Thank you, Vicki! I would like to have known it was all based on lies before I went. We didn't have access to internet back in those days. Many of us thought we were doing the right thing. Hindsight is 20/20. It now makes sense why so many veterans are angry. None of us appreciated being lied to. Now all of you got a taste of what it's really like to be lied to by your own government during covid. That's how we feel but thankfully you didn't have to kill or bomb anyone.
Yeah....the lies....in every facet of our society: health, government, food, education. You name it and pretty much.....it's been built on a foundation of deception. I remember my sophomore year of H.S., we had a memorial service on our football field in the middle of the day for a guy who'd been killed in Vietnam. He had just graduated the year before. My BIL is slowly succumbing to Parkinsons, compliments of Agent Orange used in 'Nam. I understand the anger too by many, but our best defense is to NOT allow all of this to own us by turning us bitter. That ends up being the ultimate "gotcha"!
You get it. I know a vet I was close to who was in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was mowed down with an AK47 and was his 7 times. 5 in the gut, 1in the shoulder, and 1 in the lower leg. He spent 2 years going through surgeries and rehabs. He was also exposed to agent orange. Later in his in life he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma which is directly linked to agent orange. He was given 5 years to live and passed away in 2008. Even the VA ran tests and said nothing was wrong. He went over to MD Anderson in Houston and used his Tricare insurance and they're the ones who found it. He wrote a scathing letter to his congressional reps and CC the VA on it. He was already deemed 145% disabled by the VA but he still worked. He didn't give up. He filed more papers with the VA around 2003 after being diagnosed and they back paid him all the way back to when he may have been exposed. It was a lot. He never complained. I went to see him when he was on his death bed. He couldn't move, open his eye, or speak but he could hear. I was giving him liquid morphine and keeping a cool towel on his head since it made him sweet. I would sit and talk with him and told him it was time for him to go and we would look after everything. I told him bye and went home. I got a call 20 minutes later on the way home saying he passed. I was sad but also happy. I knew him for a little over 40 years. Not going to lie, that hit me hard.
I get the anger. I try to use humor as a coping mechanism since I have a lot of health issues after returning. I was also injured and had more than enough surgery over the years and it didn't help when the VA screwed up one of my surgeries which left me in worse shape. They designated me with Gulf War Syndrome. And I battle with anxiety, panic, and PTSD. I won't go into all the details because I could literally write a book about everything I've gone through since the early 90's. I was medically and financially destroyed between 2011 and 2013. In 2015, we moved far into the rural area to start over and it has helped a lot living a slow-paced life. We got back up on our feet and we're doing good now. Turns out, I'm surround by a lot of veterans out here. The VA gave me a total disability rating of 130% in 2020. I was angry and bitter for a long time but I moved past it.
Now with covid, that anger is there again. I've lost 3 relatives and 1 good friend. I may lose one more before the end of the year and I'm certain that will not be the last. I'm not the only one who feels this way. I've watched many videos and read thousands of comments of people who are living in this nightmare and they're angry. I've seen the swearing and yelling about all those involved. It's like a huge powder keg ready to go off. It just gets worse and worse as more and more information comes out. There are mass amounts of people out there who see everything that's going now and thousands more are waking up to it every day. I've talked to people who don't even get online and they know what's going on. That right there is word of mouth. They didn't ask, want, or consent to any of this happening to them. The amount of lies, propaganda, and agendas that are going on every day is already enough but taking their loved ones away is a whole different story. I have no doubts this is going to blow and when it does, it's not going to stop once it's started. What kicks it off is a mystery but I see it headed in that direction.
I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. I know what that's like since I watch my grandmother go through the same thing. However, she was almost 100. I just had to laugh after she kept asking who I was in the evenings. The sundowners is when they can't remember anything. The bizarre part is she was able to recall things from her childhood in great detail and tell me about it. It's a roller coaster ride. You'll be okay.
God bless you for serving your country, and I am sorry it's turned into a sh*tshow. Happy you have found a way forward. I agree about the powder keg. I am very involved locally, good people step up to run and get destroyed by the left's tactics. In some ways, local is more nasty than even national, as you see these people in the grocery store, in church, even. The left has gotten people fired from their jobs, they threaten local businesses who support conservatives, the same ones who are already hanging by a thread. Massive property tax increases, ours went up $1118, 42%, due year end. Going to be a lean Christmas. Working hard to direct this anger towards productive activities, but it's one step forward 2 steps back a lot of the time and people are just burning out. Lots of dry powder out there. Just praying we avoid a spark.
