jeffrey-wimberly TA462: You should always help your parents and ask for nothing in return. I do what I can. Physical disability and financial constraints sharply limit what I can do. If I do too much it greatly impacts my health then I can't help them at all. On the financial side I can afford to fill up my van ONCE a month and it's NOT a minivan. It's what Dodge used to call a Sportsman. It's big and has a more than healthy appetite for gas to feed it's V8 powerplant. To do everything I need to do for myself PLUS be running back and forth to and from their place on one tank is a fair stretch to say the least.
TA462: You should always help your parents and ask for nothing in return.
You should always help your parents and ask for nothing in return.
Speaking of helping the parents, MOH is off and running again as the FIL has another of his "emergencies". If he'd go to the bloody DR. it would help him a lot to find out what is going on."well I won't do anything without the Dr to tell me to do so". ARgh.
The Inlaws net worth is about 11 times our meager existance, and thier income is about triple ours. SO much so, that they DO help us out as they can afford it. It may be "passing the inheritance along" now, but without it, we wouldn't be able to help them if they didn't help us. My father is well off too.
If one has the finacial means and heath to help out parents, they should help where necessary.
WE do not have the financial means to help them, and they certainly don't need it. And I, for example, due to my bad back-that even with the injections i get- can't do any lifting of the MIL {who had a stroke and has mini strokes now} when they have a problem that requires that..so MOH can help WHEN NOT AT WORK.
But getting there *without gas in the tank* is hard seeing as how they live 1/2 away via vehicular transport.
In this economy here, we are very lucky to have the part time job MOH has, and I am on a fixed income with medical expenses..we get by ourselves, but that leaves no room for helping others.
SO the Inlaws,. particularly, must help us in order for us to help them.
I go once a month to the town my father lives in for business reasons and even if no need, I stop by his house to see him. He is fairly healthy and when he had his gall bladder out, we both helped himwith transport and visits to the hospital as he had complications. He voluntarily gave us $100 for gas to help him, as he knew we couldn't afford it. He helped us to help him.
If the situations were reversed, and we were the wealthy, we would ceratinly do all we could financially and health wise to assist to them without any thought.
on to other things...a do little day for us, after FILs emergency is handled. MOH wants to do little and I agree.
Here I sit, fat, dumb and unhappy.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Jeff: You need to have a serious talk with your dad.
David Parks I am the terror that flaps in the night!
Afternoon folks!
Chloe, I'll have the lunch buffet and a cup of dark roast coffee.
Up until last night, we had only a little less than a half inch of rain here this month....... Got a bit over a half inch of liquid last night so we now have 1" of the just under 3"s which is normal for April around here. Currently cool and cloudy but we are slated to get another inch and one half of "Heavy Dew" tonight and tomorrow.
Have to mosey outside and cut asparagus pretty soon as I am getting a bumper crop this year. Will be taking a large bag of it over to my son's house for dinner tonight. He his grilling steak and they are having one of his wife's friends over and her friends boyfriend for dinner. Won't be the usual family thing, but I will still be able to play with the granddaughters!!!
Looks like a good afternoon to disappear into the train room....
Jeffrey and Galaxy, I think both of you have done more than your share of help to the parents.... Neither one of you has to make any apologies or explanations to any of us for the work you have done! I remember the years that my Mother was very, very needy and required a lot of help from both my sister and I. She was in assisted living at the time, and our biggest fear was that we all would run out of money to keep her there. She ended up breaking her hip at a time when she had the $$ to pay for all of 2 months more. There was no way either of us could have had her in our homes! She was in late mid-stage dementia by that time and required much, much more than we could have provided for her and kept any sense of sanity. That said, we certainly loved her and cared for her as much as we could. Tough time!
Best be getting to some projects!
Later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good Morning!!! Coffee and the Sunday buffet please. Thanks
Not much happened yesterday, I actually pretty much slept off and on all day. I was very tired for some reason and today not much better. It shall pass. I guess my body just needs some rest for the hours I’m awake. Not like I kill myself with tiring work, but I don’t sleep much more than 5 or 6 hours a night. Up at between 5 and 6 pertty much every day regardless of when I get to sleep. If I go to bed any sooner than say 9 pm I’m up around 2:30 to 3 so it doesn’t matter. Nothing physically or mentally wrong with me, I attribute it to basically lack of being tired as I haven’t really been doing much lengthy or tiring things.
