“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
The lies we tell ourselves are only exceeded by the lies perpetrated by those controlling the levers of our society. We’ve lost respect for ourselves and others, transforming from citizens with obligations to consumers with desires. The love of mammon has left our country a hollowed out, debt ridden shell of what it once was. When I see the data from surveys about the amount of debt being carried by people in this country and match it up with the totals reported by the Federal Reserve, I’m honestly flabbergasted that so many people choose to live a lie. By falling for the false materialistic narrative of having it all today, millions of Americans have enslaved themselves in trillions of debt. The totals are breathtaking to behold:
Total mortgage debt – $13.6 trillion ($9.9 trillion residential)
Total credit card debt – $924 billion
Total auto loan debt – $1.0 trillion
Total student loan debt – $1.3 trillion
Other consumer debt – $300 billion
With 118 million occupied households in the U.S., that comes to $145,000 per household. But, when you consider only 74 million of the households are owner occupied and approximately 26 million of those are free and clear of mortgage debt, that leaves millions of people with in excess of $200,000 in mortgage debt. Keeping up with the Joneses has taken on a new meaning as buying a 6,000 sq ft McMansion with 3% down became the standard operating procedure for a vast swath of image conscious Americans. When you are up to your eyeballs in debt, you don’t own anything. You are living a lie.
The lie was revealed as housing bubble burst and national home prices plummeted by 30%, resulting in millions of foreclosures, the worst recession since the Great Depression and homeowners equity falling to an all-time low of 38%. The Fed induced 2nd housing bubble has convinced millions to believe the lie again. The Fed easy money, Wall Street buy and rent scheme, with the FHA acting as the new purveyor of 3% down mortgages, has artificially boosted homeowners equity back to 57% just in time for the next housing collapse. Living a lie will result in more pain and suffering for those who didn’t learn the lesson last time.
At least there is an asset capable of appreciation backed by the mortgage debt. Auto loans are backed by a rapidly depreciating asset, while credit card debt allows Americans to live above their means while living their lie, and student loans are the new subprime debt which will never get repaid. The country has been living a Big Lie since the day Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, eliminating any vestiges of constraint upon central bankers and politicians.
The Fed has continuously debased the currency and politicians have promised voters freebies while waging never ending wars of choice, creating a warfare/welfare empire of debt totaling $18.7 trillion with unfunded promises of $200 trillion. The masses have been lied to by bankers and their mass media mouthpieces, while willfully buying into the lie of living for today and funding it with debt. An entire society bought into the fallacy that a country could transition from savings and investment to borrowing and consuming, with no adverse consequences. The mass delusion is clearly evident in the comparative consumer debt data from 1971:
US population in 1971 – 208 million
Total credit card debt 1971 – $8.5 billion ($41 per capita)
Total auto loan debt 1971 – $40.5 billion ($195 per capita)
US population in 2015 – 320 million
Total credit card debt 2015 – $890 billion ($2,781 per capita)
Total auto loan debt 2015 – $1.03 trillion ($3,219 per capita)
The population of the US has grown by 54% since 1971, but the amount of credit card debt per person has grown by 6,782%, and the amount of auto loan debt has grown by 1,650%. Meanwhile, real median household income has grown by 8% since 1971. Replacing income with debt in order to give the appearance of wealth is nothing but a lie. It requires an ever larger amount of debt to generate an additional dollar of GDP. The exponential increase in debt became unsustainable and the Wall Street lies resulted in a global conflagration in 2008. The desperate effort by the Fed to re-inflate the debt bubble through ZIRP and QE has resulted in pathetic economic growth, while leaving willfully ignorant consumers with a record level of debt.
A recent report by Nerdwallet revealed the outrageous amount of consumer debt millions of Americans have chosen to take on in order to live the lives they feel they deserve. And Wall Street is only too willing to oblige them with credit, as they reap riches from the billions of interest paid each year by the debt slaves living on the plantation we call America. In addition to charging away their lives, Americans lie to themselves about how much debt they really have. It’s too painful to deal with reality, so they ignore it. The data in the report is frightening:
- The amount of credit card debt carried by the average household carrying this type of debt is $15,355.