Thank you, Donna! I was a difficult road and I didn't want to be on it anymore. I stayed in this mindset for a handful of years. I was really messed up. Only 2 things that keep me from doing something dumb. Fearing God's wrath for making a dumb choice and putting my family in that position. If I had not had these in my life, I don't think I would be here.
I will agree with you on the local election and I hope others grasp these are very important. I feel these are way more important especially your sheriff who can tell the feds to go touch grass. They can also deputies as many citizens as they would like if the feds ever wanted to come after the guns. See how that works. I don't think they will do it since I believe this would most definitely kick things off. There isn't one person I know who will turn their arms over especially after what they have witnessed over the past 3 years. Guns don't murder people since mine haven't moved. They're still sitting there. Evil people use guns to murder people. Just like cars don't kill people, accident and drunk drivers do. Occasionally, we get one who use it to murder people. The state of TX is a 2nd amendment sanctuary state and the county I live in went even further to make it a 2nd amendment sanctuary county. Anyone who is familiar with history should know better than to give up their guns. They couldn't even get people to turn their bump stocks in when they banned them in CO. They only got a handful of people to turn in their high-capacity magazines in liberal NJ when they banned them. This is very telling. If they can't even get people to turn these in, they're not getting the guns. History as proven over and over again what happens when they take them away.
Yes, these elections can get nasty out here but I'm glad to see all the dirt come out. I'm glad to see if one is lying or not. Also, it's different out here in the rural areas. Everyone knows what's going on out here. Word travels faster than light when something happens. People will come together out here and confront their elected officials when something goes wrong. I've seen people go after them on Facebook. I told them in our Facebook group they're all corrupt and did I piss off one of the commissioners. LOL I don't care at this point in time because I'm looking out for my friends and neighbors. I don't get how some of these elected officials can go against their constituents since they are neighbors in our community. Many people know their county judge, sheriff, etc. It's not like in the big cities where virtually no one actually knows their neighbors. I can interact or send a PM on social media directly to them and they'll respond. That will not happen in the big cities. I know everyone's taxes went up. Many fell into your category, others were doubled, and some even went up to 400%. I noticed some of the farmers digging ponds on their land to capture water which is an exemption. They're doing everything they can to lower them. I know in TX, the taxes are determined by your locally elected tax accessor. They were telling us it was coming from the elected officials in Austin. It literally states on you tax bill that it's determined by your local tax accessor. Everyone started calling them out and then said they were being pressured by elected officials in Austin to raise taxes. They can't do this but at the point, it wouldn't surprise me. I think I know why but I won't get into it here. Regardless, if it's true, tell them to take a hike. Then many went to protest their taxes and they wouldn't budge. Well, now they have organized to vote them out. If they stay in after what I've seen, it's rigged because no one want them in office now. This is an elected official in your community that's screwing everyone else over. This is a huge increase in taxes and people want to know where the money is going since none of the sheriffs, firefighters, teachers, county employees, etc. are getting raises. We know because people are asking publicly. Taxes dollars are public record and so are their salaries. No one can get an answer. There's something else going on because what are the odds of taxes going up all over the nation like this at the same time. Something isn't right here. It reminds me of you'll own nothing and be happy.
