Old Pharts Club

[nadalama]

I thought it was Biggest Bank n Town?
There there is Wachovia yo Money bank and the No Cash No Bank Bank.

The Wachovia Bank got et by Wells 'n Furrgo. Then the No Cash No Bank Bank got et by Bank of Merica. Jeez, Keep Up Will Ya?

 

[The Cromwell]

The Wachovia Bank got et by Wells 'n Furrgo. Then the No Cash No Bank Bank got et by Bank of Merica. Jeez, Keep Up Will Ya?

Ohh my. As I said 4 banks before you know it.

 

[Draconigena]

Wuz the guys name Earl?

Hey! You know him too?

 

[nadalama]

Ohh my. As I said 4 banks before you know it.

Yes, really. That is no joke.

 

[Lady Sarah]

OMG you said BANKS. Look out.

One of those four banks you're talking about, BANK OF AMERICA, is now becoming BANK OF BIG-CITY AMERICA. I am so pissed at them I can hardly stand it. They can surely charge their customers for everything under the sun, but don't think they have to provide any in-person service any more. They want you to do everything electronically so they don't have to pay actual people to work in actual banks.

Those damn people closed every Bank of America within a 90-minute drive of us, took down every ATM. We'd done business with them for over 20 years and now have to drive all that way if we need to actually go to a bank. My hard-headed husband will NOT change his accounts to a different bank. I changed mine, but then ended up opening a BoA account again because it was such a PITA transferring money around between accounts.

Banks.

I hate B of A ever since they stole $30 to $50 every month, claiming it was for fees. That shit is partially responsible for me breaking up with my ex. He thought I was withdrawing it. Sure, he was about as bright (about bank statements) as a blown out light bulb, but it took me about 2 months to figure out what was happening. And, that was when I brought it to the attention of one of the bank managers, only to be escorted out of the building by security. That did not stop me from withdrawing the balance from the ATM, and opening an account with another bank, and then having my direct deposit switched over. Then, my ex had to deal with the bastards. He almost got arrested.

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[The Cromwell]

Yes, really. That is no joke.

We are getting close to 4 appliance and 4 lawnmower companys as well.

 

[nadalama]

Ok, well, we've run most everyone else off, being so silly, so guess I'll give it up now and go to sleep, since I'm about 4 hours past my bedtime. Come 4:00 in the morning, I'll be wide awake watching it SNOW.

If more of the white stuff has to fall, it needs to be the right kind so I can have one more batch of snow creme.

Good night all. It's been fun. Sleep tight.

 

[JuicyLucy]

4 lawnmower companys as well

You can really tell things are going to hell when you get graft in the grass cutting sector

 

[Lady Sarah]

We are getting close to 4 appliance and 4 lawnmower companys as well.

We ain't even got 4 gas stations in town. Heck, we only got 2 intersections with stop lights.

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[Draconigena]

Seems to me every damn riding mower I have bought in the past 10 years, regardless of brand, is made by the same Chinese company.

 

[Draconigena]

We ain't even got 4 gas stations in town. Heck, we only got 2 intersections with stop lights.

You got stop lights? Damn, we ain't even got no slow pedestrian signs. Maurine: Population 2 (me and Lannie) and, at our age, we're both slow pedestrians. (Hint: Maurine is a ghost town now)

 

[Jimi]

Evening, Jimi.....

Evening Dale how did the day treat you my friend

 

[Lady Sarah]

You got stop lights? Damn, we ain't even got no slow pedestrian signs. Maurine: Population 2 (me and Lannie) and, at our age, we're both slow pedestrians. (Hint: Maurine is a ghost town now)

We have a few ghost towns around. They still have residents, but the post offices, grocery stores, banks, and gas stations are ruins.

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[Jimi]

Sleepy as I can be, Jimi, but otherwise fine. These folks here have been entertaining me for a while, so I'm good. Hope you are well too. Hope your knee is feeling better.

I still have a gimp in my get along but it's getting a little better, I think anyway

 

[inspects]

Evening Dale how did the day treat you my friend

Fantastic......how is the leg?

 

[Jimi]

Jimi, you're going to think you've stepped into the loony bin tonight, buddy.

That seems to be the norm for us old pharts

 

[The Cromwell]

Seems to me every damn riding mower I have bought in the past 10 years, regardless of brand, is made by the same Chinese company.

Around 80% of the mowers sold in the USA are made by either AYP/Electrolux or MTD

 

[Jimi]

Fantastic......how is the leg?