- The amount of auto loan debt carried by the average household carrying this type of debt is $26,530.
- The amount of student loan debt carried by the average household carrying this type of debt is $47,712.
- The average household is paying more than $6,600 in interest per year, which means that roughly 9% of the average household’s income is being spent on interest alone.
- Credit card debt — one of the most expensive types of debt — costs consumers an average of $2,630 per year in interest, assuming an average APR of 18%.
- If you have the average amount of credit card debt ($15,355) and a 15% interest rate and only pay the minimum on that debt each month, it will take you more than 31 years to repay your debt and will cost you more than $18,600 in interest payments alone.
- The average amount of credit card debt peaked at $16,912 in 2008, fell by 14% to $14,539 by 2012 as Wall Street banks wrote off billions in bad debt, and has since risen by 6% as consumers have been lured back by the Wall Street propaganda machine.
- Consumers vastly underestimate or under-report how much debt they have. In fact, as of 2013, actual lender-reported credit card debt was 155% greater than borrower-reported balances.
Americans are embarrassed and ashamed by their levels of consumer debt, but they can’t stop. A record number of new cars will be “sold” this year with the highest level of auto loan debt in history, the longest loan length in history, rising percentage of subprime auto loans, and an all-time high in percentage of leases. These people are underwater on their auto loan/lease the second they drive off the lot. But at least their neighbors and co-workers think their successful. Appearances are all that seem to matter in our society today. Dying in debt will be common place in the coming years. Fully 21% of Americans say they don’t think they will be able to pay off their debts — including their car, credit cards, student loans and mortgages — in their lifetime, according to a survey of more than 1,000 adults by CreditCards.com. Our debt addict society is dying of an overdose.
The Fed’s master plan to revive the economy with massive doses of debt has failed. Main Street America is tapped out. Decades of minimal real wage growth, relentless inflation in the things we need to live (food, rent, energy, health care), and wasting money on Chinese produced consumer crap, has left the majority of American households with little or no savings and no disposable income. This is being reflected in the pitiful economic growth and plunge in retail sales since the end of QE3 in October 2014. Our system has become dependent upon exponential debt expansion, and as soon as the spigot is turned off, our economy crashes.
Bernanke chose to not voluntarily abandon the Fed’s failed credit expansion policies in 2008. The end of QE3 and the upcoming interest rate increase by Yellen will usher in financial collapse part two. There is no avoiding a collapse brought on by decades of warped monetary and fiscal policies, and irrational behavior by bankers, corporations and consumers. Even if Yellen reverses course when the economy plunges into a deep recession, catastrophe cannot be avoided.
“There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.” – Ludwig von Mises
Our country has gone mad over the last few decades. We had a chance to come to our senses in 2008, wipe away the debt, liquidate the criminal Wall Street banks, prosecute the perpetrators, and reorient our economy and society back to one built upon savings and investment, rather than borrowing and consumption. It was not to be, as Bernanke and the Deep State decided their best interests trumped the interests of the people. The coming collapse hopefully will force Americans to come to their senses one by one.
“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.” – Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, 1841
There was a father who had two sons, one perpetually optimistic, the other mired in dark pessimism. As Christmas Eve approached he decided to demonstrate to his wife how hard wired were the nature’s of their beloved children. After they had been tucked in to bed the father placed a gold watch in the Christmas stocking of his pessimistic son and a handful of horse manure in the other.
On Christmas morning the two sons came downstairs and the pessimistic son pulled out the gold watch and said- “It must be brass. Probably won’t work anyway.”
The other son reached in and pulled out the manure and with a cheerful cry called out “Santa brought me a pony and he must be around here somewhere!”
It’s really about frame of mind. You can choose to see what’s good- and there is far more of it than most people realize- or you can dwell on the evil. We can’t change anything but our own lives, but that’s enough. Every time you have a positive influence on someone else it spreads. You don’t have to embrace the collapse, in fact you can turn your back on it and build something instead.