The left doesn't fight fair and never have. They take is personal and want blood. Well, those on the right are now doing the same thing to them and they're actually crying about it, LOL We're like you're the ones who started this crap first. I've seen it all. At least out here, if you're exposed as a leftist, you're considered an outsider. We don't want their kind here or their degenerate way of life. They couldn't take my job because I don't have one. LOL I get paid directly from the Treasury Department. Many of them are so dumb as they scream for socialism and communism. I've been and lived in some of those countries and they wouldn't survive it. I'm not for conscription but now I almost think we should do it so they can actually go over there to experience it. Let's see how fast they change their stance. My father-in-law was a governor in one of the towns in PA for 20 years and retired a few years ago. He's an old school democrat. One that I could talk to without getting into an argument. He grew to hate his party and what it has become. Well, he doesn't have to have to concern himself with it now because the jab killed him about 5 weeks ago. My mother-in-law is also a democrat and after what she witnessed in the last election, she literally said I don't know what's happened to her party. She knew what she was seeing was wrong. She also took the jab and now has clots in her lungs now. She's rapidly declining. I don't think she will be here much longer. I'm just thankful we are doing okay getting back up on out feet in 2020. We only pay on the home and both cars are nearly paid off. We don't have any other debt except for a one school loan that's almost paid off. My wife has a good job that pays everything with more than enough left over. Then I get VA compensation that just sits there. My wife got a fairly large inheritance from her dad when he passed away. My mom passed in 2021 and she didn't take the jab. My dad didn't take the jab and he's doing well. He owns 1000 acres that's been passed down in our family for a while. I can't believe acre of land in his area is selling for 12k to 30k. I'm about 4 hours from him and it's going for about 15k to 45k an acre here. He used to farm other people's land with a combine but he's retired from doing this now. Last year, it was costing $718 to nearly $1500 in diesel a day to run a combine all day. The diesel usage varies based on the type of combine, topography, harvest, etc. You can figure out what it would cost in diesel to operate one for 20 to 25 day a month. I'm surprised food isn't much higher. This doesn't include any repairs that may come with owning and operating a $700k+ combine. He still does the ranching with all the cattle. The other thing he gets is oil/natural gas royalties that are pumped off the land since he owns the surface and mineral rights. He does get all the free natural gas he needs under the contract so anything and everything he has runs off of natural gas. He told me his electric bill averages 17 a month. Meanwhile, I'm paying $250 to $400 a month. It's insane. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all that land when he passes away. I know it's in the will to go to me and my wife. If something happens to me, it goes to my wife and children. If something happens to both of us, it goes to our children. I think we would move there to live. I wouldn't mind working the cattle side.
It's tough on a lot of people right now. I was having a tire repaired at Discount Tire and there was an elderly lady crying. I overheard the conversation she had with the employee that was helping her. She didn't know how she was going to make ends meet this month because she couldn't even afford one tire. She was there for the same reason but her tire couldn't be repaired since it was punctured through the sidewall. They will not repair these tires. I felt that and I walked up to the employee and asked him how much the tire was. He said it was $75 dollars and I told him I would pay for it anonymously. Just seeing the look on her face was all I needed to see that I did the right thing. I actually have gone to this store few several years. I know the manager and a couple of the employees. They're good people. There is a lot of dry powder everywhere and there are fresh shipments coming in every day. I don't think that spark can be avoided. Nothing is getting better. Thomas Jefferson once said that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I think this may be closer than we think. Many are stocking and prepping around me. Hang in there and keep praying.
"You will own nothing and be happy" is definitely at the root of this. I am a city chick, hubby and I like live music, craft beers, and shopping less than a 10 minute drive. Been in a suburban community for over 30 years that was big enough for lots of the amenities, but small enough you still run into people you know at the hardware store. Lots of parks and green space, still some agricultural areas around. But all that is rapidly being destroyed. Have seen the left infiltrate since the beginning of the Obama years. Overlay districts, sustainability policies, concepts like 'bike friendly/complete streets', mixed use, PMIX, walkability scores started creeping in, I tried waking people up, to little avail. Ran for city council in 2018, lost, to a long time entrenched RINO. May try again some day, but my mom is 85 and her health is failing, so sticking to advocator and door knocker for now, my sisters live on either coast so I am all she has.
But taxes - school, city, county/property tax and spending are out of control. The number of apartments (at one point we were 86% single family homeowners - new city goal is 65%, all in the name of housing diversity of choices) I could go on but people ARE finally starting to wake up to where all this is going. But getting people to dig in and help force the changes needed is hard. Legal pot, Netflix, willful ignorance and people having to take a second job to keep up all playing against us. I am self employed and income really has never recovered since 2020, although mom stuff plays a part of that, as does spending way too much time on political stuff. I know all the local elected folks and quite a few state ones, mixed bag but some are trying, we need more of those! Hubby is in sales and calls on mom and pop retailers, a dying industry, and he is just hoping his job holds out til he retires in a few years. We have no debt and always been frugal and savers. Kids are married, good jobs. My mother in law has farmland (leases out to a local family who farms it and helps her out on little stuff since my father in law died in 2019), a big garden and wooded acreage in the solid red north part of the state, in a house twice the size of ours. Sister in law lives in a house on the same land. If crap hits the fan we can always bug out there.
So really should count our blessings. But it still sucks, I am a 'planner' and really just don't make long term plans these days. Just scenarios and contingencies floating around in the back of my head. Hubby is the most chill person I know and he keeps me grounded, and reminds me to trust in the Lord. And rolls his eyes at me from time to time :-)
And thank you for your service!
