Tag Archives: time

Time and Infrastructure

My mother used to say to me, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. I never thought much about that then but as I grew older it made sense. Be patient because everything takes time nothing is done instantaneously. Rome, built on seven hills, took a very long time to come together. No matter what you do will take time to do it, especially when you do it correctly.

The other day, as I was watching the news, a comment was made that the President always talk about rebuilding the infrastructure but there is nothing to show for it. It was said the President does not uphold his promises and we should not trust anything he says. It was also said that the person-in-charge of the Department of Transportation was also at fault.

I will give you a little lesson about our highway system (this is only one out of many projects concerning infrastructure). Many years ago, I read a road marker, I forget which state I was in, that talked about President D.D. Eisenhower and how he developed the highway system. When he was a newly minted Lieutenant in the army he had to drive from New York to California. What road there was was rutted and narrow. It took many days to get where he was going, and he swore that someday he will make better roads. When he became President in the 1950s, he did just that.

To fix the aging infrastructure will take a long time to do. Let me mention a few things that will slow that rebuilding of any part of the infrastructure. First and foremost are the permits before anything can start. Plans have to be drawn, inspections have to be made, contracts have to be written and signed. Just that part mentioned can take months to do. If all that have been mentioned goes smoothly, the work can begin and, depending on the size of the project, will take time to do it safely and right.

If the project is a new build, then there are other problems. Environmental agencies must give their approval, hearings have to be held, groups for and against have to be appeased, hearings are held again because of the changes to the original concept. After all of that then you start with drawing detailed plans, written contracts, etc.

The Romans built many great roads and bridges and most of them still stand today, and a few are still being used. The Romans did not wave a magic wand and their projects instantly appeared. It took a long time to accomplish those things that were built thousands of years ago. The Romans had many projects, very little red tape, yet it took a long time for each project.

I said all of that to say this. Give the infrastructure plans some time. The ball is rolling but it will take time to see it. Many people, that are against the President or the Democrat Party, will always say bad things about the infrastructure bill without proof of anything. Remember, Rome was not built in a day, nether was our deteriorating infrastructure, and completing the plans in the infrastructure bill will take time.

Posted by tega227. Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, politics, RETIREMENT. Tags: bill, highway, infrastructure, mother, news, President, project, Rome, time. Leave a comment

Dec. ’19

Vicissitude

Some time ago I promised to use common words when I put pen to paper because large, complicated words tend to confuse and/or mislead to the wrong conclusion. Almost daily I get an e-mail entitled ‘Word Genus’ which have, in my opinion, a difficult word plus its meaning(s). I will use one such word and give you what I think of it.

Vicissitude: Latin-early 17^th century 1) A change of circumstances over time, especially in one’s life. 2) Mutability or change from one thing to another, or in a cycle.

To put that word into todays actionable terms, I would say that todays political scene has vicissitudes that I, for one, do not like. There is too much bickering, backbiting, name calling, foul language, slight-of-hand gamesmanship, outright lying, and an attempt to make this nation into a monarchy.

A true monarchy (England is one) is calmer than what is happening to this country. This country was formed to get away from a monarchy just like what is happening in the mid-east. Genocide. We took the land of the Native Americans. Wherever there was resistance, we wiped them out of the area until we had everything. We lied, stole, killed and eradicated into the nation we have today. Is that a part of the definition of vicissitude?

I do not want us to rapidly or slowly change to a monarchy or communism in any way. If I did, I would relocate to some such country. Other countries, just like we have been doing, are attempting to change peoples into what they believe. The radical Muslims and Russians are two such peoples and they are not trying to hide their intentions. Can’t really blame them because we have done and is still doing the same thing. An old saying ‘the kettle calling the pot black’.

I just wanted to remind all of you why I seldom use large, confusing words in my writings. These words can be interpreted in ways I do not mean and/or they can confuse. I could use a word that give my thinking a different outlook on things that I didn’t mean.

Sometimes I listen to educators, news pundits and politicians speak. I later wonder about their true meaning of what they spoke about. While they are speaking, I wonder about a word they used because I can’t lookup the words as fast as they are speaking them. Those words are not part of my everyday word usage. I think they do it on purpose in order to either confuse people or make people think they are educated and smart.

I am not highly educated, smart or trying to confuse anyone. I shoot straight from the hip and attempt to speak clearly. I want people to understand me. No misunderstanding. Vicissitudes are here and have been for a while. In fact, there is a forever vicissitude of everything, like leaves on a tree. The best anyone can do is to go with the flow and make do the best that can be. Just be careful and have your eyes wide open. Now, did I get that word right? Let me know.

Posted by tega227. Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, politics, RETIREMENT. Tags: e-mail, email, England, monarchy, Muslims, nation, Native Americans, political, Russians, time, words. Leave a comment

Dec. ’18

Days Of Yore

I love this time of year, I hate this time of year. What do I love about this time of year, you ask? I love the festiveness, love of the birth of Christ, the giving, the hibernation of plant life that is awaiting rebirth in three or four months. This is the time that others are seen giving when, actually, it should be done all year ‘round. I love looking at the outdoor decorations, the extreme people have gone to outdo others and wonder how much is spent to do it. I love to watch the joy on the faces of small children as they see the toys, Santa and colorful lights. I love it all and remember my times at that age.

