Merry Christmas!

Once again spreading a little Christmas Cheer!

Merry Christmas from 

the Captain & Krewe 

of Banana Winds!

A Little Bit O' Housekeeping

To my dear shipmates, who continue to travel with me on this crazy voyage called “Life”, the Captain sends out a tip o’ the hat and a hearty “Happy Holidays!” With the busy-ness of the days ahead, don’t look for too many more posts before the New Year is upon us. 

Captain’s Note: Yes, there is still yet to come the annual “Christmas Cheer” post for you!

But during the holidays the Captain plans to do a little housekeeping.

Do you see the two columns to the starboard of the main blog? Those are links to other blogs I have enjoyed reading over the eleven – yes, ELEVEN! – years I have been writing this blog. Some of the names and faces have changed during that time, but the list persists.

As I look at it today, it has grown somewhat stale. Truth is, what with Facebook and other social media, the art of “blogging” is going by the wayside.

Some of the writers have simply stopped posting. For example, Dan Dick has not updated “United Methodeviations” since December 23, 2016.

O wherefore art thou, Dan?

 

Speaking of reading, I read recently that "RumShopRyan" is looking to sell his "business" to a travel-minded entrepreneur. The Captain has considered it, but I have yet to figure out how to travel the world without any income!

Rob & Kim recently put “Leap of Faith” up for sale and are now living in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Seriously, who wants to look at pictures of 15” of snow on a blog called, “Quit Your Job and Live on a Boat”?

 

Captain’s Note: If you are interested in buying a boat, I believe the 1980 Oceania 36 is still available for $60,000. We suspect some of that supposed value is due to the boat being featured in the “Breeze” novels.

And then there are the ads. Some of these bloggers have "monetized" their sites. What that means, dear mates, is that in an attempt to capitalize on the shit they write, they have loaded their pages with a lot of ads.

Seriously. A lot of ads!

Finally, unfortunately, some of the links are simply “dead”.

 

So in the days following Christmas, the Captain plans to take a knife to that list. Clear it out! Clean it up! Maybe add some new, interesting – and active – blogs to the list!

Please bear with me through the changes. I think they will make the Banana Winds a better ship.

And if you know any of those bloggers on the list who are simply not posting anymore, encourage them to get on it or they will be cut!

Blue Tuesday

Caution!

Rant ahead!

Proceed at your own risk!

The days are growing increasingly shorter as we approach the Winter Solstice.

Shorter days. Longer nights.

Perhaps that accounts for the Captain’s mood today. Perhaps not.

It’s a Blue Tuesday.

As per my routine, on Tuesday mornings I have the responsibility of helping people in the community with past-due utility bills. A fund has been established and we maintain a reasonable balance, so very few requests for help are denied due to funding.

We are truly blessed.

In fact, today several people were referred to me by a government agency which claimed to be out of funds.

“Go see Captain Dave.”

I had nine clients in the three hours I was available. Last week it was eleven clients.

And while it makes my heart glad that we can help – one woman presented a $555 water bill, created by a leaky pipe – it also takes a lot out of my spirit as I look across the desk at the sad lot of them and wonder how they came to be in such dire straits.

Many of my clients are elderly women whose husband have died and left them with nothing. A $750 Social Security check doesn’t go far today.

But this morning’s crowd was filled with people younger than your Captain.

One was only 18. He didn’t finish high school. He is working for a family member as a roofer, a job that doesn’t lend itself to winter employment. And so he lives in a rundown trailer park in the armpit of the county, earning – during the good months – about $400 per month. 

At such a young age he has been forced to beg to get by.

Others are young women with names like “Crystal/Krystal/Kristyl” or “Tiffany/Tifani”, suggesting that at one moment in her young existence a proud parent had great hopes and dreams for her.

Or they assumed she would grow up to be a stripper. I don’t know.

What she grew up to be is uneducated, unemployed/unemployable, and a parent at to young an age.

Perhaps strung out on Meth too.

I don’t ask.

Sure, one could argue that these people might have had difficult lives.

But so did the Captain. And I’ve done okay.

My father died when I was a teenager. He had insurance which covered a lot of the existing bills, and we received a small amount in Social Security “Death Benefits” for a brief time. Nonetheless, my mother took a job as a secretary – and later a night job – to provide for her four children, all of whom graduated from college.

I studied hard in high school and earned a full academic scholarship to college. I preached at a little church during the last two years of college for a little additional income. I declared myself independent upon graduation and paid my own way through seminary working multiple jobs. At one point the Captain-to-be was working on-campus in the cafeteria and at a local church where I was the assistant to the pastor, the youth director, the night watchman AND the groundskeeper.

 I also acquired student loan debt, which took another ten lean years to pay off. But upon receiving my masters degree, I was prepared for my chosen career path. I entered the ordained ministry with a guarantee of a job, pension, insurance, and a place to live. That was 30 years ago.

The Captain is no genius, as you have likely discovered by now. But if I can do it, why not others?

Where have we failed the current generation of young people?

--Are we not instilling a proper work ethic? You know you need a job, right? Yes, the Captain had one client look at me with vacant eyes and say, “But if I work I’ll lose ‘my check’.” 

A check which keeps her at below the poverty level.

So be it.

--Have the Right Wing/Conservative Christians so tied our hands that we are not teaching “the birds and bees” anymore? Nothing will derail a young person’s life dreams faster than the untimely birth of a child.

While the Pro-Life crowd insists that every child be born, there is little support for the child and mother afterwards. What jobs are available for a high school drop-out with an infant child? What jobs pay more than daycare costs?

--Has no one explained just how much “life” costs? In the Captain’s part of the world, minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Waiting tables only promises $2.13 per hour plus tips, if any.

So, assuming one has a minimum wage job and can work 40 hours per week, which is increasingly rare, you’ll work 14 hours per week just to afford that run-down, single-wide trailer. Taxes will take another four hours of labor out of your weekly paycheck. That leaves you with $674.25 per month with which to pay for utilities, a car/truck, insurance (both health and auto), clothing, food and entertainment.

Keep in mind, cars & trucks need regular maintenance, gas and oil, and sometimes unusual/expensive maintenance. An unexpected breakdown can keep you away from work for a week or more.

People also need regular maintenance, and occasionally a medical emergency will lay a person up for a couple weeks – creating un-budgeted medical expenses as well as the inability to work.

...unless you can somehow turn your injury into porn...

WTF!?!

And don’t get me started on how much it costs to bring a child into that picture!

Why don’t people know this today?

  

Why don’t we encourage young people to stay in school? Why don't we push our children to excel rather than just get by?

Seeing great potential in one client, the Captain offered to help pay for her college if she would go to the local community college and get a degree.

She has so far failed to take me up on that generous offer.

And so, in the prime of her life, she works a part-time job making $9 per hour to meet the needs of her two children and disabled husband.

It’s a Blue Tuesday, mates, a Blue Tuesday.