Speeeeaking of parents. I know full well what it is like to take care of a parent and try to maintain ones own life. Though I don’t think any negativity was meant, I do agree with you should do things for parents without expecting compensation. However that is not always possible. I’m absolutely sure that anyone here would do just that if they could. Sometimes cold hard fact and realities don’t make that possible. I was lucky in that, though she was by no means rich, my Mother had enough money to compensate me for gas and other minor out of pocket expenses. No I didn’t always walk out with it, most times it was snuck back in her purse. But I was also fortunate enough to have enough to be able to do that with a little juggling and a few less trips around on my part. Some aren’t as fortunate and my health also allowed me to be physically able to do what was needed to be done. Again some of us are not as fortunate. Taking care of a parent is tough as many of us know. They did it for us when we were young and I was glad to be able to do the same for her when she got old and had health issues. But some just don’t have that ability and there is virtually nothing they can do about it. No ill thoughts are made, and no explanations are needed. Bless you for doing what you can. There are far too many who don’t do a thing and can.
Ya’ll have a good day!!!!
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Morning guys
Just got back from helping the parents dispose of old carpeting. They want to put wood flooring in the dinning room and the upstairs living room. Personally I liked the carpet, I just didn't like the color (white).
Jeff, I know what you mean about the parents. But I can't complain since I live at home while going to college. As for the light in the nose of that F-unit; it looks pretty good. In my Bachmann FTs I had I drilled a hole in the back of lens and inserted an LED into it. Then I painted the area black. I liked it, but it may have wound up being too bright.
Ken, Is that the nose piece for a Charger daytona/Superbird?
Garry, I'm not really sure how I can cut the toolboxes out. I can't get my razor saw in there, and I don't think an Xacto blade would work. Did you cut the ones on yours off, and if so, How did you do it?
Johnboy, I don't think I'm related to Vinnie at all.
Another train project, I have and idea about getting a full ABBA set of F-units. I was thinking of buying the Genesis F7s, but they cost an arm and a leg. A friend has a bunch of left over stewart F-unit shells. I figured it'd be cheaper if I found an ABBA set of Athearn F-unit chassis (preferably 2-3 powered and 2-1 dummys) and detailed the stewart shells.
I'll probably check to see if I have anymore gloss clear left to hit that MILW centerbeam kit I have. Then I'd decal the BN, UP, and MILW ones in one sitting.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
It's Sunday, and although a little chilly and damp, so we found some time to do a little railfanning. Not very busy today, we only saw two mixed freights in about an hour and a half. I usually see something interesting and today was no different. The first train had 6 locomotives, but no big power. Instead the consist was made up of 6 different models:
GP38-2
RP-I4C
GP40-2
SD40-2
GP22ECO
GP-TEB
Very unusal and something I haven't seen before. Now don't think I recognized all these different models. In truth, I looked the road numbers up after downloading the photos when we got home.
After we got home, I received a phone call from a lady who lived across the street from us for many years. She has been in an assisted living home for over 10 years now. She just wanted to see how we were doing and what was going on in the neighborhood. She is well into her eighties now, but seems to be doing well. It was really nice to hear from her. Got me to thinking it would be nice to have a reunion with everybody who lived around here when we bought our house, then I realized most of them have passed away. So that turned out to be a bad idea as it made realize how old we are getting. Oh well, can't do anything about that except enjoy everyday.
Like Todd, my Mom wasn't wealthy, but she wasn't hurting for funds either. It was never necessary to ask her for help in expenses, but we would let her pick up the tab for lunch or dinner from time to time. She just wanted to do something for us as we tried to include her as much as possible. Even if it was just going to the Mall or for a Sunday drive. But everybody has different circumstances, and I can remember when we were first married, I use to borrow a couple of dollars from my Dad so we could get to work on the streetcar. It was so frustrating because we always paid him back on payday, but it was probably 2 years before we were in a position where we didn't need that couple of dollars from him at the end of the month. I really hated being paid once a month in those days.
Dinner tonight will be Delmonico steaks, baked potatos, green beans and a wine from Seneca Lake. Don't know what wine as I haven't asked the wife yet. I let her pick it out from time to time to stay on her good side. Hope you all had a nice weekend. Tom
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Evening All,
Back from the museum. Had a great time and the workers there were great. The highlight was when I was taking pictures of the GP-7 that was the motive power for our excursion and the engineer came ot of the cab and asked if I wanted to come up...Heck yes.... He took the time to tell me how the controls and the different braking systems work. I asked to take his picture and he took mine in the engineers seat...Cool.... I also met one of the conductors that actually worked on Pennsy freight trains. He also worked for PC for one year before he was let go.
I have around 40 pics in my photobucket account. I also shot 2 small videos but Youtube is not loading very well so I will download them later.