Still hurts like hell but getting a little better, I have a torn ACL so it only gets so good

 

[Lady Sarah]

Good night, fellow pharts

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[Artemis]

A quick hello and good night. Work is still kicking my arse. I suppose I need to get use to it. They begged me to pickup a extra day and I'll probably regret it. I'll throw a few biscuits as I head towards bed. I'm a wimp.

 

[inspects]

Still hurts like hell but getting a little better, I have a torn ACL so it only gets so good

Oh shit....yes that does hurt...and no, it doesn't heal well....

 

[Jimi]

Ok, well, we've run most everyone else off, being so silly, so guess I'll give it up now and go to sleep, since I'm about 4 hours past my bedtime. Come 4:00 in the morning, I'll be wide awake watching it SNOW.

If more of the white stuff has to fall, it needs to be the right kind so I can have one more batch of snow creme.

Good night all. It's been fun. Sleep tight.

G"nite nadalama

 

[Jimi]

Good night, fellow pharts

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Good night Sarah see you tomorrow my friend

 

[Draconigena]

We have a few ghost towns around. They still have residents, but the post offices, grocery stores, banks, and gas stations are ruins

Maurine is an "almost" intersection on the highway where a gravel road and a paved road meet. It used to have a gas station/mini mart and a social hall; all in ruins now. We still have a two-room school house (grades 1-8) that services all the ranchers in a 10 mile radius. When your kid gets to high school, you have to drive them to Faith yourself - there is no bus service out here. The post office was a small trailer parked in my front yard 30 years ago (I bought this property 14 years go). Today, we get our mail delivered from the post office in Faith, which is 27 miles east of us, which is also the closest bank and small grocery store, with two gas stations and one flashing light intersection (population about 380).

 

[Jimi]

A quick hello and good night. Work is still kicking my arse. I suppose I need to get use to it. They begged me to pickup a extra day and I'll probably regret it. I'll throw a few biscuits as I head towards bed. I'm a wimp.

Hi Sandi, you can toss a couple at me just hold the jam

 

[AndriaD]

I think you missed one of my comments, Andria. I used to be a professional meteorologist, so the LAST place I would look for an accurate forecast is the TV news. I made a deal with the local NWS facility. I gave them my latitude and longitude and they created a computer link called a Point Forecast that supposedly generates likely conditions based on reporting stations north, east, and west of me. They forget, however, how hills between those locations can radically change conditions. In any case, besides NWS, we also access Intellicast, which gives us local Doppler access, all the available maps, surface and upper air, etc., etc. As far as forecasts for the day you are standing in, I usually can just look at the sky around me (you can often figure atmospheric thermodynamics just by watching the shape of the clouds at various altitudes) and give a better "guess" than NWS.

I was aware of your former occupation... and I completely agree about any "news" -- they're never even CLOSE; weather.com does a fair job. I have zero professional training in meteorology, but I've been a smidgen of a "weather geek" since TWC first started, and one of the best things about it, to me, is being able to look at their Doppler radar, and with an understanding of local weather patterns (50+ yrs observation, mainly), be able to figure out for myself what's likely to be heading this way within the next few hours -- beyond that, their guess is as good as mine. I can't tell too awful much from clouds, other than, those super-tall cumulonimbus in summer usually mean, batten down the hatches -- and if the sky looks green or spits hail, I'd like to go hide, but don't have a basement or cellar here.

Andria

 

[Jimi]

Oh shit....yes that does hurt...and no, it doesn't heal well....

Yeah it's a big PITA but i have lived with it for many years

 

[AndriaD]

.


That's the kind of bank I moved my stuff to - I think they have four or five branches. The BoA account I have now is basically a temporary holding account for money that gets doled out to our kids when they can't pay their bills. I really despise having that BoA account, but guess it makes sense for what we're using it for (as if what we're using it for makes any sense).

I tell you, if I'd tried to get money from my mother the way my kids get money from me, she'd have laughed her head off and shooed me away like a fly. Anyone who has adult kids who can actually completely support themselves these days is lucky. We have spoiled our kids beyond all reason - certainly not intentionally, but effectively.

This is exactly why we agreed to host our son for however long it takes for him to get his degree in electrical engineering -- that's a lucrative field that's unlikely to disappear as so many do, so once he's got the sheepskin, he should be able to become fully self-supporting -- we'll all cross our fingers! he's doing well in school so far, so far, so good!

Andria

 

[JuicyLucy]

Anyone who has adult kids who can actually completely support themselves these days is lucky. We have spoiled our kids beyond all reason - certainly not intentionally, but effectively.

