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My last night . . . .

IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
edited April 2004 in General Discussion
Come tomorrow morning, I'm leaving the ancestral lands (150 years +/-) for temporary housing (condo) en route to more temporary housing (apt) and hopefully at some point a different home in a different area. Can't begin to express the pain the thought of this, much less the reality, brings me.

No more evenings watching the sun set on this scene . . . leaves a big hollow place in my soul. I'll never forget the pure ecstasy my father experienced, nursing a beer or whiskey and watching that sun set. I don't recall it, but supposedly it had the same effect on my more distant ancestors. I've been pleased to do the same for many years.

Sunset.jpg

We had no choice but to sell out - the squatters have driven up the land prices and the liberals have boosted the property taxes to the point where the natives cannot afford to live here. For those who've noticed my polemics on liberals in general and MAholes in particular . . . this impact on my life is likely the reason why my feelings evolved from dislike / disdain to unadulterated hatred. My life has suffered every time these types have been able to influence it, however indirectly. Seriously . . . . I honestly cannot remember anything good ever happening to me from the actions of liberals & / or MAholes. Every time one of them has influenced my life - however indirectly - I've suffered financially, emotionally or physically in some way. The few remaining Florida natives know exactly how I feel, I'm sure.

Well, I didn't really mean to vent about the slimeballs. Just feeling a deep loss of my core sense of self. So hoist a glass and toast the sunset one last time no matter where you live. The beautiful natural places are being gutted to provide playgrounds and seasonal homes. I wish I could have held on for my kids' sakes, but it just couldn't be done.

"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)

Comments

  • gap1916gap1916 Member Posts: 4,977
    edited November -1
    The Photo looks good to me. We as Humans can make our suroudings meet our needs and we can do it very well. Think positive and your world will be a positive one. My 2 cents [8D]

    Greg
    Former Marine
    A N G L I C O
  • Night StalkerNight Stalker Member Posts: 11,967
    edited November -1
    Iconoclast: I am truly sorry and feel your pain. I wish I knew more about your situation, but that doesn't matter right now. I hope you are able to enjoy this evening at your home (it sure is beautiful), and pray your new home will be the beginning of another family property which you can pass on through the ages.

    NSDQ!

    American_IR_Flag.jpgr6team.gifNS_Crest.jpg

    "The Lord knows the way I take, and when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold" JOB 23:10
  • dcon12dcon12 Member Posts: 31,934 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Pic is truly a work of art. Sorry for your situation. Don[:(]

    "Right is Right, even is everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it"
  • oldgunneroldgunner Member Posts: 2,466 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm very sorry my friend..I suffer to a great extent with you.

    There are no bad guns, only bad people.
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don, thanks for the kind words on the photo. The original is much better. My only contribution was the scan; Dad spent years photographing the sunsets. This one was his favorite shot. I know a large part of my pain is the loss of the connection I've had to him and other ancestors through this land and this scene. I look around here - at the breakwater I built by hand, like an underwater New England stone wall, over the past forty-five years to trap the sand for a little beach, at the room in which I sit now which I built myself, etc. And it just tears me up. Things have been so frantic with my injury and the push to accomplish what must be done (I even still have a bit more to do in the AM) that the emotional impact didn't really hit until tonight, with the finality of it all. Likely it will hit all the harder in the weeks to come. Well, it's of no use to be maudlin; I had no other choice, so now I need to get on with the rest of my life.

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)
  • pickenuppickenup Member Posts: 22,844 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    With the emotional attachments that you have with the place you are leaving, I know looking for a new place will not be easy, and can not "be" the old one. But since it is going to happen, there are some REAL nice places out there, and I know you will find one of them.

    Thanks for the pic, I hoisted a glass to it/you.


    The gene pool needs chlorine.
  • OklahomaboundOklahomabound Member Posts: 829 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    "Do not live in a hurry.
    To know how to separate things is to know how to enjoy them.
    Many finish their fortune sooner than their life;
    They run through pleasures without enjoying them,
    and would like to go back when they find they have overleaped their mark."
    Gracia
    It seems to me that you've taken the time to enjoy what has been provided to you. You will find these same things in other places. God speed, traveling mercies;[:)]


    976371019-1.jpg "Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it." Lord Chesterfield
  • Hylander50Hylander50 Member Posts: 1,396 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Iconoclast, I do not know you. I can still relate to your situation, though. I only hope that wherever your road takes you, you will be able to find peace and happiness once again. Our lives are what we make of them. Make for yourself a good one.

