My Father is Smiling

Starting around the age of 18 through 30 when I lost my father to cancer we had many debates/arguments about our government. While I wouldn’t say I was pro government, I certainly was all red, white and blue. Proud of our military, proud of our country and all the good things we are afforded as American citizens. In fact, every time I would venture out to another country these feelings only became stronger. Don’t get me wrong, I am no world traveler, not by a long stretch. The few places I did travel though left me tapping my foot waiting for the moment I would put my feet back on American soil. Everything America, for me, was better, cleaner, easier and fairer.

The old man on the other hand spent his entire life walking around with one eye closed and the other focused on what the government was doing. “Watch the money exchangers” he would say. He tried to educate me on the evils of government, but I wasn’t having it. We’d argue over almost everything. When they made it a law that you had to wear a seat belt, the old man was pissed. In my great wisdom, I argued that it was a good thing to keep us safer. He argued that the seatbelt law was just another move to control the population, a form of a police state and yet another way to take money from us. “Today, the seat belt, tomorrow they’ll tell you how many miles you can drive.” “Really Dad? Really?”

When I’d complain that I had to register my car he’d look at me, raise an eyebrow, display a shit-eating grin on his face and tell me that I better keep working to keep up. When I told him that I had $1000 saved in the bank, he’d ask why I put it in the bank. I of course, being a depth of life skills on all matters, explained that it was in the bank so it would draw interest and be safe. ‘Course the old man lived through the depression so that response didn’t impress him at all. “What if the bank closes?” He would say. Again, my response was always deep in thought and well grounded in facts “Really Dad, Really?” “What do you think the banker does with your money sitting in their bank,” he asked. “What do you mean; what does the banker do with my money,” I would respond again with zero understanding of anything. “Well, do you think your money just sits there waiting for you to come get it? Do you think they secure it for you out of the goodness of their heart? Why did they build all those banks? And, where did they get the money to build all those banks?” “I don’t know Dad, so they could screw everybody and use the money for themselves” I’d respond being a smart ass. He’d just smile and wish me a good day knowing damn well I’d be thinking about what he said for the rest of the day.

It was this kind of stuff that drove me nuts with the old man. He never trusted anyone when it came to the government or the money exchangers and yet, I watched him many times over the years talk to complete strangers. They’d be discussing some deal, buying a car, or trading something, or agreeing to do something. They’d finish the discussion, shake each other’s hand and all was well. Oh sometimes whatever the agreement was would go sideways but that was few and far between and when it did, the old man didn’t shake the guys hand again, he was more inclinded to turn him upside down and shake him until his pockets were empty.

Truth of the matter is, he felt there was never a way to “get even” when it came to the government or the money exchangers and for the record, he didn’t view these two as being two entities, they were one in the same. The money exchangers were the government. Oh yes, we have Presidents and Congress people and even Judges but in his eyes they were nothing more than employees of, you guessed it, the money exchangers. He wasn’t interested in being employed by them though. He kept his money under the mattress, he never had a credit card and if he bought something he either traded something for it or paid cash. If those options weren’t possible, he didn’t buy it. Anytime we needed to rent a car I had to use my credit card because he didn’t have one or worse, he’d rent a car from Ugly Duckling Car Rental which meant some old beat up used car that if you were lucky the air conditioner worked. You know, if it even had air conditioning. It didn’t matter, he wasn’t changing. If he couldn’t get the job done using cash, gold or silver then the job wasn’t for him.

I titled this week’s blog “My father is smiling” not because he’s happy watching all the nonsense we’re all being forced to put up with but because he sees that I now understand what he was trying to teach me.

While I remain proud of the country that we are, I am by no means proud of that which we are becoming. The thing that stands out more than anything else was the old man saying that these people in government, all of them, are nothing more than employees of the money exchangers. Like the guy stocking shelves in the grocery store, these ass-hats are doing exactly what they’re told and earning, in comparison to the money exchangers, minimum wage. Now take that thinking all the way down the food chain to you and me. If the Congressmen are working for minimum wage where does that put us? Pennies on the dollar my friends. We work how many months a year just to pay our tax bill? Answer, too many.

These past five year have been an eye opener. These evil doers don’t even bother to try and hide their evilness. It’s right there in front of our faces 24/7. And I don’t know about you but, I’m not seeing a clear path of beating the game. Unless I decide to go rouge and live off the grid I’m stuck in the middle with you. I am however thankful there is a whole LOT of you!

I know for sure if the old man was alive he would have loved President Trump. Dad wasn’t a man to mince his words. In that regard, he and Trump had plenty in common. The old man was also fearless. He made and lost more money than I’ll ever see because he was willing to climb out on the end of a limb to get what he was after. Sometimes that paid off, sometimes the limb broke. He got back up every time and started looking for the next tree to climb.

If you ask me, that’s who Donald Trump is to. He is not the type of man to count out of anything. He’s not some God, neither was Dad, but he’s a doer and he’s got a stubborn streak in him too. I grew up around a man that preached many of the same things we all grew up on and things today’s kids ought to hear and see. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat son”. “Never say whoa in a hard pull son.” “Be tougher than a junk yard dog son.” “The guy sitting at the end of the bar quietly to himself, he’s the one to fear.” “When things get tough, the tough get going”, “Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can get done today”, “Get your ducks in row son.”

I don’t know the moral of this story except to say I want to believe we haven’t heard the end of the people’s President. In the meantime I think about the old man and I’ve got all my ducks in row the best I can. While I hope for the best I’ve prepared for the worst. I hope all you folks have done the same. I am not big on conspiracy theories but if the old man taught me anything it was to stay focused on what’s important; family. After that, get in line I’ll get to you when and if I can. Sound selfish? Perhaps but I’m no good for my friends next door unless I’ve first got my own house in order.

I can’t do anything except call out the nonsense going on in this country right now and as you know, even that is becoming more difficult. The money exchangers have installed one of their employees in the office of the Presidency and he’s working at a rapid pace to destroy all the America first policies our President put in place. While the money exchangers got caught with their pants down around their ankles in 2016 you can bet they won’t make that mistake again.

It’s hard to get even against the evil doers but as the old man used to say, never say whoa in a hard pull and fight like a junk yard dog son! The good hard working folks in middle-America know exactly what I mean. They even know what a junk yard is! These evil doers living the high life however haven’t a clue. We will win in the end because we are the quiet guy at the end of the bar.

God Bless you all. Remember, family first! Wishing you all a good week ahead and thanks for listening to yet another of my weekly ramblings.