Sunday, May 30, 2010

For a Rainy Day!

I am pleasantly surprised that many of the Bloggers express many of my feelings, beliefs and morals. I know we are not a like, and if all our thoughts were expressed some of us would be as different as night and day. Even so, if should not make us enemies, or cause us to have a falling out. There are many folk who disagree with me and we are still friends. I have mentioned basic disagreements between my recently departed friend, Sonny and myself, but it NEVER caused a crack in our friendship. We even joked about our differences as we walked life’s path, BUT, we came to a fork in the road, he turned, I could not go with him. I miss him.

I got off the subject. Everyone’s friends, Paula and Dar have mentioned something that I am a big fan of, bringing up some of my basic feelings.
Dar on finances/debts: “Do the Math!”


Paula: “Save for a rainy day!”

Mel , (Of: Honey I’m Home, fame) has this at the top of her Blog: “BE kinder than necessary….. Because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Some of the beliefs we have stemmed from parents/grand parents who went through the ‘Great Depression’ of the 1930’s. When there were People who would walk miles or travel hundreds of miles because they heard of jobs or work. They never again wanted to be caught with ‘nothing’.

I am always impressed by some folk’s determination to live in spite of dire circumstances. MY parents traveled from Georgia to Hollywood, Florida looking for work (to get there they stuffed straw, rags and debris in the blown out tires to keep moving, determined to find work). Later they moved to The Gastonia area of NC, to find jobs in the textile industry.

Sherry’s parents left the rural farming country of Eastern NC, coming to the Gastonia area for the same reason. We have a picture of mill workers in Belmont, and Sherry’s dad, Wiley Harris is there at 12 years old.

Working at 12 was not considered wrong. The kids on farms had worked from the early age of three and four, starting with feeding chickens and gathering eggs. Susie, Sherry’s mom, worked as a child. I never heard one complaint from her; she left us early due to a heart attack, at 61. Most of their peers worked and lived in their mill houses until they died. Nothing wrong with that, but Susie wanted a little more.

She even had the fore sight to take out a small policy on one of her 7 children, that she knew would need something to help bury him, and her insight was spot on, years after her death that paid up policy was used at his death. Funny how mothers just know ‘stuff, ain’t it’?

In her 61 years, Susie established a legacy for her family. She managed those mill workers salaries (starting at 20 cents an hour) so that by the age of 55, she and Wiley had raised 7 kids and owned two small houses. Sherry talks of her mom, ‘She always had a little money left when the next payday rolled around. And quoting her dad: Put something back for a rainy day.’

Had we and our nation as a whole, practiced those values, we would not be in the position we are today.

Thanks for reading this stuff,
Nite Shipslog
PS:
Everyone tries to do the best they can, not everyone’s circumstances are the same.

Also not everyone has the fore sight of those wonderful hardy folk up near the Canadian border, to cut next year’s firewood in the spring. Do y’all remember Dar when took us along as they cut split and stacked their fire wood for the next year or so? Consider the Ant!

10 comments:

Rose said...

Thanks for sharing that beautiful heartfelt story about Sherry's mother, Susie.

Only 61......she left this earth too soon.

I know Sherry has beautiful memories even though there were tough roads in the early days.

Hugs, Rose

Anonymous said...

GOOD ENTRY JACK.
WHEN TWELVE I WAS DOING A MAN'S WORK IN THE FIELD.

ARE WE AS A NATION GOING TO HAVE ENOUGH SENSIBLE PEOPLE TO BRING US BACK TO REALITY ?
I MEAN ELECTED SENSIBLE PEOPLE THAT HONOR THE U.S. CONSTITUTION , QUIT WASTEFUL SPENDING.

AS I WROTE IN A RECENT ENTRY, IF WE FALL FLAT HERE AND INFLATION FLOODS AND DROWNS THE SAVING THAT SOME MAY HAVE, SAD PAINFUL DAYS MAY BE AHEAD.

HOPEFULLY OUR MILITARY AND POLICE FORCES WILL BE ABLE TO GET AND HOLD CONTROL.HOWEVER, AT THE PRESENT TIME WE ARE AWARE OF FEDERAL LAWS NOT BEING ENFORCED.
GOVERNORS OF STATES CALLING FOR HELP AND THE PLEADING SEEMS TO FALL ON DEAF EARS IN WASHINGTON D.C. ALARMING IT IS TO SEE THAT SO MANY ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE INACTION OF FEDERAL AUTHORITIES TO ENFORCE LAWS. sam

Paula said...

You reminded me of Mel (deceased husband) and our little French neighbor who lived on the other side of our garage. They would meet in our garage and have the biggest arguments (never hardly saw eye to eye on anything) but never stopped being friends. Also John has told me about hauling peanuts when he could barely see over the steering wheel. Once a cop stopped him and he had to go pay a fine. The cop told him he didn't tink anyone was driving that truck.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

That was a great entry and I so well remember hearing my parents talk of the hard ships they endured and that their families went through during the great depression.

betty said...

amen to that, Jack; our pastor said (and I'm sure he got it from statistics) that Americans spend 108% of what they earn. I'm sure that includes the government, LOL. He also said, and I've heard it before, of each $10 we earn, $1 should be saved, $1 given to charity/church, and we live on the other $8. Too many of us (guilty here in the past) tend to forget to save for a rainy day.

very good entry! Sherry's mom sounded like a very wise woman; so sorry she left this world so young :(

betty

Coffeeveggie addict. said...

beautiful entry,i always admire pe0ple wh0 kn0ws h0w to save m0ney f0r the future.nice p0st.wish y0u and sherry a healthy m0nday!

Hugs,
Blue

Fred Alton said...

Saving money was never my strong point! If I had a nickel, it would "burn a hole in my pocket" if I didn't spend it. I would spend my .25 cent allowance before the week was out and beg to "borrow" some from one of my brothers - who was a tight-wad. Sometimes he would loan me a nickel. Sometimes I would pay him back. ☻ However, from my earliest times, I learned that I "owed" .5 cents every two weeks as my tithes, faithfully put in an envelope and placed in the offering plate at church. It was only much later in life (after I married Frances, in fact) that I learned from her how to establish a personal savings. THANK GOD because it's now paying off!!!

On having friends whom one can disagree with ... I think I have done that. Learned to "disagree agreeably" long time ago. Even do that somewhat with Frances on some subjects...but not the main ones. Have had to do that in my profession/vocation (or calling) too. Respect for the other person is what that's all about. I strongly dis-like pompous, self-righteous folk who think they know it all.

Lucy said...

I agree with all.

shirl72 said...

I was trying to watch what I spend and then
it came to me. I need to speed Jack's inhertance
so I started spending, spending, spending. I will try to have a little left.

Shirl

~mel said...

Great post! Sometimes it makes you wonder what kind of parents so many of our politicians have that they don't practice what I'm sure their parents preached???