2021 in a few words

Brothers of Briar

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Sherlock

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Can anyone share one thing they are grateful for and one thing they regret this 2021.
 
I could not be more grateful for my wonderful daughters, their spouses and my grandchildren.
I have many regrets, almost too numerous to mention. The one I'll share is that I regret that I've become so set in my ways, during the 13 years since my wife lost her 5 year battle with cancer, that I am convinced that I'd be a horrible life companion for another woman. And, I think I've reached an age where mortality is far too tenuous. Two women that I dated within the last eight years have died. Both were younger than I am. Thankfully, I was not dating either of them at the time of their death.
 
I am grateful that I was able to spend the year in country and at home (for the most part, one trip out of town but still in the U.S.). As far as regrets, only one thing really comes to mind. I didn't get the chance to go see an old friend in her last months of her life. She was my age and was diagnosed with a cancer in the brain. Other than that, I try not to be regretful of anything I do. I try to make all my decisions on the right side of morality, so if I make the wrong decision at least it's wrong for the right reason.
 
I am grateful for my life every day. I have a loving wife, a nice home, reasonably good health, wherewithal to live comfortably, and close friends. Only two regrets. Hated losing our little Gracie but that really isn't a regret, just sadness, because we did everything we could for her right up to the end. The other is resigning from our HOA board as the new board members are a bunch of brainless knuckleheads.
 
OK…OK…here goes: I’m been spending the last few days getting ready for a LONG overdue visit from sibling relations from out of town. I’ve been grocery shopping, wrapping holiday presents & sprucing up the digs here for their visit…and I’m so very grateful to be able to do it. No one in the extended family has been sick with anything. All of us are vaccinated thanks to the Feds.

If there’s anything I regret it’s that there are so many homeless in our society and that over the past few years my beloved city has apparently become a center for their tents and campsites. Official estimates vary widely between 5,000 to as many as 10,000 individuals in Portland. Local governments are obviously clueless as to how to deal with things regardless of their political yammering. Local home and property owners that are being impacted are fit to be tied. Social service agencies are heroically doing what they can…and apparently not making a dent. The homeless themselves obviously don’t know what to do…or they wouldn’t be homeless. There is seemingly no solution in sight.
 
I will only say that 2021 has been one of the most challenging, frustrating years out of my 75! I'm truly looking forward to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! FTRPLT
 
The other regret is resigning from our HOA board as the new board members are a bunch of brainless knuckleheads.
Now that's funny.

Knucklehead Smiff
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If there’s anything I regret it’s that there are so many homeless in our society and that over the past few years my beloved city has apparently become a center for their tents and campsites. Official estimates vary widely between 5,000 to as many as 10,000 individuals in Portland. Local governments are obviously clueless as to how to deal with things regardless of their political yammering. Local home and property owners that are being impacted are fit to be tied. Social service agencies are heroically doing what they can…and apparently not making a dent. The homeless themselves obviously don’t know what to do…or they wouldn’t be homeless. There is seemingly no solution in sight.
Tent cities have also sprung up all over Minneapolis. Minneapolis has the largest urban Native American population in the U.S. A very large percentage of those living in these tent cities are Native American, many with issues of chemical abuse. The city, county, and social service agencies are desperately trying to remedy the situation but many in the homeless population are refusing to cooperate because the shelters and temporary living quarters are alcohol, drug, and smoke free.
 
Steve, the last sentence above is absolutely true. You could add also that these same folk don't like the religious commitments most of the shelters require from their cliental. They much prefer to occupy their homeless "villages" than have to follow the above mentioned directives!! FTRPLT
 
I’m very grateful that my life continued on in the manner in which I’m accustomed to living it. A lot of the crazy restrictions and such didn’t have much effect on my family, or my job. My job is fairly solitary in nature, and my family life exists largely inside a religious community. My kids went to school in person all year, maskless. Most social events I attend are either family or church oriented, so no issues. I can’t say that for a lot of other people I know, and I’m truly grateful for it. The only work (ish) issue I had was the odd gas station not letting me in without a mask on occasion. Otherwise, it was me, my pipe and the road.

I do regret that I didn’t take as much time as I could have to get out in the woods with my boys this last year. I put in a lot of extra overtime, which left me pretty well shot on the weekends. Didn’t really feel like a long hike with a 40lb pack on Saturday lol. My wife and kids went to Disney this year, while I stayed home and worked extra to pay for it.

