the primitives put another one on their plantation

[franksolich]

the primitives put another one on their plantation.  Earlier today, I ran into an acquaintance I hadn’t seen for a couple of years.

I was taken aback, stunned, shocked, to say the least, although I tried to not let it show.

The guy’s in his mid-30s, and born deaf like me, although he does have two outer ears.

When I knew him years ago, he was heavy manual-laborer, strong as an ox, his upper arms bigger around than my thighs.  He grew up on a farm, and was used to hard work.  By the time I met him, about ten years ago, he was construction-worker.  Not a skilled heavy-equipment operator or anything, but rather the drudge with the shovel moving mountains of earth by hand.

He’s not very bright, probably because his old man used to hit him over the head with a 2x4 every day for being stupid.  To that, I credit his own short temper, his short fuse.

In aesthetics, he’s the dictionary-picture of the word “brute;” coarse and ugly.

But other than that, I always considered him one of the finest people I’ve known.

He’s my height, but at the time of our first meeting, considerably more built; I’m guessing 250-275 pounds, which made me look like a frail sissy when standing next to him.

But as I discerned this morning, he’s all changed now, to an Incredible Bulk.  The muscles are all gone, replaced by circa 400 pounds of flab, his body resembling an upside-down “V”.  His cheeks have grown out and up, covering the lower halves of his eyes.

I wanted to ask him what happened, but figuring it wouldn’t be polite, I didn’t, instead sticking with simply asking him how things were going, what was new with him.

Shortly after I’d last seen him two years ago, he’d gotten injured on the job, a bulldozer that didn’t see him and he couldn’t hear coming knocking him down doing some bodily damage.  He recovered from the experience, and as he’s used to working, went around looking for a job.

Of course, in this 0bamaconomy, the worst economy since medieval times, normal people have considerable problems of their own, finding jobs.  But since his reputation’s good for doing jobs other people don’t want to do, and doing them well, he naturally assumed he had just as good a chance as anybody else, in finding work.

He didn’t, and eventually ended up with the state vocational rehabilitation services, which goaded him into applying for a ticket on the social security disability gravy-train.  He didn’t much care for the idea, but being a cooperative person--as all we deaf are--went along, being carefully coached on all that was wrong with him.

He got it, and with the free medical care offered, obligingly took down the happy-pills and pain-pills prescribed him, which changed his life; nay, his whole personality……his whole body.

He admitted this wasn’t the way he’d hoped to live life, but at least it was “security.”

I was startled when he suggested that I jump aboard the gravy-train myself, pointing out that I already had more than sufficient evidence that I can’t work, and so it should be a breeze, instant approval.

This guy’s really changed; I didn’t like it at all.

No thanks, I said; I like being as free and light as a bird.  I may cost others considerable grey hair, worry, anxiety, nervousness, and much energy expended in watching my back for me, but thus far I haven’t cost anybody any money, and that’s the way I prefer it.  franksolich isn’t perfect, but I rather like being me.

[lastparker]

I rather like you being you, too.

[JohnnyReb]

Frank, I hate to disagree with you here but I've been around deaf people and heavy equipment....they can tell how close something is by the way the ground shakes. I think maybe your friend engineered is ride on the SS train.

[EagleKeeper]

The only thing I have to say, having worked as a carpenter labourer, is God has a special place in heaven for skilled backhoe operators.

[franksolich]

Frank, I hate to disagree with you here but I've been around deaf people and heavy equipment....they can tell how close something is by the way the ground shakes. I think maybe your friend engineered is ride on the SS train.

Sorry about taking so long to respond, but the past couple of days I've been in a real funk about this.

I've seen a lot of people bigger and better than me go down, and it's of great concern.

I worked in construction--many many years ago--but don't remember anything in particular about the heavy equipment.  Yes, we can feel the ground shake.....if we're paying attention.  If we're not paying attention--off day-dreaming or tired or otherwise distracted--we don't.

This guy worked in construction for more than 15 years, and was rather proud he'd never gotten hurt, even though he probably hand-shoveled a couple of Himalaya Mountains of dirt.  This particular morning he was pretty goggy, hung over.  And by bad coincidence, the driver of the bobcat (?) was pretty groggy and hung over too.  So neither of them were paying attention.  He was knocked over, and got three ribs cracked, no other bad damage.

