On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 17:34:24 GMT, Gunner
wrote:


Actually last year my gross was about $26k. With the 65k mileage.
Since the big layoffs in 2001, I am now an independent machine tool
repair technician. This means I work on machines in machine shops. If
there are no machine shops (or few of them) then I have no work. No
work =no money. no money= no mortgage payment=out on the street.

So perhaps its best that I stay where there are machine shops, no? Hard
to find enough machine shops in Podunk Falls to make a living fixing
their machines/phone systems/plant maint.

If you can repair machine tools, then there are lots of trades you
could handle. The one I mentioned pays more and is plain and simple a
better job and life than you've described. With as many friends as you
have (what the yuppies call a network) you ought to be able to find a
suitable situation in a heartbeat.

Im also 50 yrs old, with an ailing wife, no savings (well, I have $100
in my pocket for emergencies) and a home that will be paid off in about
12 months, however it happens to be in a town that is dying, and
selling it would result in a net loss.

Cut your losses or keep treading water, an easy decision IMO.

As to your neighbor carrying a firearm...would he also be one of those
paranoid militant types who has a fire extinguisher close by?

Ill bet you are one of those anti-fire extinguisher types. Do you know
how many people are killed every year by them? LOTS! In fact, we had an
example on this news group where a deadly red fire extinguisher turned
on its owner and committed mayhem and carnage that would may you puke.

Ban Assault Fire Extinguisher! Limited them to less than 10 lbs! If
they have special nozzles, or hangers, they can only be used for
nefarious purposes and should be registered or banned.

Its for the Children!

My neighbor's situation is ****. His beer budget alone could be traded
for 3 or 4 rungs on the ladder of life. If he has any fire
extinguishers you can bet that they're rusty, risky, and up to no
good. He seeds the roadsides with his empty cans, so it wouldn't
surprise me if he's tossed a fire extinguisher out the window by
mistake. Please warn your children - beware of red canisters and
flaming paper bags.

Me, I have guns, fire extinguishers, and a whole bunch of
limb-threatening power tools. Just the same, I don't (and I know
you're gonna' find this part weird) feel the need to carry a skilsaw
around in anticipation of coming across a 2X4 that's too long. My
guess is that people who do feel the urge to carry a skilsaw would
find that most 2X4's are either already too long or might even be
growing. If you doubt that theory, then conduct a study of road-sign
ventilation techniques and get back to us with the results.

Wayne