    Hylander

    "I choose battles I believe to be just."
  • 925925 Member Posts: 441 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    that realy sucks
  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Teak;
    My deepest sympathy. I too went through the loss of a family member(land not person). My uncle convinced my late grandfather that he could care for the family farm better than any of his seven brothers and sisters. Within a year of my grandfathers death the place was sold to a developer. Now the woodlot that grandpa took me to to teach me about nature is some yuppies lawn. Never again will an old man roll over a log and show a young boy the baby field mice. Nor will he build a blind near that log and teach that young boy about life and death when the foxes come to dig out the mice. The pond in that woods is now full of algae because of the lawn fertilizers running into it. The current owner want to fill it in because it stinks and breeds bugs. It didn't when the fish could still survive there. But, that's the cost of a golf course perfect lawn. Besides fish die sometimes and when they do they smell bad, and are yucky to pick up.

    That's why I hit the road back in the late 80's. I couldn't watch a family member raped and killed. I could have bought a couple acres, it was offered. This town would have never given me a building permit for the house I would have built though. It wouldn't have helped the tax rolls enough. Besides I still would have had to witness the rest. Hey I guess the bright side is my uncle retired very young and very wealthy. His 4 daughters went to very good schools and married very well educated men. The town got tons of assesment added to the taxes. A bunch of guys that were way underpaid doing farm work got good high paying jobs for a couple summers. I guess that all means the economy was helped by it. To me a once beautiful living place was covered with plastic houses, lived in by plastic people.

    Sorry to HiJack your thread...

    My deepest sypathy for your loss.

    Woods

    Hamlin.gif

    rockin_lg_clr.gif

    "... there is much truth in the Italian saying, 'Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you.'" -- Benjamin Franklin
  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,698 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Iconoclast
    We had no choice but to sell out - the squatters have driven up the land prices and the liberals have boosted the property taxes to the point where the natives cannot afford to live here.

    I don't know why you're complaining; it sounds like you had some "prime real estate."

    Before I offer any "sympathy," I'll ask: How much land, where is it and what did you sell for? It sounds like this was your "home" too--so I'm assuming it is all capital gains free--atleast the first half-million?

    And I'd really like some clarification about you having "no choice but to sell"? There are normally laws to prevent property taxes from forcing people off their land--what state are you in?

    And by "squatters" are you just refering to people who happen to like your area and move there and buy land? I don't see how that hurts you--it only makes your property more valuable!

    "Property you own going up in value" = "a very good thing happening to you!"
  • snowtiggersnowtigger Member Posts: 273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Quality of life ain't all about money. Sorry for your loss..

    It ain't what you shoot, it's what you hit.
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    competentone:, yes, (1) the property was "prime real estate" (2) I did leave out the background which is no one's business but my own and (3) once the financial dust settles I will have some money although not nearly as much as you might presume (see #2). But if, when you look at an ancestral property in a bucolic setting surrounded by yuppy "summer cottages" more luxurious than most middle class homes, your thoughts turn to the profits to be made, then I am far more sorry for you than I am for my personal loss. You simply "don't get it" and possibly never will. There is much - indeed most everything to my way of thinking - in this world more important than the almighty buck. Real estate developers, the IRS and squatters "don't get it" either - all think the "highest and best" use of a beautiful piece of land is exploitation. Given the choice between living quietly in privacy and peace where one's family has been for 150 years (much longer including other nearby locations) versus having more money and living in a more densely populated area with no sentimental attachment and a view of - at most - few trees, I think it's clear which option appeals to each of us and we do not travel the same road. Read woods' post; he and I are on the same wave length. As to the property tax issue, without going into detail, other factors were involved, although this was the majority reason, and there is no such protection as you describe in NH law. As to the squatters, their very presence hurts me, indeed infuriates me - not just in the environmental impact, but the changes in culture and values. If you've never seen wilderness and rural areas despoiled to build condos, "summer cottages," golf courses, marinas, ski resorts, etc., etc., etc. to the point you are almost physically ill or if you don't understand how an increase in the monetary value of land can hurt someone who places far more value on life quality than the size of a bank account then I don't know if I could explain it to you even if I had the energy to try. Each person has their own priorities, and given your relatively young age perhaps you've not learned this lesson, but money cannot buy happiness unless that is one's priority . . . thirty plus years ago, I might have agreed with you to a point, but my views changed. Perhaps in time yours will as well, at least enough to understand my reaction to these events; I hope so . . . .

