Post by ccgandrt on Jan 7, 2007 19:54:32 GMT -5
At the end of 2006, we went for a walk in the cold, windy fresh air. It was a dry day between rain storms and the temperatures were no higher than 55 degrees in the sun. Downtown smothers out the sunshine with shadows and blasts freezing air currents between the skyscrapers.
Just going along quietly, all wrapped up in several layers of outside clothing, I was very snug and warm until I saw a small, sidewalk billboard: "Going Out Of Business," my surprise made me turn cold.
It was the camera store were I was first introduced to photography. I bought my first automatic focusing camera, made in USA and used it on my first backpacking trip. We went hiking to the Ventana Wilderness in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, along California's central coast. The owner said they were closing because business was down 70% in the city and 85% nationwide. At this store, they had not gone with digital cameras or techniques.
Further, on the same downtown walk, we passed the Timberland Store where I had bought my first and only, made in USA hiking boots. So well made, they were still in excellent condition after some 15 backpacking adventures, including the slicing volcanic rock trails of Mount Lassen National Park. It was already closed, with brown paper covering the inside of their windows.
No peeking in to see an empty store.
I started again my backpacking days in the 1980's in the USA. Although I saw beauty in Mexico's nature and local State Park, (Image credit; www.surf-mexico.com/states/Michoacan/Uruapan/uruapan.htm).
I could not do any USA-style backpacking. A hike through jungle-like landscapes, swatting the flies, which I was told was their National bird; rubbing my boots with garlic to distance snakes and sweating in the 88 degree or higher temperatures wasn't my cup of tea. There were insects high up in the trees who got me; their urine burns human skin and the discomfort lasts about two weeks. By the way, you won't drink water or tea on your hot hike, it's guaranteed someone will bring a bottle of Tequila and that drinking of liquor on a hike really seemed so unhealthy to me.
The going out of business signs are shocking and often seen every week in downtown, so, I wondered; just how many USA manufacturing jobs have been shipped out of the country? How many people are homeless because of it? How many veterans are homeless? Do you think I could find clear-cut current answers to any of my questions? I found some statistics by county, others by city or state. But never the same figure for the same peoples in the USA.
I found this years' data on Canada's and Germany's homeless easily and that the whole country of France has a homeless population the size of Los Angeles any given night; about 86,000 people. For the complete article, you can find it here: www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0102-56.htm
If one city, Los Angeles has the quantity of a whole European country, what would be the state of California's Jobless/Homeless Status currently? I don't want the 1998 break down by race, religion and county! It makes you dizzy just to an answer to a simple question? Maybe they don't want you to find the answer?
How could the Federal Government of the USA have so little compassion for it's veterans? I know, I know; they're military people who signed on with the understanding they were going to protect the USA with their lives if need be. So, coming back home minus a job, a home or a limb should make someone dang glad to be alive, shouldn't it? Those people survived war, heck, they're trained to survive anything.
Then, how can the Federal Government of the USA be unable to help victims of a Hurricane; a natural disaster where people are hardly trained to survive this emergency? Penniless, homeless and perhaps jobless; what does it matter everything blew away in the wind.
I have made up my mind that it's my local agencies, my backpacking skills, jungle and/or forest survival knowledge of wilderness that's going to save me in California's big earthquake. The Federal Government of the United States of America was not and never will be there to help me through anything.
Just going along quietly, all wrapped up in several layers of outside clothing, I was very snug and warm until I saw a small, sidewalk billboard: "Going Out Of Business," my surprise made me turn cold.
It was the camera store were I was first introduced to photography. I bought my first automatic focusing camera, made in USA and used it on my first backpacking trip. We went hiking to the Ventana Wilderness in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, along California's central coast. The owner said they were closing because business was down 70% in the city and 85% nationwide. At this store, they had not gone with digital cameras or techniques.
Further, on the same downtown walk, we passed the Timberland Store where I had bought my first and only, made in USA hiking boots. So well made, they were still in excellent condition after some 15 backpacking adventures, including the slicing volcanic rock trails of Mount Lassen National Park. It was already closed, with brown paper covering the inside of their windows.
No peeking in to see an empty store.
I started again my backpacking days in the 1980's in the USA. Although I saw beauty in Mexico's nature and local State Park, (Image credit; www.surf-mexico.com/states/Michoacan/Uruapan/uruapan.htm).
I could not do any USA-style backpacking. A hike through jungle-like landscapes, swatting the flies, which I was told was their National bird; rubbing my boots with garlic to distance snakes and sweating in the 88 degree or higher temperatures wasn't my cup of tea. There were insects high up in the trees who got me; their urine burns human skin and the discomfort lasts about two weeks. By the way, you won't drink water or tea on your hot hike, it's guaranteed someone will bring a bottle of Tequila and that drinking of liquor on a hike really seemed so unhealthy to me.
The going out of business signs are shocking and often seen every week in downtown, so, I wondered; just how many USA manufacturing jobs have been shipped out of the country? How many people are homeless because of it? How many veterans are homeless? Do you think I could find clear-cut current answers to any of my questions? I found some statistics by county, others by city or state. But never the same figure for the same peoples in the USA.
I found this years' data on Canada's and Germany's homeless easily and that the whole country of France has a homeless population the size of Los Angeles any given night; about 86,000 people. For the complete article, you can find it here: www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0102-56.htm
If one city, Los Angeles has the quantity of a whole European country, what would be the state of California's Jobless/Homeless Status currently? I don't want the 1998 break down by race, religion and county! It makes you dizzy just to an answer to a simple question? Maybe they don't want you to find the answer?
How could the Federal Government of the USA have so little compassion for it's veterans? I know, I know; they're military people who signed on with the understanding they were going to protect the USA with their lives if need be. So, coming back home minus a job, a home or a limb should make someone dang glad to be alive, shouldn't it? Those people survived war, heck, they're trained to survive anything.
Then, how can the Federal Government of the USA be unable to help victims of a Hurricane; a natural disaster where people are hardly trained to survive this emergency? Penniless, homeless and perhaps jobless; what does it matter everything blew away in the wind.
I have made up my mind that it's my local agencies, my backpacking skills, jungle and/or forest survival knowledge of wilderness that's going to save me in California's big earthquake. The Federal Government of the United States of America was not and never will be there to help me through anything.