It breaks my heart to see what happened to the country I loved, but it’s not mine any more so I don’t worry about it. It’s like losing an old car you were passionate about- you got plenty of use out of it, but now it’s gone so there’s no use in dwelling on what used to be. Time to get busy for what’s coming.
And one more quote-
“For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.”
Patrick Henry
Oh Maggie,
I fear for your mother. The nursing home may indeed take your
mother’s entire estate. They put a lien in holdings and when it
runs out, then the medicaid kicks in. It is a racket. My Mom is 90+
and doing well, but if something goes wrong? Most Nsg. homes have to
hire felons by law and the frail elderly get bounced around by drugged
out staff. Consider having her moved to a city close to you. Happens ALL
the time, perfectly legal and normal. Who holds the POA for finances, and
health? If there are siblings there can be conflict. Important things to consider.
$, savings? I’m not a fool. Recognize all the 401 and investments will go poof.
$ in the bank? Well, folks are shouting, “get your $ out of the banks.” You can
only take out bits or you trigger a report which goes to Treasury dept, Then the
authorities f/u. Fixed cost will go up…they aren’t so fixed. And SJW will bleed us to
feed the “poor.” Not an optimistic scenario.
Bail-ins are starting in Italy…the suicides will commence.
Suzanna
Suzanna, I could tell your a horror story about elderly care lawyers and sibling infighting that would make your heart skip a beat or two.
What is a “lien in holdings?”
Suzanna… it doesn’t matter. Yes, I expect the farm is gone. But, since my eldest sister determined that my suggestion to put an addition onto their home where in home care could be easily provided in a 20 x 20 space with a wet room for easy access in a wheelchair or walker was a waste of $$$, even though my Mennonite builder would do it for an amazing price, I figure she can take care of the nursing home issues.
Was it you who mentioned “Games People Play” in a comment earlier? Well, I am the youngest sibling. I’m the only one who left the farm and explored the world beyond. Yet, when I am in the company of those who see me as the youngest sibling, those games kick in. So, I do NOT spend any time in their company.
Does it sound callous? I really do not care. She put $$$ over our parents’ end of life dignity. She can choke on it.
Oh, wait a minute… I’m supposed to be praying that she gets a last second reprieve and avoids Hell, aren’t I?
Hey Maggie, I really feel for you, I do. We- my wife and I and our children- handled end of life for both my Grandmother and my Mother. It was extremely hard on all of us, but it was also the best thing we could have ever done. Is there any way you could approach your siblings and simply ask if you could take it on yourself? Don’t ask them for anything, just to allow your Mother the dignity of dying at home with the people who love her. Maybe this could heal whatever rift you have with them, they might be feeling like they haven’t done enough, or whatever else they are dealing with and you can give them an out and at the same time honor your Mother. You obviously have the character and the depth to handle something like this and your Mother isn’t in the position to handle her own end of life affairs- that’s a hard part to accpet, I know, but at some point it becomes the reality.
Whatever you do, whatever the outcome, know that you aren’t alone, that you aren’t the only person who has ever carried this burden and trust in all the things that you know to be true and just and in the end it will work out as it should.
Best to you.
@HSF… in my basement here at the log home, the 2 x 4 framing exists around a wet room I included in the design for the sole purpose of taking my mother in when the time came, since the room addition was out of the question on the 100 year old farmhouse that has been modified from time to time, but not adequate for the kind of care my parents needed. The wet room is not finished because I was told that I would NOT be taking her in.
My siblings viewed that as an attempt to grab the farm and stepped in and told her that they would make sure she was cared for when my father died. She signed a POA for my brother and sister to manage her affairs. My sister moved to Tennessee and bought a new home. My brother bought some land with his wife and moved out of the home they build with my father’s money on the farm, renting it to his wife’s brother.
I do not go there, since the last time I went there, I was accused of stealing my own possessions.
I honor my mother, but I lost her in an attempt to do the right thing in a room full of stupid greedy hicks.
I know I’m not the only one… I just can’t understand how greedy people get when someone reaches the end of their life. Nick and I made a vow that we were going to do the right thing. That is working out pretty good.
Doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad for Mom. But, I can’t change it.
I took good care of my Poppa G and the night of his funeral, I saw him in Paradise drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes… laughing with family. I modeled the wet room downstairs after the wet room in his nursing home/assisted living center.
@HSF… thanks, though. I do appreciate your advice. I think the best thing Nick, my son and I EVER did was take care of Poppa G in a way that gave him the best end of life possible.
@ thc0655
The bridge in the video is performing exactly as it was designed and engineered to do for the given inputs.
Who can doubt that our “culture” and “economy” du jour aren’t exactly operating according to long-laid plans?
Maggie
I have had ample exposure (in my own and others’ lives) to this phenomenon: the worst kind of greed and hateful behavior is invariably generated by issues related to inheritance and divorce.
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
Gayle reminded me of the old joke:
-Honey, I won! I won the lottery.
-I get half and I want a divorce.
-It was a scratcher, I won $20. Here’s $10. Goodbye!
Maggie,
I goofed. A lien on mother’s property so when she is gone all proceeds of sales
go to the care facility. Well, when
greed kicks in…it is all over. i once saw 2 70yr olds
playing tug over/with a rocking chair. Their Mother had put a name under all precious
items to avoid that very thing. It is astonishing how grabby people get!! When my
grandmother died, I stayed away from the “divide her belongings” event. I did not claim
or ask for one thing. I did get a few left overs weeks later.
Anyway…being the youngest, and no POAs, you are powerless. Too bad.
Yes, Eric Berne, Games People Play, was me. I learned from that book.
Good luck. Prayer for your Mother.
I am outside. Fingers frozen.
Suzanna
Maggie,
Your heart must be breaking over this. So sorry.
I am on a computer, out of town. A goof-up…so Maxers Mom
just now. Who cares? Sorry.
Suzanna
Suzanna,
We lost so much stuff over and over when we were kids (due to an incurable condition called poverty, luckily, we didn’t know we were poor) and we learned by necessity not to place too much faith in things. Lots of folks even commit suicide when they lose their things. Dumb.
I am NOT powerless. I can celebrate my memories of my mother and be at peace, knowing I didn’t lower myself into the fray.
When my father died last year, I sent only a message saying that my son would like to have the little notebook his grandfather kept in the bib of his overalls where he scribbled the occasional note to himself about something said that he found interesting or amusing. My son was always intrigued with what his grandfather might have written.
I was told that would go into the “archives.” Haha… What a maroon!
[FWIW, my father was a POW in WWII and was a local celebrity of sorts because of that, being the only one in the area. But, I have met many, many former POWs from a couple different wars and most of them do not have “archives.” So, I told my son he was SOL on the little notebook. He got over it.]
Everything I got from my parents worth keeping is in my memory and my heart. I wrote a nice article with pictures for a local periodical about my father and got a letter from a backwoods hick lawyer hired by my oldest sibling informing me that SHE owned all copyright on all photos he’d taken. He “gave” her copyright to them all, she said, before he died and I would have to ask her permission to use any of his photos again.
So, you see that I’m dealing with IDIOTS. I sent the lawyer a letter telling him if he contacted me again, it better be via a court action, because otherwise I would complain to the state bar for his harassment. And, I told him to make sure he understood the 5 prongs of copyright violation. I “heard” he dropped big sis as a client.
Talk about people living lies.
My poor mother is “right”, but I can’t do squat. Moving on.
EC international curling tournaments….. my sport curling is like Rodney Dangerfield No respect.
Sorry to hear your story Maggie I have watched the same thing happen with my Grand parents farm.
Rob, I love it and I’m not putting it down. But it paired so well with midget wrestling.
Her’s my idea for improving music videos featuring asses you and I will never touch, replace the bimbos with midget women. Think of it, it cracks me up when I’m driving alone to work and I imagine the Kanye being ravished by big assed midget hotties.
EC lol I play and make fun of curling all the time. It is fun where else can someone stand around drinking and call themselves athletes
As I type I’m laughing at the thought. Throw in some serious twerking and we might might have something to sell.