    Woods, I'll toast your loss with my own in a few hours when I watch my last sunrise here. I'm sorry, amigo.

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)
  • njretcopnjretcop Member Posts: 7,975
    edited November -1
    Teak, my good friend,

    I guess age helps to understand what you are feeling. I truly am at a loss for words to try to heal your pain.

    In life, like the tree in the park, we have to bend with the wind or we will break.

    I sincerely hope that whatever comes next for you, that it will somehow replace, in time, what you have given up.



    njretcop@copmail.com

    vic.jpgdd.art
    Charlie
  • beachmaster73beachmaster73 Member Posts: 3,011 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Teak....I now know how difficult it must have been to give up your property. My little view from my house in Rhode Island didn't hold a candle to yours. I too was heartbroken when I had to sell it. Know that you have made a real and personal difference to a lot of us on Gun Broker and our houses will always be open to you. I look forward to the day you can share a cup of the "Grouse" in my back yard....and while it won't have the memories of 150 years of your family's heritage....for me it will have the memory of sharing time with a man who has made a difference himself to me. And know that when I'm up north in Michigan during deer season walking around with that .40-82 enjoying enjoying the woods I'll be thinking of the finest member of the GB forum whose ammo is in my old rifle. All the best Teak and display that photo prominently in your new home... that view played a major role in your life. Mike
  • bigdaddyjuniorbigdaddyjunior Member Posts: 11,233
    edited November -1
    People that love the land for what it is, not what it can be , or how much can be made from the pillaging of it as a resource, are like the last of the mammoths. No-one else can understand why we can't be happy with a quarter acre in a nice cul-de-sac where all the guys mow there lawns in twenty minutes on a Saturday morning and talk about sports over a low carb,light beer.
    Within an hour I can drive to many thousands of acres of what ten years ago where old forests where now not a tree stands that wasn't placed by a landscape architec's design. The fields I worked in as a kid are now gated communities for folks who don't want people like me as their neighbors. They don't allow motorcycles or pickups and you can't fix your car at your own garage. The land where I followed game trails for miles to get from one place to another can be traversed by car over flat black tar. I keep moving further out and the civilized world keeps following and ruining.Like having a pack of hell hounds on my trail.

    040103cowboy_shooting_one_gun_md_clr_prv.gifBig Daddy my heros have always been cowboys,they still are it seems
  • outdoortexasoutdoortexas Member Posts: 4,780
    edited November -1
    With ya Teak!
    Sad circumstances (as stated above), maybe age does help one to understand better.

    For some of us, a twenty year stay in one spot makes it hard to leave, a lifetime in one area must really be painful. Especially with the changes that have brought this move.

    Another highjack here as referenced to my own experiences...my stretch of river that I love so much, is slowly but surely being attacked as well. In the last ten years only two houses have been built on the river in a thirty-mile stretch, high up on mountain peaks, for the view, both million-dollar plus abodes but at least you never see a body or hear a sound. In the last year, another "modern" log cabin type structure has been built down near the rivers edge. As I passed it a few days back, radio music was blaring...here people have moved to the wilds to enjoy nature...but might as well be living in the city. Hurts my heart, as I know yours aches now.