My kids were young adults during the recession and needed a lot of help - but it was worth it

 

[Draconigena]

Serious question (I know that is beyond the charter of this thread, but...): At what age do you folks consider your "children" to have become "adults"? We can get a driver's license at 16. We can get drafted into the military at 18. What age do you have to be to vote in your state? 18 or 21? When do you believe they should be responsible for themselves? I have always figured that as soon as they declare they are an adult and should be allowed to live by their own rules instead of mine, they need to get a job and get out of my house.

And, being the ancient curmudgeon, I don't even believe they should be allowed to own a smart phone or have a facebook account until they are 21, but that's a whole different argument.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Serious question (I know that is beyond the charter of this thread, but...): At what age do you folks consider your "children" to have become "adults"? We can get a driver's license at 16. We can get drafted into the military at 18. What age do you have to be to vote in your state? 18 or 21? When do you believe they should be responsible for themselves? I have always figured that as soon as they declare they are an adult and should be allowed to live by their own rules instead of mine, they need to get a job and get out of my house.

And, being the ancient curmudgeon, I don't even believe they should be allowed to own a smart phone or have a facebook account until they are 21, but that's a whole different argument.

So at what age did you stop providing free food and clean underwear?

 

[inspects]

Have a great Saturday, phartz.....I'm done for the day.....

 

[Jimi]

Have a great Saturday, phartz.....I'm done for the day.....

Good night Dale I am not far behind you my friend

 

[Jimi]

Well I am going to hobble into bed good night my friends

 

[Draconigena]

So at what age did you stop providing free food and clean underwear?

Well, Lucy, I can't answer that question. My first wife (by whom we created my only child) stole my daughter and moved back to England when my baby was only 8 years old. My observations have been of those around me and how they interacted with their children, which is why I asked this question. My second wife had a son who was constantly demanding "freedoms" and did not want to live under the rules of the house, and had he still been in my house when he got out of school, I would have kicked his ass to the curb immediately (he was a major PITA, as well as a juvenile delinquent who got his ass arrested). I am just curious about what "rules" you all choose to live by.

I worked to pay my own way as much as possible while in school because mom and I were well below the poverty line, so if you didn't work for it, you didn't get it. And I was drafted shortly after getting out of high school, so immediately started paying my own way in life at 18 (yes, the military provided room and board, but everything else, you better learn to live on your own budget because THEY didn't wash my underwear).

 

[Ryedan]

Well I am going to hobble into bed good night my friends

G'nite Jimi. Hope your knee behaves tomorrow!

 

[Draconigena]

After midnight and I am turning back into a pumpkin, so I'm gonna crawl in the sack now. G'nite y'all.

 

[Ryedan]

Evening Pharts ... I'm up a bit late tonight.

The pooch has been snoring beside me for a while after another good walk earlier. It probably helped that she went wrangy at a squirrel who didn't know it was still winter . Gotta love these critters

 

[choderfett]

Fishing lures!!

 

[nadalama]

Serious question (I know that is beyond the charter of this thread, but...): At what age do you folks consider your "children" to have become "adults"? We can get a driver's license at 16. We can get drafted into the military at 18. What age do you have to be to vote in your state? 18 or 21? When do you believe they should be responsible for themselves? I have always figured that as soon as they declare they are an adult and should be allowed to live by their own rules instead of mine, they need to get a job and get out of my house.

And, being the ancient curmudgeon, I don't even believe they should be allowed to own a smart phone or have a facebook account until they are 21, but that's a whole different argument.

The short answer for me is that it depends. Every person is different. A kid becomes an adult when they demonstrate the judgement and coping skills of an adult. Beyond that there are a million factors that come into play, mental health being a big, major one.

The "kids" of mine are 39 and 36, with 7 children between them. I won't let my grandchildren suffer as long as I can haul myself up out of the bed to go and earn money.

 

[The Cromwell]

Yeah it's a big PITA but i have lived with it for many years

Yeah kinda like marriage?

 

[The Cromwell]

I won't let my grandchildren suffer as long as I can haul myself up out of the bed to go and earn money.

Yeah and they know that.

Children were a responsibility for my generation not a meal ticket.

 

[nadalama]

Well, what I've heard and observed over the years is that kids are either just like their parents or they are the exact opposite of them. I do not know how one or the other leaning is determined if not in the decisions an individual makes.

My mother didn't help me even when she was hoarding money and we (my husband, children and I) were damn near destitute. So perhaps it was my own decision to make that I felt that was wrong of her, and I refused to decide that money was more important than my children. I'll take responsibility for that decision, and even to this very day I don't feel that it was wrong.