Twerking Curling cheerleaders! Move over, Golfing, I can see an endorsement contract in your future
lol
HSF, Maggie, it still may not work out, with the best of planning …
My dad flew fighters in WWII, out Australia way. The Japs didn’t get that far, really, which was just as well seeing as he lied about his age to get into the Air Force. War over, he went to college, the first in his family, then made sure the other kids got to go. He found a gal and they had five kids, I’m the youngest. His other adventures will wait for another time …
He was nearly 90 when he heard the Reaper’s footsteps, but the meds he was on and onset of senility made him slow to recognize them. He went into a seizure, and his wife of sixty years could not let him go; she called the ambulance, and he woke up in the hospital. They tried this and that to no avail, while he raged to go home and die in peace. They insisted he should walk across the hospital room, as a test to see if he was “healthy enough to go home”. He collapsed with an aide on either side holding him up, and was dead before he hit the floor.
He had told me years before he wanted to die at home, but could not manage it. I believe he is flying ahead to scout our paths before it’s our turn to walk them. It’s the kind of thing he would have done.
Late to the party.
I don’t lie. Never have to remember what
I said.
Fucking auto posts on this site are starting to get on my nerves.
Good post admin. Good number crunching. When is this shitshow coming apart? I cannot believe it has lasted this long.
Maggie said:
“I’ve mentioned that my mother is now on dialysis and will be put into a nursing home once released from the hospital. Well, I know she has Medicare and a supplemental insurance plan, but I also know that the family farm is probably going to go away in medical bills.”
@Maggie and others, if you have elderly parents/relatives who own property or have assets of any kind I strongly suggest you look into setting up a simple Living Family Trust. I also suggest that anyone with property or assets of their own establish a family trust as well. Once established, the individual trustors no longer own anything, yet as a trustor/trustee, still maintains full control of those assets and is free to sell them or buy more. People like your mother who are forced to rely on govt assistance are not required to sell or dispose of assets to qualify and property/assets need not be signed over to the state. The person establishing the trust maintains a great degree of control even if they become incapacitated by establishing specific provisions according to their wishes.
The initial trustors a free to designate other regular trustees and contingent trustees and designate what events elevate contingent trustees to full trustee status. Our trust includes final wills, living wills, health care directives, powers of attorney etc that go into effect automatically once certain events trigger them. No need for a lawyer or judge to get involved.
Another benefit is that your estate is no longer subject to probate upon your death so your business remains totally private. No public notices are required. As long as your trust is in force, which can continue after your death, no taxes are owed on assets while owned by the trust. You can even determine the circumstances/methods for dissolving your trust after your death. So, if you trust your kids enough to name them as contingent trustees upon your death, they will have the same full control and freedom to sell or use/deplete/increase assets without being taxed.
There are numerous other benefits and things can vary from state to state. Trusts can be used to protect and care for both minor and adult children who are handicapped after your own expiration date. They also eliminate legal squabbles among family members after your death by inserting provisions that automatically eliminate any heirs that contest the provisions of the trust which can prevent legal limbo that often occurs when your estate goes into probate. You may recall Anna Nicole Smith’s estate was tied up in legal limbo for nearly twenty years. A trust would likely have prevented that. As you might suspect, TPTB are always trying to chip away at the various protections offered by trusts so you’ll want to stay abreast of changes to trust law in your state each year.
A basic family trust will cost about $1000 to set up. The law office will generally transfer all real property deeds for you but you’ll still have to transfer bank accounts, insurance policies, retirement accounts and other assets into the trust yourself. My wife and I established a trust even though we don’t have kids to protect & simply things if one of us passes or becomes incapacitated. It will also simplify things for our families to dispose of our estate after our deaths.
My husband and I have an appointment Dec 22 to set up a trust for our son and my stepson. We had planned to do it anyway, but this situation inspired us to get moving.
I have no control over my mother’s situation.
@Maggie, yeah, it’s too late once the ball is in motion.
Set one up for you and your husband as well. If your son is of legal age, he’ll have to set up his own. If your son has no real assets it may be a bit premature for him. Still, they can be set up and assets transferred in at any time going forward. Considering the constant devaluing of the dollar it’s probably cheaper to do it now then five years from now.