From personal contact regarding homeless encampment, many of them weren’t homeless because they have no where to go. They are there because they are either drug addicts, insane, or they refuse to abide by basic norms in their respective family units. My time in San Francisco was enlightening on the subject.
 
I have a friend who is a social worker that "tries" to work with the homeless, tent city population. He carries cigarettes with him because most won't even talk with him without a bribe of a few cigarettes. I bought a cheapy cigarette machine and a gross of tubes to make cigarettes for him to take with him. He'd been spending non-reimbursable considerable dollars on bribe smokes. I make the cigarettes out of pipe tobacco I wouldn't be smoking. My cost is basically the time it takes to knock out some cigarettes. They're usually pretty ugly (LOL) but the recipients must not be very particular.
 
From personal contact regarding homeless encampment, many of them weren’t homeless because they have no where to go. They are there because they are either drug addicts, insane, or they refuse to abide by basic norms in their respective family units. My time in San Francisco was enlightening on the subject.
"Insane"???
Many do have mental illness. Combat veterans with post traumatic stress deserve every bit of assistance we can give them! As I've posted previously, I volunteered for 20 years on the Minnesota Agent Orange Task Force. PTSD is not a fiction of anyone's imagination. Unofficially, 40,000 U.S. veterans are homeless. This nation has an obligation to help them. Yes, many have dealt with their PTSD by using alcohol and drugs.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged.” Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7.
 
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I didn’t actually meet any homeless vets in San Francisco when I was there in ‘05. I’m aware that ptsd problems are very real, traumatic and cause a whole slew of issues for veterans. They deserve the best help our tax money can buy them. They earned that right by serving our country. Unfortunately, a lot of them wouldn’t want to be in a psych ward at a V.A hospital any more than the street I’d imagine. At least not in the early 2000s. I have heard the system got a good shaking up a few years ago, I’d like to think that situation has improved.

Mostly, I met younger folks from late teens to early thirties. Actually, kind of fascinating. They lived almost in “tribes” in golden gate park. I’d never seen anything like it. A lot of them that I met were people who washed out of the Grateful Dead tour scene for shady goings on related to drug addiction. Some were people I had met previously when I ran around that scene a bit. A lot of drug addicts. Heroin, meth and such. Some were runaways, who ran off because they couldn’t cope with their parents rules at home. And they sort of flock to California for a mixture of political, ideological and climate related reasons.

And then there were definitely insane people, who are off their meds. A lot of the hospitals have limited bed space, and the outpatient programs to manage say, schizophrenia for instance, in the low income to homeless population are sorely lacking. They tend to go from relatively stable in prison, back to the streets. Then off their meds, and the cycle continues. Also, very sad. I didn’t mean to offend anyone by saying insane, I’m using it as general term for myriad mental disorders, not as a derogatory label.
 
Back on subject; I'm grateful to still be alive, living with my wonderful family and getting all my jabs. My booster is happening tomorrow morning.

My regret is spending too much time at work and not more with my son, passed up too many bushwalks etc. with him this year.
 
This is my first post in a long while. I hope you all and your families are doing well.

2021 will go down as the best year of my life and quite possibly the busiest. Retired from a long career in federal law enforcement and took a job at my alma mater; sold in one city, moved, and bought our current home; my oldest daughter got married to a man I'm proud to call my son in law; my youngest daughter recently earned her bars and is a 2nd LT in the USMC; and I was informed earlier this week I'm going to be a grandfather.

My regret is that it took me 53 years to realize what true happiness feels like and I had it in front of me the whole time.
 
This is my first post in a long while. I hope you all and your families are doing well.

2021 will go down as the best year of my life and quite possibly the busiest. Retired from a long career in federal law enforcement and took a job at my alma mater; sold in one city, moved, and bought our current home; my oldest daughter got married to a man I'm proud to call my son in law; my youngest daughter recently earned her bars and is a 2nd LT in the USMC; and I was informed earlier this week I'm going to be a grandfather.

My regret is that it took me 53 years to realize what true happiness feels like and I had it in front of me the whole time.

Really great to read positive new like this. Good on ya Mo!

:cool:


Cheers,

RR
 
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