    Forever, man has moved on leaving behind memories, nothing you can do seems to change that so making the best of it, as you know, is all you can do. But, we realize that doesn't help much, like any other pain, only time will heal. And only to a point.
  • BOBBYWINSBOBBYWINS Member Posts: 7,810
    edited November -1
    Teak,
    I feel your pain.For 20 years of married life the wife and I scrimped and saved so we get back into the "country".Finally got it,surrounded by farmland as far as you can see.In the last 8 years since we've been here,there's been 6 new houses built within 1/4 mile and I saw surveyors in the feild right next to me yesterday.My little twenty acre corner of the world will soon be surrounded by $500,000+ homes and the taxes will surely drive me out.

    I sure hope my 400 yd."range" doesn't bother'em too much.[}:)][}:)]

    BW

    IT'S WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM AFRAID.
  • plains scoutplains scout Member Posts: 4,563
    edited November -1
    all that is said to be progress is not progress. I have passed up money to live where I do, on my grandpa's homestead. We have no yuppies here -- the winters send them to Florida etc. My heart goes out to you. Anyone that thinks that you should not complain because you made a good deal of money doesn't get it. They bury a rich man just as deep as they bury a poor man.

    Savor the memories.

    "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I
    advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives
    boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind. Games played with the
    ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no
    character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of
    your walks." Thomas Jefferson
  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    Best of luck where ever you end up.

    AlleninAlaska
    Delta Firearms & Supplies
    http://www.galleryofguns.com

    VIP Code: 900440

    aglore@gci.net
  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,698 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Iconoclast
    competentone:... You simply "don't get it" and possibly never will. There is much - indeed most everything to my way of thinking - in this world more important than the almighty buck. Real estate developers, the IRS and squatters "don't get it" either - all think the "highest and best" use of a beautiful piece of land is exploitation. Given the choice between living quietly in privacy and peace where one's family has been for 150 years (much longer including other nearby locations) versus having more money and living in a more densely populated area with no sentimental attachment and a view of - at most - few trees, I think it's clear which option appeals to each of us and we do not travel the same road.

    You seem to have drawn some incorrect conclusions from my comments. I spent most of my childhood growing up in Northern Michigan--I LOVE the wilderness! I do "get it"--I understand that money is the key to having a home in the wilderness where nothing surrounds me except hundreds (and perhaps "thousands") of acres. (It's interesting to note that: "Lack of money" seems to be your primary complaint in not being able to hold on to the land you love and yet you are arguing that "money is not important.")

    You seem to be railing against what is nothing more than the inevitable--face it: "wilderness" is a disappearing commodity on this planet. This condition is the natural consequense of the "success" of the human species. Your seeming distain for human population growth reminds me of what I hear coming from "leftist environmental wackos"--their position implies that "human beings" are not supposed to be considered as part of the "natural environment." Something is "natural" only if it is left "untouched" by humans--I don't see things that way. I see that it is part of the nature of human beings to change their environment; such changes are "natural." There used to be "wilderness" where New York City now exists, but that city is not something "less natural" than the wilderness; it is simply "different." Do I have preferences for wilderness over a city? Generally, "yes," but I recognize "the way things are" and understand that if I want wilderness I have to be ready to pay for it!

    quote:As to the property tax issue, without going into detail, other factors were involved, although this was the majority reason, and there is no such protection as you describe in NH law.

    That is rotten--"death taxes" are another rotten thing that effectively "throws" people off their land and out of their "homes."

    quote:As to the squatters, their very presence hurts me, indeed infuriates me - not just in the environmental impact, but the changes in culture and values. If you've never seen wilderness and rural areas despoiled to build condos, "summer cottages," golf courses, marinas, ski resorts, etc., etc., etc. to the point you are almost physically ill or if you don't understand how an increase in the monetary value of land can hurt someone who places far more value on life quality than the size of a bank account then I don't know if I could explain it to you even if I had the energy to try. Each person has their own priorities, and given your relatively young age perhaps you've not learned this lesson, but money cannot buy happiness unless that is one's priority . . . thirty plus years ago, I might have agreed with you to a point, but my views changed. Perhaps in time yours will as well, at least enough to understand my reaction to these events; I hope so . . . .

    Same as my comments above--and I might add, I find most "planned communities" to be something to almost make me "physically ill"--to use your words. I recognize though, that it exists because other people want it--regardless of the fact that I see what they desire as being "in bad taste."