Thank you, Vicki! I would like to have known it was all based on lies before I went. We didn't have access to internet back in those days. Many of us thought we were doing the right thing. Hindsight is 20/20. It now makes sense why so many veterans are angry. None of us appreciated being lied to. Now all of you got a taste of what it's really like to be lied to by your own government during covid. That's how we feel but thankfully you didn't have to kill or bomb anyone.
Yeah....the lies....in every facet of our society: health, government, food, education. You name it and pretty much.....it's been built on a foundation of deception. I remember my sophomore year of H.S., we had a memorial service on our football field in the middle of the day for a guy who'd been killed in Vietnam. He had just graduated the year before. My BIL is slowly succumbing to Parkinsons, compliments of Agent Orange used in 'Nam. I understand the anger too by many, but our best defense is to NOT allow all of this to own us by turning us bitter. That ends up being the ultimate "gotcha"!
You get it. I know a vet I was close to who was in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was mowed down with an AK47 and was his 7 times. 5 in the gut, 1in the shoulder, and 1 in the lower leg. He spent 2 years going through surgeries and rehabs. He was also exposed to agent orange. Later in his in life he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma which is directly linked to agent orange. He was given 5 years to live and passed away in 2008. Even the VA ran tests and said nothing was wrong. He went over to MD Anderson in Houston and used his Tricare insurance and they're the ones who found it. He wrote a scathing letter to his congressional reps and CC the VA on it. He was already deemed 145% disabled by the VA but he still worked. He didn't give up. He filed more papers with the VA around 2003 after being diagnosed and they back paid him all the way back to when he may have been exposed. It was a lot. He never complained. I went to see him when he was on his death bed. He couldn't move, open his eye, or speak but he could hear. I was giving him liquid morphine and keeping a cool towel on his head since it made him sweet. I would sit and talk with him and told him it was time for him to go and we would look after everything. I told him bye and went home. I got a call 20 minutes later on the way home saying he passed. I was sad but also happy. I knew him for a little over 40 years. Not going to lie, that hit me hard.
I get the anger. I try to use humor as a coping mechanism since I have a lot of health issues after returning. I was also injured and had more than enough surgery over the years and it didn't help when the VA screwed up one of my surgeries which left me in worse shape. They designated me with Gulf War Syndrome. And I battle with anxiety, panic, and PTSD. I won't go into all the details because I could literally write a book about everything I've gone through since the early 90's. I was medically and financially destroyed between 2011 and 2013. In 2015, we moved far into the rural area to start over and it has helped a lot living a slow-paced life. We got back up on our feet and we're doing good now. Turns out, I'm surround by a lot of veterans out here. The VA gave me a total disability rating of 130% in 2020. I was angry and bitter for a long time but I moved past it.
Now with covid, that anger is there again. I've lost 3 relatives and 1 good friend. I may lose one more before the end of the year and I'm certain that will not be the last. I'm not the only one who feels this way. I've watched many videos and read thousands of comments of people who are living in this nightmare and they're angry. I've seen the swearing and yelling about all those involved. It's like a huge powder keg ready to go off. It just gets worse and worse as more and more information comes out. There are mass amounts of people out there who see everything that's going now and thousands more are waking up to it every day. I've talked to people who don't even get online and they know what's going on. That right there is word of mouth. They didn't ask, want, or consent to any of this happening to them. The amount of lies, propaganda, and agendas that are going on every day is already enough but taking their loved ones away is a whole different story. I have no doubts this is going to blow and when it does, it's not going to stop once it's started. What kicks it off is a mystery but I see it headed in that direction.
I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. I know what that's like since I watch my grandmother go through the same thing. However, she was almost 100. I just had to laugh after she kept asking who I was in the evenings. The sundowners is when they can't remember anything. The bizarre part is she was able to recall things from her childhood in great detail and tell me about it. It's a roller coaster ride. You'll be okay.
God bless you for serving your country, and I am sorry it's turned into a sh*tshow. Happy you have found a way forward. I agree about the powder keg. I am very involved locally, good people step up to run and get destroyed by the left's tactics. In some ways, local is more nasty than even national, as you see these people in the grocery store, in church, even. The left has gotten people fired from their jobs, they threaten local businesses who support conservatives, the same ones who are already hanging by a thread. Massive property tax increases, ours went up $1118, 42%, due year end. Going to be a lean Christmas. Working hard to direct this anger towards productive activities, but it's one step forward 2 steps back a lot of the time and people are just burning out. Lots of dry powder out there. Just praying we avoid a spark.
