I wanted to take a minute and wish here at Conservative Cave a happy Thanksgiving.
Before I get started though I need to point out two things. The first is that I'm going to poor-mouth some, but there is a point to it. The second is that I'm writing this as it comes to mind. I'm not going to proof read it because my wife is wondering why I'm on the computer. It won't be a pretty as if frank or Big Dog wrote it, but maybe it will get the point across.
As many of you know I own a small business. Also, as many of you know, it is not going well right now. I figured it up today and I'm doing about 34% of the business that I did during the 'terrible' Bush economy. Such a big drop in business has really hurt me financially. All my savings from the Bush years is gone. I took the last $100 out of my credit union savings account a few weeks back and closed the account. My regular bank savings account has enough in it to make one house payment in case of emergency.
In the past few weeks the central heating/air went out and needed to be replaced. I was told that it would be between $1400 to $3000 to replace. Five years ago I would have written a check and had it replaced. Can't afford that these days. I had to go buy some fans and window AC units which were expensive but were still cheaper than replacing the central unit. Now that it's cooled down I had to go buy some space heaters to warm the place. I just had to put 4 new tires on my work truck, and Friday have to take it in to get a brake job. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a boat full of holes. I bail and plug holes but more holes somehow appear.
Tomorrow for Thanksgiving we're probably having a couple of pieces of ham because I don't want to spend the money on a turkey. The rest of the family is going to my grandmother's for lunch, but I don't want to spend the money for gas.
It's kind of funny in a way. I'm using fans, window ACs, space heaters, and worried about money for gas. It's like I'm reliving my life from 1976 to 1980. The difference is that during that time period we used a wood heater instead of a space heater.
I'll admit that there are times when it's all overwhelming. That I feel almost like tossing in the towel. But I can't seem to do that. I just wasn't raised that way. I don't know if my business will still be around by April 15. If it is, April 15 itself may destroy me, but by my figuring I should have been out of business about 2 years ago. God has blessed me enough to keep holding on by my finger tips. Maybe He'll keep blessing me. Maybe He won't. Regardless, I won't give up on the American dream. I won't give the liberals that satisfaction. I will not go gentle into that good night. I'm going to claw for success and survival until the very end. This brings me to why I'm writing.
With all of the above going on, no matter how worried I may be, no matter how depressed I may be, I can always load up Conservative Cave and find a reason to smile. GOBUCKS, frank, BSS, JohnnyReb, and many others here using sharp wit to poke the DUmp hive is always sure to bring a smile, and it's comforting to know that there are others who share a similar view of what America should be.
So I thank God for bringing me this far in life. I thank my wife for standing by my side through thick and thin. And I thank you guys for bringing a smile when the road is rough. Please do keep it up.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