Once established, the trustor/trustee simply purchases property and other assets using the name of the trust instead of your own at any time in the future. Same goes for bank accounts. Legally, my wife and I own nothing. It’s all owned by the trust and we are the only ones who have the power to control those assets until an event triggers the elevation of contingent trustee/s.
A word of caution though, each trustee has the right to liquidate the trust at any time without informing the other so if you’re in a rocky or even slightly questionable relationship, tread carefully. If that is the case then you can probably set up an individual trust to handle things although jointly held property cannot be rolled into an individual trust. Your law dog will explain it all pretty thoroughly.
What I meant was we are setting up a family trust to protect our property to protect it in the event one of us has medical issues (me, I’m adult onset hydrocephalic) that go beyond catastrophic cap of our insurance.)
It is something we meant to do anyway. I declare all the time that this 5th and final shunt is my last and NO MORE BRAIN Surgeries, but in reality, many hydro heads have dozens of surgeries due to failure. However, I’m at 9 years which is indicative of a well-functioning pressure valve, so I DECLARE no more brain surgeries.
But, I’ll rest better knowing that the land and two homes are in a trust to protect them for Nick and the boys.
@Maggie, I might submit this to admin as a main post to remind people. We put it off for years as many people do. It buys quite a bit of piece of mind and should be a part of everyone’s preps.
Best of luck with your mother and her situation.
You lost me with the 1971 to present comparison. The Fed has debased our currency tremendously since then, when I bought my first NEW motorbike for $1200. A new VW Bug was $2K. Minimum wage $1.50. My current car, bought in ’04 for 25K is due for replacement, if I find a desperate dealer willing to give me a 0% loan I will not hesitate to take on another debt. Hyperbole and fear mongering gets old after a while. 13 trillion in mortgage debt sounds horrible until you look at the 26 trillion in total US home value. That means on average we have the house half paid for. But that does not get folks worked up. I have trouble getting a table at my favorite restaurant on a Thursday night. We are so busy at work my boss cries when I take time off. Nixon closed the gold window? Really? I can still buy all the gold I want for 1100 paper dollars. I think FDR closed the gold window, Jerry Ford reopened it and Nixon was forced to throw the USD out the window. I blame that bastard LBJ for the ‘Nam war debt, not Nixon. No doubt the country is on an unsustainable path, but we have been since 1913. The final collapse may be decades off. I read a great short book (free on line), The Alpha Strategy. The author was concerned about the reckless government spending and zooming public debt and suggested stockpiling goods against certain hyperinflation. The best part of the read for me was his excellent explanation of the boom/bust cycle created by the central bank. The book was written during the Carter administration.
@IS… you should do so. Having seen what happened to Nick’s parents when the state of Ohio decided they could no longer return home from the hospital and had to go into assisted living (YES, the state apparently can decide that for the elderly when social workers get involved), and realizing that at that point, all my dear Poppa G’s hard-earned wealth was subject to confiscation by either the state or greedy “elderly care” lawyers who are experts at finding ways to generate income for themselves by transferring the wealth into fee-paying annuities and loaded funds that reduce the wealth of their “clients” so that they can be declared indigent. By the time, Nick got involved, his brother had stolen and squandered most of the money the man had worked all his life to save.
We spent what Nick salvaged when he traveled to Ohio and kidnapped his father on his private care in Oklahoma. I’m happy we did, but if his parents had just been a bit more proactive about setting up a trust, it could have been a LOT different. They were products of their times, though and mistrusted any idea of giving up control of their possessions, just like my parents were. I guess it was post Depression paranoia?
But, if they had put that money in a trust? Shoot, my bunnies could have a heated bunny hutch now.
Maggie, part of a troll’s job is to be an ass even if I don’t like it.
You reminded me of Tammy Faye Bakker who reportedly spent lavishly and even had an air-conditioned dog house for Fido.
Freaking rabbits are hot-blooded little horn-dogs and hardly need central heating in the hutch.