Everyone have a good night.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
tcwright973 GP38-2 RP-I4C GP40-2 SD40-2 GP22ECO GP-TEB
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Brown rice with cowboy beans and some coffee in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please.
***Curt, neat photos and what a cool experience.
Have done the helping parent thing in the past, above and beyond what many would. Just something you do if you can.
Rob
Howdy ...
Rob ..... Cowboy beans?.... Are they the kind that make you saddle sore without getting on a horse?
Vincent .... Just looked at my Burlington cabooses made from Bachmann cabooses to answer. I can see I used a Dremel cutting disc. It leaves a very ragged surface, but once the cabooses are on the tracks, nobody can see that. I suggest you leave the tool box alone if you do not have a Dremel with cutting disc.
My latest building is nearly completed. May be another day.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Weather guesser is saying we will get 50mph winds and 2-5” of snow tonight and just last Friday it was 84F….
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
LSWrr Weather guesser is saying we will get 50mph winds and 2-5” of snow tonight and just last Friday it was 84F….
Time for me to call it a night. It's been a busy day but I did get some time to work on a couple of locos. They're in the photo below. In the foreground is an old PEMCO 2-6-0 that still runs fairly well and quiet. It has a penchant for stalling on turnouts at slow speed. Motor and drive are in the tender and the drive wheels of the loco pick up power. I also cleaned up and ran the old Athearn SW1000 in the background. It too is on the quiet side, has a Blue Box drive and does fairly well at slow speed. Put the power to it and it takes off like a spooked deer!Tomorrow my father is taking my mother to Alexandria for a doctors appointment. I should have the day to myself!See y'all tomorrow.
Evening Folks!
Flo, beer please!
Vincent That is a Daytona Nose.
Foulview Heights Work Front! I am posting a letter I wrote tonight. It is a rough draft and I will correct the spelling mistakes before I take to work Monday. Let's just say I am gong to war, I am done taking there stuff! All so caught Larry screwing a customer today, dollar wise that is. Following is the rpught draft.
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
04-22-2012
I was told today by Larry Kirk that Dave Johnson told him to write me up for telling a customer on 04-20-2012 I would sale him Doral Tires for 50 % of there normal prices with no installation fee by Dave Johnson. It was not made clear to me if the customer claimed I told him in person or over the phone.
On a phone contact that concerns a promotion I explain the full package. In this case I would tell them “With the buy one get one free package, that consist our Preuim Installation package with Road Hazard, if some thing renders your tire un repairable in the first 12 month or 12000 miles the only cost to you is for installation of the new tire and purchases of another road hazard. It also includes lifetime flat repair, lifetime balancing and life time rotation. It all so has our 1 year alignment program. You can bring your car back as many times as nessaceary for 1 year and well will reline it for free. This package with out the current special would be $_______ with the current special it is $_______. I have an opening at ______ can you bring it in?
If the company has me recorded from a phone contact, I will be very close if not word for word to the above.
With an in store contact I explain the above then create printed estimate. I use a gernic estimate called Kens Est. You can find this estimate by using my home phone number.
When I reported to work on 4-20-2012 I knew nothing about the 50% sale until apxamitlee 4:00 PM. I had a male customer come in and told me he wanted to buy Doral tires for 50% off. This was news to me! I went out side to look at his van and to get the needed information. While him and I where out side he told me he was told on the phone they would be $55.00 each installed?
When we came in side while pulling up his tire sizes I asked Tony (MIT) about the special I had not heard of. Tony explained the special then I worked up the prices for the customer. He told me “that is not what I was told on the phone”. I asked him “who did you speak with”? He was unsure. So I said “your choices are my self, I am Ken, Tony, Larry or Dave” He said “I think it was Larry, then I called back about my pickup and think I spoke with Dave”.
Larry happened to be up front at the 3rd computer / phone station talking with his insurances agent about getting insurances on the truck he just bought. I pointed out Larry to the customer. I excused my self and asked Dave Johnson If I could take my lunch break before the 5:00 to 6:00 Pm rushed started. Tony the MIT was to get off at 6:00 Pm.
I take my break in front of the shop in my car. About 10 minutes later the customer came out of the shop and sat in is van. He talked on his cell phone for another 10 minutes then drove away.
Dave Johnson happened to call me later that night around 9:30 Pm and asked me how did the store do that day. I pulled up the need figures for him. He then asked “How many complaints did we have”? This did strike me a little odd, but we where shorted handed and busy so I assumed that is why he asked. I told him about the above customer and finished closing the store.