    I hope you understand that I don't mean to be "unsympathetic" to what must be a very emotional event for you, but it just annoys me when people complain about inevitable, natural changes caused by a growing population. Locally--and across the country--we are seeing private property rights destroyed because people have opinions similiar to yours. Attitudes similiar to yours are the driving force behind laws being passed supposedly to "protect" wilderness--which are infact destroying the rights of private property owners to use their property as they choose.

    I also see your position as somewhat "hypocritical" (that is what I was pointing out in my first post) in that you are railing against development and yet are selling your land to developers. (I know you said there are other issues--I'll assume "family ownership" of the land and will guess some family members wanted to sell, but you didn't.) If people have undeveloped land and really want to keep it that way, most communities respond very positively to private land owners arranging for it to stay that way--of course the private land owner destroys his property value because his land can no longer be sold to be developed, so most don't choose this path.

    Having said all that: If it is "wilderness" you seek, there is still plenty of that which doesn't cost too much--you just have to be willing to relocate away from the major population centers. You can be like "your ancestors" and be a pioneer and establish your own homestead--"their spirit" can be reflected in your attitudes and behavior a lot better than it could ever be shown in "the land they once lived on."
  • 358 WINCHESTER358 WINCHESTER Member Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This happens all to often I have had lots of old friends that had to sell of water front land because retirement income and higher taxes drive them off the land. I move to the country so that I wouldn't have to sell the water front when I was old and it would hurt more.
    NOW EVERYTHING AROUND ME is up for sale to be subdivided.
    Teak I toast you and understand your pain wish we could both win the Fl. lottery and keep our life on the same pace we wanted.

    homer_the_bodygaurd.jpg
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  • ClairClair Member Posts: 679 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Over the past 10-15 years, I have watched all my favorite childhood hunting lands get covered with blacktop & concrete. I know how you feel.

    To each his own
  • IdahjoIdahjo Member Posts: 326 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Before I offer any "sympathy," I'll ask: How much land, where is it and what did you sell for? It sounds like this was your "home" too--so I'm assuming it is all capital gains free--atleast the first half-million?

    And I'd really like some clarification about you having "no choice but to sell"? There are normally laws to prevent property taxes from forcing people off their land--what state are you in?

    And by "squatters" are you just refering to people who happen to like your area and move there and buy land? I don't see how that hurts you--it only makes your property more valuable!Some people just don't get it, do they? .Yes, I read your comeback. "Your LIBERAL-reasoning is still on it's head" (the Almighty $$$...[:(!])


    Teak; I want to wish you the best in your `forced migration'. I understand exactly what you say, and agree with you. When I retired from the NW of Washington State, after living there for 26 years, you might also classify that too as `forced'. The LIBERALS infested the NW and brought in their $$ from over-inflated properties they sold where they left. This newer `wealthy class' created a new level of economy in the NW, causing costs of living and property sky-high by the NW-'erners who took advantage of the opportunity to capitalize in the new found wealth. The `backwash' of all this caused the aforementioned previous residents of Washington (especially the elderly and young families) to live even more frivolously to survive. I have seen elderly acquaintances TAXED out of homes they intended to spend the rest of their lives in.

    Not that anyone cares, but to make a point. I had had enough of the LIBERALS and decided to come back to North Idaho where I had finished High School in 1958. (then)Redneck loggers, my kind of people! But, after building a home and re-establishing myself here. guess what? Yep, the `buggers' are here too. And.. it is another rerun of inflation, exploiting the local government, and rising costs of living and taxes that are soon going to `crimp' the standard of living here badly also.

    Alas, it is happening in all the `outlying areas' that I am aware of. And, that doesn't even touch on the relocated mean-spirited LIBERALs influence that they brought with them [xx(] (who, couldn't wait to build another 'Rome' just like the one from which they fled because 'they' couldn't stand it there any longer!)