Should I call you Maggie Faye?
tinfoilhat davy says: The final collapse may be decades off. I read a great short book (free on line), The Alpha Strategy. The author was concerned about the reckless government spending and zooming public debt and suggested stockpiling goods against certain hyperinflation.
Thank you, davy. Listening to Rob Kirby on End Game Machinations will scare the pants off you. However, gold bugs always talk this way.I have heard this doom scenario since 2000 when gold was at $200/oz. I get scared, really, then I have to take a deep breath and remember Dr. Pangloss said, Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
Gold bugs have to scare you in order to make a market. If the story did not exist, I would have to make it up, however, everyone knows the story of that guy that died in his cabin. What do you call a guy who saved every last penny to buy a shack in the wild where he stashed cases of beans and crates of gold coins? The dude died and the state had to look for his distant relatives, a niece’s daughter in San Fran.
I met a couple of girls in Hondo land. Black girls. They lived off the kindness of strangers. There is no welfare down there. Eliza says to her cousin, I can’t go on, I guess I’ll just kill myself. Reina replied, you mustn’t, you have to go on and see how far life takes you.
EC- Who is this Dr. Pangloss of which you speak constantly ? And could you clue me in to where on the map Hondo land can be located?
Honduras. Military joes call it hondoland like they called San Bernardino, San Berdu.
From Merriam Webster — Origin of panglossian Pangloss, optimistic tutor in Voltaire’s Candide (1759)
Dr Pangloss is a character in Voltaire’s Candide. I use his name to quote various people who have said some really smart shit. I used to use the character Old Sarge but some stuff would not jive to credit him.
Sorry, Bea. I assumed everybody had read Candide in high school.
EC- Per usual U iz much smarter than I. Familiar with Voltaire’s writing but not this or I don’t remember reading that in school. Voltaire’s name was not Voltaire and he was of more interest to me in a masonic way. I went to public school, most people there can’t read.
I’m kidding, Bea. Your a smart fucker. I just meant, my bad for assuming people knew I was referencing an obscure character, sort of like how people assume Boethius rings a bell.
EC- In my world to refer to something as “hondo” means it it huge/massive/ultimate of whatever is being discussed. My family was in Honduras this week, have not talked to them to see if they came out alive. Will let you know.
There is a lot more crime there. However, my wife’s sis in law travels there frequently and has not reported it being unsafe. If I went by the news, I’d think travel to the United States was unsafe. Tegus, as they call it, is the capital and quite nice. San Pedro Sula to the north is also big. The rest are small towns.
EC- The sexy Moolata speaks Spanish, my family are your typical white Mericans. They stand out like a sore thumb in areas of that region. The native American coloring helps but they have perfect teeth and designer clothing, no hope.
Bea, my wife doesn’t go there. Her sister in law does. My wife would like to go to El Salvador, not Honduras. I would love to go to Honduras.
Where are your loved ones? They call white folks ‘cheles’ down there and they like them. They still have the base there at Soto Cano in Comayagua
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/3331-new-us-military-bases-in-honduras-
EC, was it true/have your heard that when a religious friend visited him on his deathbed and begged him to know Jesus as his Savior so that he would not burn in hell, Voltaire replied “Do not speak of that name to me again?” It was a story told by a college professor and I believed it then, but haven’t ever seen another reference.
Candide is now college material if assigned at all.
None of my animals have air conditioning. My cousins call me Maggie May. Is why I choose “Maggie” over Martha.
https://youtu.be/7T5hYlUsQ0s
Dr Pangloss warned us before assigning it that Voltaire was on the register and that if you were Catholic and feared for your soul, you could be excommunicated for reading Candide.
That song reminds me of being in HS and dreaming of making a living playing pool.
Well, then dream on and hit 100 here too.
That’s one of my favorite songs no wonder I’m so fond of you Maggie. Wake up Maggie I’ve got something to say to you!!
EC- My family is back in the US, back in the US, back in the USSA from Honduras. They say HondoLand was really nice and they would like to go back again. From what I heard, I think you would also like it there. I’m just glad everyone is OK.