Filed under: rants | Tags: america, beer, culture, democracy, education, history, law, local, politics, poor, u.s., welfare, workingclass
Down on Walker Street last night I was downing some budlight when an interesting conversation started up. We were talking about the welfare system and how some people are 3rd generation welfare abusers and others that need assistance, to get on their feet, cant seem to get the help they need. What was interesting is that after a long discussion and general understanding of how the system is abused, we could only come up with 2 solutions.
The first solution was to give abusers a 90 day heads up and then stop their funding. This “cold turkey” approach would force abusers to get a job and try to support themselves.
The second was the “wing em” approach which slowly cuts the abusers welfare money until they are slowly forced to support themselves.
The people we analyzed were friends we know from town who do not work, eat better than the working class, sell half of their food stamp for drugs and alcohol, and live rent free.
It is not fair to taxpayers and the shrinking middle class to reward those who don’t preform and achieve. Welfare should get you on your feet not be a culture. Any ideas? comments? Have a beer with your neighbors and see what people are saying.
Filed under: rants | Tags: disaster, flood, hurricane, rain, rolling stones, San Antonio, storms, texas, tornado
“i cant get no, satisfaction”- rolling stones.
I am sure that there are many folks that are a little worried about the hurricane in southwest Texas and norther Mexico right now but i am not. The temperature has cooled down 20 degrees and we are finaly getting the rain that we needed so bad. The drive home last night from San Antonio, i will admit, was a little scary but the pleasantries of this storm far out weigh the dangers that sometimes come with these storms.
I asure you, I have seen my fair share of storms.
Last year my family and i had to hide in the hallway and wait for the tornadoes to pass by. We moved the couch in the hallway with us just in case the house collapsed and then we covered our bodies in pillows and blankets for protection. The tornadoes sounded like a train running through town. The town sirens were blaring, like the Pearl Harbor attack, but only for 15 minutes or so.
The weirdest part of the whole experience was the radio. The emergency broadcasting would come on and tell us to find a solid structure in the house to hide under, away fom windows of course. Then the radio would start playing again. “I can’t get no, satisfaction..but i tried,and i tried.. i cant get no, no.no.no.”
Although i will never get use to these massive storms that charge through southwest Texas, i can say that this storm is weaker than our typical everyday storms that we get every year. So if your out there mom, dont worry about me.
Filed under: education | Tags: 1950's, college, education, government, greaser, journal, life, politics
I just started a new government class and my Professor looks like he time-warped straight from the 1950’s. I am not talking about the cool cat, combing his greased hair while sipping on a milk shake character. He is the mono-tone, thick glasses not aware of the times kind of teacher that i hoped i would not ever find teaching a class on modern politics.
What sucks is i really love the subject and it seems like im just paying money for credits and not learning a thing at all.
Filed under: rants | Tags: chicago, constitution, freedom, gangs, getto, law, pants, police, rights, sag
I am outraged at the new law passed in southern Chicago permitting the public to sag their pants. Police are charging $25 if they catch you showing more than 3 inches of underwear or butt cheeks. Personal I have never felt the need to buy baggy pants or walk with a limp but that doesnt mean everyone should follow my example.
Do people still have the right to live as they choose? Are law makers so bored that they need to prosecute saggers? Maybe, they dont care about the fine at all. Perhaps they just want to search them.
Oh well, it doesn’t affect me…. who cares.
Filed under: road trip | Tags: beach, culture, familly, farming, kids, latin, Mexico, motorcycle, road trip, spanish, tipping, travel
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Barra Del Torro is a town far from the influence of America and the global world. To get there, one has to drive through some of Mexico’s most out of the way rural farming communities. These places are less than a day from the U.S. and still use oxen to plow the fields, grass for roof tops and horses for transportation.
On your way to Barra Del Torro you will see little boys herding cattle along side of the road with sticks. Roberto, the young man trying to act cool on my motorcycle, is one of these boys, although he also helps his family tend to visitors, assuming they have visitors.
When i met Roberto he was almost 12 years old and was near the completion of his formal school years. His father was concerned about the direction of his future and wanted his son to learn a trade. The 3 peso bathroom charge and 8 peso shower charge wasn’t making the family enough money but a trade, his father knew, would give him a skill that he could perfect.
Roberto and I became friends very quickly. Whenever I needed anything I would call for Roberto and he would come running, as cheerful as ever, and help me out or give me the information that i needed. The way I understood it, as a gringo, the more help he was the more i would tip him and help the whole family out. That was “fair and righteous” in my opinion.
Unfortunately, that is not how his family and culture worked.
His father had a discussion with me that nearly broke my heart. He told me that we, my friend and I, do not need to tip. Tipping is almost disrespectful and he felt insulted by my throwing around money. His family wanted to enjoy our company as friends, even though we had only known each other for 1 day, and stopped charging us for everything.
We ate dinner together that night and had the best seafood soup that I ever had. They didn’t charge us even though it was suppose to be a restaurant they were running and they didn’t have any other customers. I want to explain to them my side of the story but i didn’t.
But to you, I will explain.
In the U.S. i am considered lower class working poor and i am from a family of lower class working poor. I had $800 for my summer vacation in Mexico and planned on coming home broke. I can spend $20 on beer in one night and not think anything about it. But when i realize that $20 could feed and shelter a family for a week, in my opinion, there was no other choice. It felt right to give to those more in need. But sometimes what feels right isn’t always the right thing to do.
I gave Roberto my camera and asked him to take a few pictures for me and this is what he came back with.
So long Roberto, until we meet again.
Filed under: education | Tags: education, goverment, history, law, law school
One thing that has been on my mind lately is what I should do about a Post-graduate education. I am most certain that i will continue my education but the decision to apply for law school can give anyone a headache. So far my positives and negative list is balancing out.
On the positive side of the list I have a burning desire to crunch as much information inside my brain as fast as possible. Law school is competitive, exciting and interesting. It sounds to me like a boot-camp for your mind or a all-you-can-eat information buffet. I would love to fill my plate up on government, history, writing, law and critical thinking.
But on the negative side of the list law school cost way too much money and there are no guarantees that i will end up with a job paying enough money to pay off the education bills.
Hmmm..
Filed under: road trip | Tags: folklore, Mexico, motorcycles, road trip, tecolutla
Everyone, at some point in their life, has contributed to passing on stories full of wrong information that they have, without thought, considered to be the truth. I am guilty of this as well.
What i would like to address is peoples general perception of Mexico.
I was lucky enough to have take a 4,000 mile motorcycle trip though Mexico’s rural countryside. It was an awesome, one of a kind trip that to this day, 1year later, I still think about frequently. I rode a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and my friend took a Honda 750.
I heard stories of Kidnappings, killings, tourist preying thieves and corrupt cops that go out of their way to prey on white boys, like me, from the states. The first thing i will have to say is that 99% of it is a lie and exaggeration. Beside the tourist and border towns, Mexico is filled with the most honest and personal people i have ever met.
In one town, Tecolutla, I was able to stay for free with a family I met on the beach. After getting to know them, which is so much easier in Mexico, they invited me to dinner every night, took me out site seeing, told me stories of the towns history and even took me on errands in the surrounding larger cities. I was amazed by the general hospitality not only with the family but the whole community as well.
I will admit that I know nothing about blogging and even less about writing but I would love to learn. The idea that I can write whatever I want and share it with many strangers fascinates me. (more…)
