost because the item usually works better and lasts longer.
I told him that being debt free is a state of mind and a lifestyle choice that takes discipline and practice but in the end is much less expensive and much less stressful that the debt driven life we have been taught is normal.
Being debt free brings freedom and many more choices. I told him that if I was in debt I would not have been able to retire at 49 and take up a much lower paying job that I enjoy very much. When you are in debt you are on a treadmill and cannot stop moving. The bigger the debt the faster the treadmill goes. If you lose your job or get sick you are in danger of very quickly losing everything that you worked for.
It was one thing to take on debt as a normal lifestyle choice when jobs were plentiful but it is quite another to do it in an economy where jobs are still going overseas and the unemployment rate is north of 15% like it is here in Michigan. He listened to what I had to say but I am not holding my breath that I convinced him. All our lives we have been told to buy things right now on credit, with easy monthly payment plans. Why wait? Enjoy it all now! Keep up with the Joneses!
An alternate lifestyle of pay as you go and healthy reserve cash has its own rewards and is well worth pursuing. Start where you are, but at least start and I guarantee you will not regret it.
This went on for a while and I did not say very much, then he asked me what I would do with it. I think what I said surprised him.
What I told him was I thought he should either stash it away as an emergency fund or use it to pay down debt. Then when he wondered why I told him my thoughts on personal finance.
I told him that I am completely debt free and have been for almost a decade. That I do not buy anything unless I can pay for it up front. That when I do buy something I buy the best I can find and pay the extra cost because the item usually works better and lasts longer.
I told him that being debt free is a state of mind and a lifestyle choice that takes discipline and practice but in the end is much less expensive and much less stressful that the debt driven life we have been taught is normal.
Being debt free brings freedom and many more choices. I told him that if I was in debt I would not have been able to retire at 49 and take up a much lower paying job that I enjoy very much. When you are in debt you are on a treadmill and cannot stop moving. The bigger the debt the faster the treadmill goes. If you lose your job or get sick you are in danger of very quickly losing everything that you worked for.
It was one thing to take on debt as a normal lifestyle choice when jobs were plentiful but it is quite another to do it in an economy where jobs are still going overseas and the unemployment rate is north of 15% like it is here in Michigan. He listened to what I had to say but I am not holding my breath that I convinced him. All our lives we have been told to buy things right now on credit, with easy monthly payment plans. Why wait? Enjoy it all now! Keep up with the Joneses!
An alternate lifestyle of pay as you go and healthy reserve cash has its own rewards and is well worth pursuing. Start where you are, but at least start and I guarantee you will not regret it.
Friday, July 17, 2009
View from the sticks
I had an interesting experience last night that brought back a lot of memories, this is what happened.
The annual 12 hour endurance mountain bike race is going on this weekend at our local trail and the Rep for the Night Rider Technical lighting company rolled in to town to support the race. He showed up at the bike shop yesterday and he and my boss decided to put together an impromptu night ride last night. After some phone calls, dusk comes and 18 riders showed up. The Night Rider Rep hands out loaner lights to anyone who did not have their own and off we went in to the woods. I have ridden this trail many times over the years in the daytime but never at night so I did not really know what to expect. What I found out was that it is with the right equipment it is like riding in the daytime but twice as fun. I am going to be doing this more often.
The memories it brought back was how in the Rangers we were creatures of the night. The vast majority of the time our schedule was inverted and we would sleep during the day and do operations all night. The darkness was our friend and we were very comfortable in it. It even got to the point where the climbing team I was on would climb and do fairly technical operations at night.
My challenge to the readers of this post is this. Go outside this summer and discover the night. It does not matter if it is looking at stars in the backyard, walking around the neighborhood, hiking, or biking in the woods. Go out and experience it. A few tips, give your eyes a half hour to adapt to the darkness. The center of your vision is a blind spot at night, look off to the side of something you want to see clearly at night. Once your eyes have adapted to the darkness protect it as much as possible. Use a red filter on your flashlight or close one eye if you must use white light to see something. It you don't it will take a while for your night vision to come back.
The night time world out there is fun to explore and get comfortable in. Give it a try!
The annual 12 hour endurance mountain bike race is going on this weekend at our local trail and the Rep for the Night Rider Technical lighting company rolled in to town to support the race. He showed up at the bike shop yesterday and he and my boss decided to put together an impromptu night ride last night. After some phone calls, dusk comes and 18 riders showed up. The Night Rider Rep hands out loaner lights to anyone who did not have their own and off we went in to the woods. I have ridden this trail many times over the years in the daytime but never at night so I did not really know what to expect. What I found out was that it is with the right equipment it is like riding in the daytime but twice as fun. I am going to be doing this more often.
The memories it brought back was how in the Rangers we were creatures of the night. The vast majority of the time our schedule was inverted and we would sleep during the day and do operations all night. The darkness was our friend and we were very comfortable in it. It even got to the point where the climbing team I was on would climb and do fairly technical operations at night.
My challenge to the readers of this post is this. Go outside this summer and discover the night. It does not matter if it is looking at stars in the backyard, walking around the neighborhood, hiking, or biking in the woods. Go out and experience it. A few tips, give your eyes a half hour to adapt to the darkness. The center of your vision is a blind spot at night, look off to the side of something you want to see clearly at night. Once your eyes have adapted to the darkness protect it as much as possible. Use a red filter on your flashlight or close one eye if you must use white light to see something. It you don't it will take a while for your night vision to come back.
The night time world out there is fun to explore and get comfortable in. Give it a try!
Friday, July 3, 2009
View from the sticks
I got a card in the Mail today informing me that there is a Red Cross Blood drive coming to town next week. Not that I really need the reminder because I have it marked on my calender from the last time that I gave.
I started donating in 1980 in the Rangers. They would line everybody up in formation and march all of us to the post theater and we would all give blood together. I don't remember anyone complaining because we knew that from the nature of our job that we might be the person who needed the blood.
These days I continue to give blood as often as I can just because I feel it is the right thing to do and it is a really easy way to save someones life. I have lost track of how many gallons that I have given but as long as they will take it I will give it.
So do something selfless just because it is the right thing to do. Call the Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or search on line and find when the next blood drive is coming to a location near you and give.
And in a strange twist of fate you or your family member ends up in a ER needing blood it may be your very donation that saves the day. Go ahead, just do it!
I started donating in 1980 in the Rangers. They would line everybody up in formation and march all of us to the post theater and we would all give blood together. I don't remember anyone complaining because we knew that from the nature of our job that we might be the person who needed the blood.
These days I continue to give blood as often as I can just because I feel it is the right thing to do and it is a really easy way to save someones life. I have lost track of how many gallons that I have given but as long as they will take it I will give it.
So do something selfless just because it is the right thing to do. Call the Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or search on line and find when the next blood drive is coming to a location near you and give.
And in a strange twist of fate you or your family member ends up in a ER needing blood it may be your very donation that saves the day. Go ahead, just do it!
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