    Small consolation, but there are some very beautiful sunsets elsewhere also[:)]

    PS; I prefer to refer to "them" as the `ME' PEOPLE. LIBERAL mentality "sucks"[^]

    God speed~!


    libs.gifIf you are not part of the solution,
    you are most probably adding to the problem!
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    competentone, I gave up a lot - including jobs which would have paid 3X or more than I ever made in my best years, in order to live here - to my way of thinking, I *already* "paid for it" by accepting a lower standard of material wealth. I want to *LIVE* here, not have a "house beautiful" for the weekend while I go skiing or golf.

    I do not see NYC as any more "natural" than silicone implants. Even less so, in fact.

    I don't have a problem with private property rights . . . in fact, I think many of the restrictions imposed under the current scheme of Federal and state laws are so ludicrous they should serve as a script for Monty Python.

    If wanting to see the wilderness preserved rather than carpeted with golf courses and A-frames makes me a "tree-hugger," so be it. Some sell their land because they want the big bucks. That's their right; I may not like it, but I'm not filing suits to protect spotted owls. My gripe, to put it in terms you might understand, is that many of those such as myself who chose / choose to make the financial sacrifice to live where the water is drinkable are then forced out of those areas by the system so the urban dwellers can build those "planned communities." Whether or not this is the "natural course of events," resenting it does not seem hypocritical to me. Accepting situations one doesn't like because "that's the way things are" is not a philosophy I embrace. For reasons I will not discuss, I'm not going to get "rich" from this sale, not even "comfortable," although it will fatten my bank account, but even if I were, the prospect of millions and all the material goods / comfort would not begin to offset my emotional attachment to this piece of land nor tempt me to sell . . . in fact, the resistance to that sale has cost me a pretty decent sum over the past fifteen years.

    And yes, the "death taxes" imposed by the Feds and the state pretty well consumed all the resources of our family because of the high value placed on the land for its "highest and best use" (as in developed versus open field and woods). I would have had a HE!! of a lot more resources had I chosen to sell off the land back then rather than keep it to live on. I don't really regret that, as my kids did have the opportunity to grow up here even while the property taxes escalated and bled me dry. That latter would require a discourse on recent NH political / fiscal / legal events which few would wish to read and I don't care to write, anyway.

    I will relocate to a more compatible area in time. Homesteading at my age and in my condition is not a viable option. Plus there are other factors - as I noted before - which I did not / will not dicuss but contributed to forcing my hand. The influx of squatters and the "highest and best use" (damn, but I hate that phrase!!) issues were, however, the key factors.

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Joe, seems we've shared the same pair of shoes, just in different places. My sympathies to you, as well!

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)
  • alledanalledan Member Posts: 19,541
    edited November -1
    I had to leave my beloved Alabama home decades ago and I still pine for the loss to this day!![:(!][:(!]

    I can't say i know exactly how you feel but I have a pretty damn good idea about it!

    I hope you the best and hope that you can find some kind of happiness wherever you may go!

    You will slways have a home here at GB!

    Gun_smokes.gif


    Delta.gif
  • capecodcapecod Member Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Teak- There's little I can say that hasn't already been said by other members on this post. Next year, my wife and I plan to move out of eastern PA - it may be different in the western part of this state but when I first moved here my property was surrounded by farm land - now it's all gone and I'm surrounded by developments and malls - there's no open space left and they're still finding places to put up more developments - all in the so called name of progress.Plus, the crime rate here is terrible - I guess that too is in the name of progress.
    I too do not look forward to relocating because of my age and physical condition. But we just can't stand it here anymore.
    But at least in our case, we have time to make a decision - Natasha won't receive her master's degree until next year but we still haven't decided where we'll move to but we have the time to scout around.
    I really feel bad that you and your wife and son have been forced into this terrible situation. I can understand your bitterness - you wouldn't be human if you felt any other way.
    Yesterday, I took my dog and drove up to the cemetary (about 50 miles) from my home to put flowers on my parents graves. I then sat on the back door of my SUV just to enjoy the peace and quiet of the woods surrounding the cemetary. As I sat there, A Jeep with four young guys (17 to 19yrs old I guess) drove past me four times sizing me up sitting there alone out in the middle of nowhere. The fourth time they drove by - they saw me still sitting there but this time I had a rifle on my lap. I never saw them again.
    If there is ever anything I can ever do for you and your family - please let me know.
    With respect,
    John