I have a family full of "issues," so we are all just trying to stay afloat. Perhaps my off-the-cuff remark was inappropriate, the one that got this line of conversation started.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Well, Lucy, I can't answer that question. My first wife (by whom we created my only child) stole my daughter and moved back to England when my baby was only 8 years old. My observations have been of those around me and how they interacted with their children, which is why I asked this question. My second wife had a son who was constantly demanding "freedoms" and did not want to live under the rules of the house, and had he still been in my house when he got out of school, I would have kicked his ass to the curb immediately (he was a major PITA, as well as a juvenile delinquent who got his ass arrested). I am just curious about what "rules" you all choose to live by.

I worked to pay my own way as much as possible while in school because mom and I were well below the poverty line, so if you didn't work for it, you didn't get it. And I was drafted shortly after getting out of high school, so immediately started paying my own way in life at 18 (yes, the military provided room and board, but everything else, you better learn to live on your own budget because THEY didn't wash my underwear).

The only hard and fast rule I drilled into my two daughters was that if they had a baby, they were on their own - they had to take care of it themselves

Thought it might keep my biggest fear at bay: teenage pregnancy. It may have worked too well, as they are in their early 30s and neither is on a path to motherhood at all

But our monetary aid to adult kids policy was no policy really - they always knew they could come to us in an emergency. Emergency defined as: an unexpected money crisis that could cause significant hardship that is not a result of being irresponsible

Example: drive chain snaps on old engine, costs more to repair than value of car. Downpayment for a newer used car: approved
Need a down payment for new car because boyfriend backed old one into concrete pillar and insurance won't pay: not approved

There was some testing of this policy on their end in the late teens mostly, but all in all has worked out well

I would also say it is highly unlikely we would ever cosign for any kind of a loan

 

[The Cromwell]

Yeah when I was young out of wedlock pregnancies were kind of kept hidden.
Now they are celebrated as great things....

Yeah I have 2 granddaughters both have one child and the other has one another on the way and neither have ever been married...

Wife asked me what we were going to get for the latest ones baby shower.
I said a kick in the ass...
Did not go over well.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Yeah when I was young out of wedlock pregnancies were kind of kept hidden.
Now they are celebrated as great things....

Yeah I have 2 granddaughters both have one child and the other has one another on the way and neither have ever been married...

Wife asked me what we were going to get for the latest ones baby shower.
I said a kick in the ass...
Did not go over well.

Am not crazy on the married/babies thing - I was not married when my children were born - though statistically, children do better when they are born to parents that are married

It was more about not having children too early and certainly not while still in high school

My mom was only 15 when I was born, and it was not considered unusual for my family - I think breeding too young also breeds poverty

 

[The Cromwell]

Am not crazy on the married/babies thing - I was not married when my children were born - though statistically, children do better when they are born to parents that are married

It was more about not having children too early and certainly not while still in high school

My mom was only 15 when I was born, and it was not considered unusual for my family - I think breeding too young also breeds poverty

Yep. The oldest granddaughter I am proud of. She completed HS and got a decent job with benefits and is pursuing part time college paid for by her employer.
The younger one got preggers in HS and dropped out. Then persuaded my wife to pay over $500 for an online GED course which she never used... And second boyfriend and second child now...

 

[nadalama]

Both of my daughters have PCOS, one has no children and is 33 years old now, the other has five children, four of which were the result of my telling her that her PCOS was exacerbated by hyperinsulinism, and if she'd go on a low carb diet, she might be able to get pregnant again. It worked, obviously. She had her first at 18, after several miscarriages, but she was employed and married, and in her own place and self-supporting at the time. Seven years later, she had her second, a year later got a divorce, a year later got remarried, a year later had twins, six months later had a failed gastric bypass, and from there it's been a fucking nightmare. At this point she's a professional person, worked her way up through a male-dominated industry, is well paid, but has been diagnosed as bipolar and has her issues.

The story of my son is just too much to even get into. It began with ADHD and went downhill from there. After he made four years of sobriety, courtesy of some wonderful people in a local NA group, we all decided that it was best for his children to get them out of foster care, where his piece-of-shit ex-wife had landed them, and we said we'd help him. He is trying his damnedest. He is working like a dog and cannot win for losing. I won't let him fall if I can help it. Too much to lose.

I've just got too much of a mouth on me. I should be more careful what I bitch about.

 

[JuicyLucy]

I've just got too much of a mouth on me. I should be more careful what I bitch about.

I think it has been an interesting discussion - and in reality, I could never let a grandchild suffer either - even if it meant I had to suffer

 

[The Cromwell]

I think it has been an interesting discussion - and in reality, I could never let a grandchild suffer either - even if it meant I had to suffer

Yep.
And they know it and some use the innocent child...