I have no idea if this is the same customer that came in on my day off and said I told him the prices they where given! But, it sounds like what I was told and reported to MR Johnson when he called!
If, by chances this is not the same customer, not all customer are created equally! Anyone that deals with the public knows this. Just because you explain the stipulations to them, does not mean they understand! Plus as much as I hated to say this, people will lie to save or get money.
I will not sign any Associate Warning Notice unless the company or customer can provide a recording of me giving the false information! Just because a customer knows my name does not mean I spoke to them! Every employee in the shop including the tech’s can say Ken!
CC HR Department
CC Neil Reno
I will polish it Monday before I go to work. Boy, I just reread it and there are some nasty grammar mistakes! Guess that happens when you are swilling and typing at the same time! It will be corrected in the morning! I am going to start the request to HR about a transfer to another store Monday!
Ken
I hate Rust
Evenin' folks!
Janie a nice hot cup of decaf would suit me well at the moment. I'll be in the back near the stove.....
Busy by fun day today. Sat with with my son and his family at church this morning. His wife got called to sub in Sunday School last night, so my son showed up by himself looking for the rest of the family. Did a bit of w*rk in the train room this afternoon and then headed over to my son's house for dinner. They were entertaining a freind of his wife's and her friend's boyfriend. I had a magnificent New York Strip Steak done over a charcoal fire, Bake Potato, garlic bread, fresh grilled Asparagus (from my garden), sauteed onions and mushrooms, and a nice slice of Cheesecake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. I shuddered when i took my blood sugar tonight.... Not terrible. Was 141........ My main job was to play games with Granddaughter #1 and keep both of us out of the way of the rest of them. I did my job quite well and played several boardgames with her.
I left about 7:30 and spent the rest of the evening hand laying track down cellar. I am going to have order one more pack of PC ties to finish all the area..... still waiting for the Railbars to arrive at Walthers from Details West. I am completely out and it will take at least 10 packs of them to do the new yard....
Going to be cold and wet for the next couple days. We could get a few inches of heavy wet snow and sleet over the next couple days also. Nothing that is supposed to cause any major problems, but could cause some power outages due to downed limbs. Currently 37°F and raining..........
Have a great night everyone!
Darn Ken! You are in one nasty place at work.
As I have said before, you have the higher moral ground so stick to it.
I'm sure everyone here wishes you the best possible outcome.
Dave
Edit: I was put in a tough place by my previous employer. If you find yourself at the end of the rope (i.e. the company is going to dump you) then you might want to consult with a labour lawyer. Yes, it will cost good money, but the lawyer will be able to help you state your position very clearly and effectively, and just having your correspondence on the lawyer's letterhead will get a whole lot of attention. Your employer will blow you off at their peril.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Hello again everybody
Where is Ulrich?
I may be busy keeping "MOH" (Galaxy's term) happy here tomorrow. It's Shelley's b'day tomorrow.
Lee .... I'm familiar with Auburn Hills having lived near there for several years.
Ken .... My 2 cents. I think it is important to do all you can to protect your job because these days jobs are very hard to come by. Therefore, you must be very positive at all times while communicating with the employer. Your priorities are the company, the customers, and your boss. Regardless of what you think about them, you must always say positive things about them if you are writing a letter that will be placed in your file. ... The opening paragraph should tell the purpose of the letter. It might say, you are writing to clear up a matter, and doing so will be in the compnay's best interest. ... Then you can describe events as you saw them, and explain why you acted as you did. You may say it was best for the company for you to say "_____" or to do _____ . You might say it is best for the company if in the future certain people do or say certain things.. Then you can conclude, the company means a lot to you, and you hope to contribute to its success in the months ahead .........
Curt ... The photos at the RR museum were interesting.
Jeff ... enjoy being your self tomorrow.
GOOD MORNING!!!
Today is Monday, April 23rd, 2012!!!
Make it a GREAT day!!!
Smile, it will make them think you are up to something!!!
Here I sit, fat, dumb and happy
Good Morning! from Tipton IN.
Good Morning All,
37F with 50Kts wind gusts, but everything is still green. It looks like we are on the western edge of the snow storm. I hope the S.L.O.W. has a rotary plow and generators, I see they are predicted to have 12” of wet snow with possible power outages. Dorothy and I have tickets to the Indians game Thursday, hopefully the weather improves.
I spent all day Sunday cleaning and organizing my work bench to assemble 8 Proto2000 boxcars. Never did assemble anything but I sure do look ready to go, LOL.
I needed a windmill for the farm house area I’m building on the club layout. Saturday I found an assembled, painted, and weathered Woodland Scenics windmill for $15. The Walther’s windmill kit was $14. I’ll install it Wednesday night and forward some pictures.