I hate this time of year because it reminds me of my age, of time gone by and of all the well-intentioned money spent on unnecessary things. Bah-humbug? No, just being my practical self. Although this blog comes out at Christmas, I am reminded that at the birth of Christ He did not have much. I hate all the scammers and robbers out there. I hate all the organizations with their hands out, getting plenty of cash so their company officers can get richer. This time of year is a love/hate thing for me.

I long for what is in my memory. A simple life, a simpler time. Smelling the wood fires. These were not just fireplaces, I never knew any family that had one, but wood and coal fires were used for heating and cooking. It was a necessity during my upbringing. I long for looking at the snow-covered houses with smoke curling out the chimney, looking like a picture transformed from a Christmas card. I long for walking into the house, smelling the fire and food slowly cooking on the stovetop. I remember those days, I long for those days and will forever cherish them.

Everyone went to church and it was always more festive during winter. The congregation not only worked together to make Christmas more festive, but they all focused on the upcoming New Year Watch Night and Easter. All festive events were planned many months in advance and everyone pitched in. Church was the starting point as well as the ending for everyone (your baptismal and your funeral). The entire family went to church and, along with the other families, the entire church was family which made everyone a relative.

Today, young people may have heard about this, but they cannot completely grasp the idea of an era like this. Each succeeding era have a time like this with each era getting more modernized than the previous. Today, young people do not have the time to see the lights, go places that they may smell the chimney smoke, go to church or, if they go to church, work together for months for some far away event in the church. There are many young people that can not cook, have parents that do cook and have never seen a wood burning stove or food cooked on one.

The young people have their phones and tablets, but they cannot smell those by-gone things from long ago through them. They can Google the past but will never experience it. They will never stand in the snow or cold wind and hear nothing but the sound of that wind or see the lights twinkling. The lights were not made that way, but the natural atmosphere make them twinkle, everything is serene. I guess I am old, longing for things that will never be again, but I will never forget them and will forever cherish them.

Posted by tega227. Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, RETIREMENT. Tags: baptismal, birth, Christ, Christmas, church, days, decorations, Easter, family, funeral, google, life, lights, memory, New Year, Santa, snow, time, toys, Watch Night, year. Leave a comment

May. ’16

I Am Retired

To be retired is greater than expected. To be able to do whatever, whenever and never have to worry about rising in the morning and going to a job. It is so nice to just lay in bed and think/relax. That is when I do my best thinking. I think about what time of morning (afternoon?) it is, what to fix for breakfast, what to wear today and dose off again, for however long it may be. Time belongs to me and not the job. Time is all there is now and I have worked a long time for this. I have been approached and chastised for not writing an article for the last two weeks. All I can say is I am retired. The article is not a job, it is pleasure, however, I ask “am required to submit an article each and every week?” I am retired and, this year, there is a lot of traveling that have been done and more to come.

While away, I do not carry my laptop, I-Pad and barely want to use my phone. There is a cruise coming up real soon and there will be very little communication for ten days plus, a wedding halfway across the country and much more. I am retired and deserve to go everywhere I can and enjoy myself without obligations to anyone (except my wife, of course) or anything. My wife and I just came from a week in Puerto Rico and I sent out, maybe, four pictures over Facebook. I really didn’t want to do that but to just stay in touch with anyone that was worried about why there wasn’t any communication. Again, we are retired. That is what retirement is all about, is it not?

Then there are people that wonder why I have a part-time job. First, the job is not hard work. Second, it is only four days a month. Third, it provides me with a tad bit of cash for my casino trips. Fourth, over the years, I have watched many people do one or two things and die. They continued to work and never had any real pleasure before or during retirement. They never retired or could not afford to retire. And those that did retire but just sat around and did nothing, passed away early and/or needed assistance to survive, never having enjoyed their retirement.

I said all of that to say this, or at least hopefully having this fact understood. The blog was to be about retirement, it is not a job to be done. The blog is to be done between my exploits, not a thing that causes everything to be stopped in order to write and print this. The blog is a pleasure writing, not a chore that is kept to a hardwired structure. And, lastly, it clears my mind for the true writing that I am into, novels and printed articles.

Hopefully I did not ruffle anyone’s feathers by writing this but truth is truth. I am on my own schedule, no one else. My wife and I do many things together and then we have our own things that are done separately. That is retirement. To do things that you want to do, at your leisure and not a calendar or clock in sight is retirement at it’s best. Most days I have to look at the paper or something else to realize what day it is and then check my pocket calendar (I have a phone appointment calendar also) to find out what I have to do today and what is coming up tomorrow. To me, today is tomorrow because tomorrow is not promised and, therefore, do whatever today because you may not be here tomorrow.

So, I’ll try to get out a blog on retirement every other week and one on religion in between that but it is not a promise or guarantee from me. If I recall correctly, when I first started this, I said I would try (I repeat “try”) to do this every week. Try is the optimum word. If there are other things you would like for me to write about, contact me and let me know. There is a comment box, use it. Until the next time…”Be kind to your neighbors because you’ll never know when you’ll need them. Also, ensure your words are soft and sweet because you’ll never know when you’ll have to eat them.”

Posted by tega227. Categories: RETIREMENT. Tags: article, blog, calendar, casino, cruise, Facebook, I-Pad, job, laptop, Puerto Rico, relax, retired, retirement, time, work, writing. Leave a comment

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