Warning- this is me rambling today and it's kind of depressing...
As each day goes by, reading stories of what's happening all over this country and around the world, I am so very grateful to be able to grow food here. Regardless of what the MSM spouts as economic recovery, the area I live in continues to sink into oblivion. This is coal country and the majority of work here is coal mining. It is becoming ever more apparent that the government of this country intends to bankrupt the coal industry and close down our coal fired power plants. One coal mine closing it's door here will completely devastate this area and put 500 to 1,000 men out of work. I wonder what the government plans to replace it all with? Imaginary power plants with magical powers??? While most of the country sees our government as some sort of unicorn with a magical horn, all I can see is a jackass with a plunger stuck to it's head.
Combine the ever increasing price of imported fuel with the rising cost of grain and you get food that comes from some big corporation, produced by pouring pesticides on it, filled with chemicals and provided by a government that subsidizes it all. The small farmer producing healthy food no longer exists.
Even if the MSM doesn't report on it, there are hundreds of homeless people right here, in this area. Some find a place to sleep in homeless shelters, some in their cars, others trespass and hide in barns and garages. Home invasions are becoming more and more common, hungry people breaking into rural homes looking for something to eat. Not a peep about it anywhere in the news. No one is talking about it. Plenty of news coverage for the current unemployment statistic lie tho.
Everyday living has become all about simple survival. Something to drink, something to eat and someplace dry and half way warm to sleep. How many people in this country are a pink slip away from joining them? While the de-industrialization of America continues.......
For me, the struggle to keep the mortgage paid goes on. The new gardening season is about here and a whole new crop of good, healthy food awaits. I may not be able to enjoy the great American dream anymore but I can sure have something good to eat.
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A Christmas Carol (1999) - Full Movie
21 minutes ago
I understand right where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteThank you Modern Day Redneck. I need some chocolate today.
ReplyDeleteIt sucks...I keep hearing people (like my parents) who try to believe things are getting better and that the American dream still lives on, no matter what I tell them(I think they are starting to think I am going nutty lol). My parent informed me the other day that I shouldn't believe everything that I read online...um well at least by reading it online I have found out way more than I would've by t.v. With gas prices going up our paycheck is barely covering bills and gas..not much left for food..the garden is going to be huge this year(we really have no choice). My husband works at walmart(the devil..I know), he is a department manager of grocery so he gets to see all of the price increases up front...a couple of weeks ago rice went from $2.09 a bag to $2.59 and today flour went up $.30-50 cents a bag. We are getting ready to invest in some rabbits here in the next couple of weeks and possibly some sheep or a cow by summer. I think the problem is that a lot of people are just as blind to the real problems and solutions as the government is...speaking of chocolate I think some brownies are in order :)
ReplyDeleteOh Coley, at least he's got a job! A garden this year will be for survival, there's no other way. We too are consumed by fuel costs and even with our small utility costs, we need clothes, shoes and such still. It's heartbreaking to tell your kids "we can't afford it".
ReplyDeleteYou are so right on everything you said! Prices skyrocket daily. And yes the homeless are everywhere today, most of them families. We are living in bad times that look worse everyday. Blessings jane
ReplyDeleteWe live in NW IL. My husband has been out of work for over two years now. I have 4 grown and almost grown children still living at home and we all have small part time jobs that barely keep the mortgage and insurance paid. My teen children just don't want to hear how their future is screwed, and do you blame them? I pray you get enough work to keep the roof over your head.
ReplyDeleteHELLO,
ReplyDeleteI AM NEW TO YOUR BLOG, AND I AM QUITE IMPRESSED. VERY FEW PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. MOST BELIEVE THAT IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, UNFORTUNATELY THEY ARE WRONG. NOT ONLY CAN IT HAPPEN IT IS AS I WRITE THIS. THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS AGAIN BECOME JUST THAT, A DREAM.
PLANT A GARDEN, RAISE A COW, DO ALL THAT YOU CAN TO BECOME AS SELF SUFFICIENT AS YOU CAN, IT MAY NOT BE THE GOVERNMENT'S PLAN, BUT IT DAMN SURE BETTER BE OUR'S.
NEW READER,
TVI
Hello Jane! It's horrible to see children out there with nothing to eat. This is our reality now, even if nobody talks about it or makes a news report. Ignoring it wont make it go away. This country is in serious trouble.
ReplyDeleteHello Patti! We are facing the same here. My kids did not want to hear it either. My son is onboard with the plan now and my daughter, about to come out of college, has learned what it's like to be hungry and is much more willing to accept what her crazy old Mom has been saying. We have to keep fighting any way we can.
Hello TVI, welcome!It's my plan in every way. I'm willing to fight for it. This year the blog will be double filled with plans, ideas and pictures of what I'm doing about holding on to my little piece of pie.
How far are you from KY? My husband's family is from the Murray, KY area. I think S IL is very pretty when we drive through it.
ReplyDeleteMy children have been raised with a frugal, country lifestyle. They can cook, do laundry outside, preserve foods, and have experience raising and preparing food. But they really don't "want" to have to do it. One son who just turned 21 is the biggest help with the chickens, garden, and food storage.
I think the majority of people in our countries are a pink slip away from homelessness...it's a terrible thing...and you're right, you are very fortunate, as am I to have some sense of self-reliance. I'm very grateful each day that things are ok for me at the moment. I'm working towards more self-sufficiency for sure.
ReplyDeleteI too see the truth every day. There is no glossin it over any longer. Hey America we are in a Depression. Ya do what ya gotta do to survive it. Those of us with a roof and heat should count our blessings. And give forward to those without.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. I thank you for your blog. It has helped me learn many things.
ReplyDelete