Curt, looks like you had a good trip.
Good Morning!!! Coffee and a bowl of Fruit Loops please. Thanks
Patchy frost before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 61. North northwest wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Whoa! Tom!- That’s what we had for dinner last night. Well, without the wine. And the beans weren't green. They were baked. (Which reminds me I need to open a window) and, the potato wasn't actually baked. We boil 'em and pretend. I like them better that way and we use red potatoes.But othern at.....we had the same thing for supper.
Shelly!!!
Usual stuff today starting with the bookwork for the Church. Dining room os emptying out and we actually ate AT THE TABLE last night. Just a few more things to get moved and BAM! That room be done.
Good morning, Chloe. Coffee, please.
I exercised the mallet yesterday. Then we went for a motorcycle ride. I guess it got up to 78 degrees in our neck of the woods. Same for today.
I better get ready for work.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Morning Guys,
Just working on some class work. It isn't due till Friday, but I've learned procrastination is bad in the past few semesters.
Yesterday it was super windy. At Lowes the shopping carts were being blown around, and there was a dust storm along a certain patch of the highway between here and the lowes. As a result I didn't want to put my MILW centerbeam outside to cover it with clear gloss because a completed car weighs around 2 ounces.
IDK what I'm gonna do today since I'm off. Most of my train projects are waiting on parts, and the parts are waiting on funds. If the wind dies down a little more I'll try glossing that centerbeam.
Garry, I don't own a dremel yet, but I'm free to use the one from my father's work. I guess I'll bug him to see about using it.
Lee, Looks like your getting winds like I was having yesterday. The temperature here was fluctuating earlier, but it's starting to go into summer mode.
Jeff, Looks like a karma thing there. Good to hear you finally got a day to yourself.
Ken, I'm with Garry on trying to keep the job. On the subject of cars, have you ever heard of a rocker arm splitting in two like I mentioned before? I would like to ask you some advice on bodywork because I have an area on my car that needs some help (it's usually hidden by a plastic skirt though).
Good morning. It's 55° and sunny. Partly cloudy later and 79° for the high.Not much going on today. My father is taking my mother to an appointment in Alexandria today and supposedly he'll be looking after her later also. Looks like I have the day to myself. No particular plans today. I may work on rebuilding a pair of 70's era Athearn three axle trucks for an ancient SD9. Gears are what it needs and the gears from a blue box SD40-2 look to be the ticket. Bottom plates are a perfect fit too.
Good Morning Modelers!
It's 52F and Sunny and heading up to 82F (Yuk!) as we get it with a brief heat wave; summer is getting here way to fast again.
Spent the weekend spackling, sanding, and painting and slowing putting the house back together. Still have more rooms to finish but sadly I'm glad Monday is here so I can go to work and get some rest.
Back to my day job...
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
Italian roast coffee in a SUNNY SOUTHERN mug, please.
***Ken, sure wouldn't sign anything suggesting you did something wrong. That is how folks are set up to ge gotten rid of. Good luck!
***Garry, thanks for the chuckles. Actually they were Ranch style pinto beans and easy on the system.
***Jeffrey, still impressed with how you kit-bash locos together and can even make them run smoothly, too.
Have a good day all.
Here briefly before taking Shelley to her birthday lunch and some shopping,...
Todd .. I'll pass on your b'day greetings to Shelley. Thanks.
Vincent .... Glad there is a dremel you can use. The best kind of tool is one you can borrow so you may save your money.
Rob .... Glad you saw the humor.
HAve a good day
Mornin' everyone!
Zoe, I'll have a bowl of hot oatmeal with raisins and a cup (or three) of hot dark roast coffee in a R&GV RR mug this morning. I'll be in the back by the stove which I see you have cranked up a bit!
"It's a lovely day today....." Right! Currently 36°F outside the door with rain, snow and sleet happening.... Lee, we will not get more than a couple inches of white stuff total from this storm here in Geneva. It won't stay around long either. We did get 1.6" of rain over night and expect another .5" today. Drought's over!
Ken, do take the advise offered and be "positive" in the letter. Make sure it reads that what you are clearing up is in the best interest of the company. Then ask for a transfer! I used to have only two rules for Chorus. Rule one, The director is always right. Rule two, In case the director is wrong, refer to rule one.
OK, I'm going to go bring in some firewood and get my wood stove running. Then i will disappear to the layout for a time.
Cederstrand ***Jeffrey, still impressed with how you kit-bash locos together and can even make them run smoothly, too.