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Monday, December 21, 2015

Time Marches On...



To say this has been an interesting year would be an understatement.  2015 started off with a bang and ended…well…much different than anticipated.  

I won’t bore you with the details, but after nearly a year of business travel, trying to balance work and home life…my company decided to downsize and eliminate my position.  So here I sit just a few days from Christmas and find myself unemployed for the first time since I joined the US Air Force in 1979.  

Being cognizant of my familial responsibilities, one of the first things I did was file for unemployment insurance.  That’s what you do when you’re unemployed, right?  That’s what BHO and the liberal left encourages us ALL to do, right?  I’ve paid into this program since the age of 16 when I took my first “real” job working the grill at Dairy Queen back in Paragould, Arkansas in 1975.  All told, I’ve contributed to this program for 40-years; a program designed as a bridge to help those in need during difficult times.

After filling out all the required on-line paperwork, and receiving a loadable debit card in the mail, I received notice that my income was “excessive” and I qualified for $0.00 in unemployment insurance.  To say I was disappointed in “the system” is an understatement.  I guess if I’d stuck with Dairy Queen for 40-years flipping hamburgers at minimum wage I would have qualified for assistance. The sad reality is that I would have been better off to put that money into a bank account for 40-years, collecting interest, and then have something to help with the financial crunch now.  Alas…all is not lost.  Perhaps I can turn the debit card they sent me into a Christmas craft project of some sort; maybe an ornament for the tree to remember 2015!

Before I sound all gloom and doom, however, there is some good news to go along with my unexpected situation.  In an attempt to bring our expenses down in line with our expenditures, we made the decision to pay off a large chunk of debt. Thankfully the Lord has blessed us over the years (as always) and we've made a few sound financial decisions along the way. So…no need to send me your left-overs from Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  And unlike some less fortunate folks, I’ve still got my military pension (for now) and we’re going to be OK.  God has blessed us immensely and the future is bright for 2016! And guess what...He is STILL getting His cut right from the top!

Which brings me to the headliners for the New Year…politics, war, and the continued ignorance of our government leadership.  You can read between the lines if you like; but this blog is supposed to be fun…not drudgery.  So the best thing I can recommend in order to keep your sanity is…watch the comedians.  They produce their best fodder during this season of political stupidity.  I have high hopes for SNL this year!

Merry Christmas!  

Papa Chief

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