I doubt he was an Omaha Steve, looking for a free ride.

After he recovered, about six weeks or two months later, the company had cut down on employees, and he wasn't hired back.  He applied with other construction companies, and thought his reputation for diligence and heavy manual labor would endear him to another employer, but you know--the 0bamaconomy, the ADA, and all that. 

Workingmen's compensation covered him until he was healthy again, and then unemployment compensation.

While most states award as much as 99 weeks' unemployment compensation,  North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Vermont have been exempted from that rule, covering only the usual-and-standard 26 weeks.  He went to vocational rehabilitation when he first started on unemployment (and hadn't gotten anywhere on his own efforts).

Vocational rehabilitation convinced him that there were a whole lot of things wrong with him (truly, we deaf have to be the people most susceptible to suggestion; if one saw franksolich in real life, one would see the classic textbook example of acquiescence, the eager abject submissive willingness to please others), and as his unemployment was going to run out sooner or later, convinced him he should jump aboard the social security disability gravy-train.

He had some misgivings about it, but as he wanted to please.....

With the free medical care, he was put on all sorts of anti-anger pills, happy pills, and pain pills.

And hence the gross distortion of a human person I saw the other day.  It was very discouraging.

I asked him what he did during the day, and he told me he hung around some sort of day-time "half-way house" for those on disability, where they provide amusement and entertainment for well-paid social workers.  That was all he did 8-5 Monday through Friday.  All other times, he just slept.

The prognosis is not good; he's terrifically obese, a heavy drinker, a taker of eight potent pharmaceuticals a day, and not very bright, none of which are conducive for longevity.  He'll probably be gone before he's 40.

This of course is the sort of fate to which the Democrats, liberals, and primitives wish to consign we "imperfect" human beings.

It's slower than the socialist gas chambers, but it's still the gas chambers.

I mean to repeat that; this is the fate to which Democrats, liberals, and primitives wish to force upon us.  I first understood that when I was a teenager; that if I wished to live free and unbounded and be my own person as God intended me to be, best to stay out of the malignant clutches and claws of such depraved monsters, not even allowing their shadow to touch a part of myself. 

[Cruise]

This hit too close to home as well, frank.

This isn't just about the deaf, though as you said we are susceptible to suggestion.  The lures of the gravy train and other entitlements are not doing anything to improve those who partake of them, mentally, intellectually, and physically.  It's no wonder certain fragments of our population are almost unrecognizable compared to what we were familiar with growing up. 

We generally think of freeloaders as carefree, high people leading worry-free lives full of partying and bling -- but in reality they are more like your friend, leading short lives of total misery and suffering, without the ability to see how or why.

Best of wishes to your friend, and may he gain one day the self-awareness of what has happened to him and why.

[Skul]

Cruise does make a point.
I worked along side a cleaning crew many years ago that was totally deaf.
I think their front office thought they may be endangered by being sucked into a jet engine, and they were gone in a month.
I'd give my left nut to have them back. They did a job faster and better than any hearing crew I ever saw.
Pisses me off to this day.
I suspect they ended up on the train, as so many that are told they just can't do it.
Well, that pisses me off, too.
I better stop now, or I'll say some things that I might later regret.

[franksolich]

This hit too close to home as well, frank.

From the time of my first birthday until he died three days after I turned 17, my father used to write me a letter, generally with Socratic insight and wisdom; I still have them all.

The one he wrote on my 13th birthday, he wrote much about adamantine stubborness, and how it's usually not a good trait, but in my instance, he was relieved that I was "evolving" that way, because sheer tenacity was necessary for my self-preservation.

The paternal ancestor was right.

[jtyangel]

I have to agree with your assessment frank. Under the auspices of 'care' I had an autistic cousin die in his early 30's due to a Sugar low while unsupervised in a group home. That's probably the saddest part of my divorce is I may have no choice at some point but to relegate care of my own autistic son to the system:(. The same happened to my uncle because he was diagnosed with non hodgkins lymphoma and he had to relegate care of his autistic son to the state... My cousin was gone within a few years after that.