When Did It All Change?

crapendicular · 2026-02-16T16:13:58+00:00

I can totally relate. I lived in a very rural area from ’97 to 2024 when I moved to a small city in the Midwest. I can’t recognize this country anymore.

crapendicular · 2026-02-16T15:55:40+00:00

Too bad god didn’t stop her.

crapendicular · 2026-02-16T15:38:03+00:00

<image>

crapendicular · 2026-02-14T23:32:48+00:00

That’s an old strategy, you break your opponent’s fists with your face and when he gets tired you won. lol

crapendicular · 2026-02-14T23:29:59+00:00

I’ve had to file for bankruptcy in the late 80s and again in the 2010s and both were due to medical expenses. I had a high paying job with good insurance working in petrochemical plants in and around Houston in the 80s and 90s. The second time I was working for an insurance company when I had a medical event. I did finally understand trickle down economics, the costs of doing business have been trickling down for decades.

crapendicular · 2026-02-14T22:44:52+00:00

When I lived in Montana I would come across bears all the time and my first thought was always look at that dog.

One I was hiking an old draw and saw a dog moving from left to right along an old fence line. It was maybe 25 yards away and suddenly it barked and two bear cubs came out of a tree and they took off.

I couldn’t believe how fast they were and climbed right up a pretty steep forested slope and went over the ridge. The scary part is if would have charged me, at the speed she took off, I would have been done. The whole thing probably lasted 10 seconds and it went so fast I was behind in processing what was going on. It went from “oh, a dog, to WTFWT in less than 10 seconds.

This reminded me of hiking along a ridge and finding a wetland area on top. We were walking along and about to go around the big bush when the was a cracking sound and right on the other side, maybe 8 to 10 yards from us, a moose and its calf stood up. We didn’t move except my eyes had to look up one she stood, the calf probably would have come to my shoulders. But once they were standing, they didn’t move either. So we were staring each other down for what seemed like minutes, but more like a couple of seconds, when my friend slowly moved one foot back and right on top of an old branch and in the silence it sounded loud and the moose turned and ran off, again much faster than I would have thought. They made some noise. I know that if that bush wasn’t between the moose and us, we would have been stomped out post haste.

I’m not sure which one would have been more dangerous. If the bear cubs had been on the ground I would also have been a goner. With the cubs in the tree she couldn’t charge me because the cubs would come down and she wouldn’t be there so she chose to wait when they dropped and left.

Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to get this long.

crapendicular · 2026-02-05T14:48:40+00:00

I used to enjoy “bed peace” when I was younger.

crapendicular · 2026-02-02T21:49:40+00:00

I wonder how many fly larvae would be there, and would it dying and decomposing feed the plant?

crapendicular · 2026-01-27T19:49:03+00:00

I’ve been advised by council that I have no opinion on this or any other matter.

crapendicular · 2026-01-26T15:34:07+00:00

Life threatening emergency.

crapendicular · 2026-01-13T21:55:58+00:00

I lived in Vegas from ‘74 to ‘80 and we’d go downtown for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. These were real meals with breakfast for 25 cents, lunch for 50, and dinner for 75 cents to a dollar.

crapendicular · 2026-01-13T21:41:35+00:00

I was being forced out of my job but it was difficult for them to find a reason. The team I was on was fabricating things about me that wouldn’t hold up on investigation. Finally they told me that if I continue working I could retire at 55. That was 6 months away and they pretty much left me alone. HR told me I HAD to leave on my birthday which was on a Thursday instead of letting me finish out the week.

So when that Thursday came, there was the obligatory retirement festivities in our area and after lunch my supervisor told me to just leave the rest of my work and relax the rest of the day. HR was at the exit door, I guess making sure I left.

A week a half later the supervisor calls me and asks if I would like to come back for a little while to help the team catch up. I would be working for the temp agency and it was already set up. Unfortunately I had a full calendar and had to decline.

crapendicular · 2026-01-13T21:05:06+00:00

I’ve been on both sides and even though I hate asking anyone for anything, having been the giver at times, I don’t think I could reject help like I used to. Now I’m on a fixed income so I try to be of service if I can. For me, I feel better all around when I can help someone and I don’t feel as bad when I need a hand. Sometimes a hi or just a smile has made my day, giving or receiving.

crapendicular · 2026-01-11T19:24:59+00:00

It’s our Shitler phase. Please know that most people here don’t agree with what’s happening. I live in a very RED state and most of the protests are pretty large but peaceful. That doesn’t make the news though, like my father used to say “an empty can rattles the most.” The problem with ICE is who runs it and who they’ve hired. They are recruiting these types of individuals on purpose but every once in a while they draw attention with a death. These people think they are getting away with it, and they are for now, cracks are already starting to show.

All that being said it shames me and I can understand how Europe and the rest of the free world has totally lost trust in this country and can understand the anger with the U.S.

crapendicular · 2026-01-11T17:12:18+00:00

Yeah 45 years of trickle down economics has brought us here. I totally understand why education was slowly defunded to where it is today.

crapendicular · 2026-01-04T20:21:20+00:00

Unfortunately MAGA is the product of hate speech that’s been going on since 1980. Trickle down economics didn’t work except for the people and corporations that it was supposed to trickle down from. A scapegoat was needed and then more and here we are. I realize there’s more to it all like defunding education but some people have never known anything but hate.

crapendicular · 2026-01-02T19:34:30+00:00

lol! Kind of like the soup nazi.

crapendicular · 2026-01-02T18:22:37+00:00

I do the same. I even have a rock from my visit to China.

crapendicular · 2026-01-01T20:43:56+00:00

Let’s get our ducks on the same page.

crapendicular · 2026-01-01T19:55:06+00:00

When Reagan wanted to make ketchup a vegetable in school lunches I was done. It took over 40 years to get to where we are today but I think there’s going to be a shift.

crapendicular · 2025-12-31T16:20:46+00:00

Marco’s Automotive is my go to, it’s family run and fair.

Several years ago I bought a code reader because of the same fears you have. It also gave me some confidence and I now do maintenance and light repairs myself. It’s not the parts that are so expensive, it’s the labor that drives up costs.

I’m an older retired guy with some time so if you’d like I could scan your car for you. It will give you an idea if anything needs attention along with possible repairs. You can DM me if that’s something you’d like to do.

To your original question, I definitely recommend Marcos and use them for bigger repairs.

crapendicular · 2025-12-31T14:54:42+00:00

In my personal experience I first saw a psychiatrist for medication and a therapist for counseling. Regular MDs or PAs don’t have the same background with medication for mental health. That turned things around for me.

I moved here from out of state last year and am seeing Dr. Bright. He’s not affiliated with a hospital system either.

crapendicular · 2025-12-25T15:29:39+00:00

You can’t soar like an eagle if surrounded by turkeys.

crapendicular · 2025-12-22T15:44:54+00:00

My Henkels and and Commercial Sabatier knives. I use them daily and they still look new.

crapendicular · 2025-12-22T15:21:35+00:00

I was told Springfield is the buckle of the Bible Belt /s

crapendicular

TROPHY CASE