Thank you, Donna! I was a difficult road and I didn't want to be on it anymore. I stayed in this mindset for a handful of years. I was really messed up. Only 2 things that keep me from doing something dumb. Fearing God's wrath for making a dumb choice and putting my family in that position. If I had not had these in my life, I don't think I would be here.
I will agree with you on the local election and I hope others grasp these are very important. I feel these are way more important especially your sheriff who can tell the feds to go touch grass. They can also deputies as many citizens as they would like if the feds ever wanted to come after the guns. See how that works. I don't think they will do it since I believe this would most definitely kick things off. There isn't one person I know who will turn their arms over especially after what they have witnessed over the past 3 years. Guns don't murder people since mine haven't moved. They're still sitting there. Evil people use guns to murder people. Just like cars don't kill people, accident and drunk drivers do. Occasionally, we get one who use it to murder people. The state of TX is a 2nd amendment sanctuary state and the county I live in went even further to make it a 2nd amendment sanctuary county. Anyone who is familiar with history should know better than to give up their guns. They couldn't even get people to turn their bump stocks in when they banned them in CO. They only got a handful of people to turn in their high-capacity magazines in liberal NJ when they banned them. This is very telling. If they can't even get people to turn these in, they're not getting the guns. History as proven over and over again what happens when they take them away.
Yes, these elections can get nasty out here but I'm glad to see all the dirt come out. I'm glad to see if one is lying or not. Also, it's different out here in the rural areas. Everyone knows what's going on out here. Word travels faster than light when something happens. People will come together out here and confront their elected officials when something goes wrong. I've seen people go after them on Facebook. I told them in our Facebook group they're all corrupt and did I piss off one of the commissioners. LOL I don't care at this point in time because I'm looking out for my friends and neighbors. I don't get how some of these elected officials can go against their constituents since they are neighbors in our community. Many people know their county judge, sheriff, etc. It's not like in the big cities where virtually no one actually knows their neighbors. I can interact or send a PM on social media directly to them and they'll respond. That will not happen in the big cities. I know everyone's taxes went up. Many fell into your category, others were doubled, and some even went up to 400%. I noticed some of the farmers digging ponds on their land to capture water which is an exemption. They're doing everything they can to lower them. I know in TX, the taxes are determined by your locally elected tax accessor. They were telling us it was coming from the elected officials in Austin. It literally states on you tax bill that it's determined by your local tax accessor. Everyone started calling them out and then said they were being pressured by elected officials in Austin to raise taxes. They can't do this but at the point, it wouldn't surprise me. I think I know why but I won't get into it here. Regardless, if it's true, tell them to take a hike. Then many went to protest their taxes and they wouldn't budge. Well, now they have organized to vote them out. If they stay in after what I've seen, it's rigged because no one want them in office now. This is an elected official in your community that's screwing everyone else over. This is a huge increase in taxes and people want to know where the money is going since none of the sheriffs, firefighters, teachers, county employees, etc. are getting raises. We know because people are asking publicly. Taxes dollars are public record and so are their salaries. No one can get an answer. There's something else going on because what are the odds of taxes going up all over the nation like this at the same time. Something isn't right here. It reminds me of you'll own nothing and be happy.