    Vietnam - Some Gave All -All Gave Some
  • groundhog devastationgroundhog devastation Member Posts: 4,495
    edited November -1
    Teak, Sorry to hear of the finality of leaving your homeplace! However, you have my numbers and if I can help you out someway if you come south, let me know and I'll try to get the info you need!! Charlie (GHD)
  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,698 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Idahjo
    Some people just don't get it, do they? .Yes, I read your comeback. "Your LIBERAL-reasoning is still on it's head" (the Almighty $$$...
    ...The LIBERALS infested the NW and brought in their $$ from over-inflated properties they sold where they left. This newer `wealthy class' created a new level of economy in the NW, causing costs of living and property sky-high by the NW-'erners who took advantage of the opportunity to capitalize in the new found wealth.

    What must be understood is the philosophy (and psychology) that motivates "liberals." One of their core attitudes is hatred of success -- they have "varying degrees" of this hatred, but it is always a common theme in their arguments. Everything from "non-performance based" grading systems in our schools to "redistribution of wealth" through our tax system is motivated by ideas that the competent and successful must be punished for their competence and success.

    Wealth is simply "excess production." While there are some people in this country who are wealthy because they have used "graft and deceit" to "get money," most people have earned their wealth through hard work and careful investment. They have "produced" more than they have consumed and can use that "surplus production" to trade for other things. Often they buy property and homes with their wealth. This is their choice and their right. Your implied hatred for their choices is an un-American attitude when viewed from a "traditional American" viewpoint.

    Celebration of success and the right to make choices is the viewpoint that most "conservatives" are supposed to want to "conserve" and that "liberals" generally want to destroy. It seems as if you are accepting the liberal mantra -- and railing against those who have been successful financially. Even if "financial success" isn't one of your personal goals, and you choose not to pursue wealth, understand that there are "consequences" to your choice. There is no need to be "disdainful" toward others who have made their personal choices different than yours.
  • IdahjoIdahjo Member Posts: 326 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Dunno' what you said?!? Seems you are dancin' around like a flea on a hotplate[;)] quote:There is no need to be "disdainful" toward others who have made their personal choices different than yours. It's a free country and I prefer to be "disdainful"<your word> (mine would be considered 'dirty') toward people who leave an area because they cannot stand it; then, immediately proceed to rebuild the same stinkin' thing they ran away from in the new place; WHY?
    You use 'yours', like it was a personal thing. Mister, I ain't alone in that opinion (that should be obvious from this thread alone)[}:)]

    You call it what you want, I'll call it what I want... "pathetic" and, anyone who doesn't understand that "pathetic" also!

    WHEN IN ROME, ACT LIKE A ROMAN[^]

    libs.gifIf you are not part of the solution,
    you are most probably adding to the problem!
  • flat8flat8 Member Posts: 887 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Very sorry to hear about your problem. The real enemy, I think, is the escalating property taxes. The politicians won't allow your wealth - in the form of your family's land - to remain under your control. Backed by the power of the state - they will keep taking and taking and taking until they engage in full-blown theft. Anyway, I'm really sorry to hear about your loss.
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Again, my sincere thanks to those who've offered words of support and encouragement. I *am* trying to look on the bright side; leaving here is like losing my parents again, so it's particularly hard, especially as the decision was largely involuntary. I am trying to focus on my Dad's frequent comment in his later years - things were "not great, but better than the alternative." Hey, I still have my kids, my wife, all my body parts, some health and my own life; I can still hunt, fish, shoot, camp, etc. I'm not forced to live in MA, NY, NJ, MD, IL, KA or other areas where hunters / shooters are a despised minority. Life is "not great, but better than the alternative."


    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / DemoWipes" (me)
  • boogerbooger Member Posts: 1,452 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Getting squeezed out is what's awful. Sad to hear about this, Icon, great photo though.

    Like many who posted before I too have seen the good hunting spots paved over and developed. Very sad as "progress" steamrolls forward. I've moved a few times and always moved farther and farther "away from it all".

    Them ducks is wary.
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