The left doesn't fight fair and never have. They take is personal and want blood. Well, those on the right are now doing the same thing to them and they're actually crying about it, LOL We're like you're the ones who started this crap first. I've seen it all. At least out here, if you're exposed as a leftist, you're considered an outsider. We don't want their kind here or their degenerate way of life. They couldn't take my job because I don't have one. LOL I get paid directly from the Treasury Department. Many of them are so dumb as they scream for socialism and communism. I've been and lived in some of those countries and they wouldn't survive it. I'm not for conscription but now I almost think we should do it so they can actually go over there to experience it. Let's see how fast they change their stance. My father-in-law was a governor in one of the towns in PA for 20 years and retired a few years ago. He's an old school democrat. One that I could talk to without getting into an argument. He grew to hate his party and what it has become. Well, he doesn't have to have to concern himself with it now because the jab killed him about 5 weeks ago. My mother-in-law is also a democrat and after what she witnessed in the last election, she literally said I don't know what's happened to her party. She knew what she was seeing was wrong. She also took the jab and now has clots in her lungs now. She's rapidly declining. I don't think she will be here much longer. I'm just thankful we are doing okay getting back up on out feet in 2020. We only pay on the home and both cars are nearly paid off. We don't have any other debt except for a one school loan that's almost paid off. My wife has a good job that pays everything with more than enough left over. Then I get VA compensation that just sits there. My wife got a fairly large inheritance from her dad when he passed away. My mom passed in 2021 and she didn't take the jab. My dad didn't take the jab and he's doing well. He owns 1000 acres that's been passed down in our family for a while. I can't believe acre of land in his area is selling for 12k to 30k. I'm about 4 hours from him and it's going for about 15k to 45k an acre here. He used to farm other people's land with a combine but he's retired from doing this now. Last year, it was costing $718 to nearly $1500 in diesel a day to run a combine all day. The diesel usage varies based on the type of combine, topography, harvest, etc. You can figure out what it would cost in diesel to operate one for 20 to 25 day a month. I'm surprised food isn't much higher. This doesn't include any repairs that may come with owning and operating a $700k+ combine. He still does the ranching with all the cattle. The other thing he gets is oil/natural gas royalties that are pumped off the land since he owns the surface and mineral rights. He does get all the free natural gas he needs under the contract so anything and everything he has runs off of natural gas. He told me his electric bill averages 17 a month. Meanwhile, I'm paying $250 to $400 a month. It's insane. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all that land when he passes away. I know it's in the will to go to me and my wife. If something happens to me, it goes to my wife and children. If something happens to both of us, it goes to our children. I think we would move there to live. I wouldn't mind working the cattle side.
It's tough on a lot of people right now. I was having a tire repaired at Discount Tire and there was an elderly lady crying. I overheard the conversation she had with the employee that was helping her. She didn't know how she was going to make ends meet this month because she couldn't even afford one tire. She was there for the same reason but her tire couldn't be repaired since it was punctured through the sidewall. They will not repair these tires. I felt that and I walked up to the employee and asked him how much the tire was. He said it was $75 dollars and I told him I would pay for it anonymously. Just seeing the look on her face was all I needed to see that I did the right thing. I actually have gone to this store few several years. I know the manager and a couple of the employees. They're good people. There is a lot of dry powder everywhere and there are fresh shipments coming in every day. I don't think that spark can be avoided. Nothing is getting better. Thomas Jefferson once said that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I think this may be closer than we think. Many are stocking and prepping around me. Hang in there and keep praying.
"You will own nothing and be happy" is definitely at the root of this. I am a city chick, hubby and I like live music, craft beers, and shopping less than a 10 minute drive. Been in a suburban community for over 30 years that was big enough for lots of the amenities, but small enough you still run into people you know at the hardware store. Lots of parks and green space, still some agricultural areas around. But all that is rapidly being destroyed. Have seen the left infiltrate since the beginning of the Obama years. Overlay districts, sustainability policies, concepts like 'bike friendly/complete streets', mixed use, PMIX, walkability scores started creeping in, I tried waking people up, to little avail. Ran for city council in 2018, lost, to a long time entrenched RINO. May try again some day, but my mom is 85 and her health is failing, so sticking to advocator and door knocker for now, my sisters live on either coast so I am all she has.
But taxes - school, city, county/property tax and spending are out of control. The number of apartments (at one point we were 86% single family homeowners - new city goal is 65%, all in the name of housing diversity of choices) I could go on but people ARE finally starting to wake up to where all this is going. But getting people to dig in and help force the changes needed is hard. Legal pot, Netflix, willful ignorance and people having to take a second job to keep up all playing against us. I am self employed and income really has never recovered since 2020, although mom stuff plays a part of that, as does spending way too much time on political stuff. I know all the local elected folks and quite a few state ones, mixed bag but some are trying, we need more of those! Hubby is in sales and calls on mom and pop retailers, a dying industry, and he is just hoping his job holds out til he retires in a few years. We have no debt and always been frugal and savers. Kids are married, good jobs. My mother in law has farmland (leases out to a local family who farms it and helps her out on little stuff since my father in law died in 2019), a big garden and wooded acreage in the solid red north part of the state, in a house twice the size of ours. Sister in law lives in a house on the same land. If crap hits the fan we can always bug out there.
So really should count our blessings. But it still sucks, I am a 'planner' and really just don't make long term plans these days. Just scenarios and contingencies floating around in the back of my head. Hubby is the most chill person I know and he keeps me grounded, and reminds me to trust in the Lord. And rolls his eyes at me from time to time :-)