Halcyon Days...

 Slept in...this morning.

Yesterday...was a Long...Old....Day.

Woke up... around 2 a.m., couldn't get back to sleep.

So many things...racing through my mind.

Whenever I spend any time...next to 151, and overlooking what's happened here....

and...continues to happen,

it... makes for long...restless...nights.

I've been thinking of all of the suffering that's going on...around the world.

There's so...so...much.

I try to stay away...from the news, as much as I can.

It's not that I don't care...it's overwhelming, sometimes...trying to keep my legs...under me, in this little corner of it.

I...Pray for All...who are Suffering, and Struggling.

Always...Always.

When I spoke with Son, Justin...last night, he was so down...about what he sees happening in our Country.

That's why he played Merle, last night.

<3

His words, made me think of the year...when Merle Haggard recorded that song.

Justin, wasn't born yet.

It was in 1982.

The song hit home...with John, and myself...back then, along with Many.

We watched interest rates skyrocket...to 21%.

Farm land...dropped in value 50, to 60 %.

Family Farms, that had been in many generations....were going bankrupt, and had to be sold.

Factories were closing...across the Country.

You couldn't buy...a job.

I had applications in...Everywhere.

I remember using my last 50 cents...to buy a newspaper, to look for a job.

Found one.

Waitressing.

<3

I was So Grateful...To Have It.

I was still helping Dad, Scrap...and haul car bodies...but it wasn't enough.

Had Horses, that market was down...down...too.

Rent to pay, on them...and myself.

Gas prices soared...

{I've never run out of gas...so many times..in my life, as I did in the 80's.

{I've never run out of gas...except..in the 80's.}

Those old Trucks, got between 8, and 10 miles per gallon.

A Five Dollar Bill, didn't get ya far.

I remember seeing Dad pull in at Mom's...one time...

with his cutting torch hose stretched from the back of the Truck...into the cab.

He had the Doghouse up, in the cab...running acetylene from his torch, strait into the carb, of that old Truck...to make it Home, after he'd run out of gas, and had no money...to buy any.

: )

Dad...was Quite a Character. 

Not much could stop him...when he set his mind to something.}

<3 

John...was struggling here, too.

He...just kept on working, took any job he could get...in the shop.

Bid them cheap...cheap...and worked 16 hour days, 6 days a week.

Most Everyone...was...in the same boat.

Much of the 80's...were difficult.

Seems with every decade...it's Feast, or Famine.

There's plenty of work...for us all...now, but...finding help, is another story.

So...Strange.

Twilight Zone.

oh my.

Just like...back then, all I can say...is, 'One Day..at a Time'.

The other morning...early, I started going back...through my blog, to the very beginning.

I'd never done that before.

Seeing Peg, and John....So Many Friends, and Adventures.

<3

Life revolved...around Antiques, The Love...of 'Old'.

<3

The Hunting, and Gathering...

Auctions, Long...Wonderful...Hard Working, 'Playing'...

Loading...Cleaning...and Fixing.

There were So Many...Great Times, even...when times were tuff.

Didn't realize it...then...but they were Halcyon Days.

The last 7 years...have been heartbreaking.

The last 5 years...have been a real struggle.

'Fairfax City Hall'...

then...IDOT District 6.

The last year...and a half, has nearly...taken me down.

Being lied to, over and over.

The breaching of our recorded agreement.

Wrongful flooding...of our Home,

and...

more...

lies.

{yes, yes...I can prove all of that. I don't call someone a liar, unless...I can prove it.}

Seeing John's Sanctuary...be so wrongfully butchered, day in, and day...out.

Trying...to figure out, How...to Put Humpty Dumpty back together again, when I'm so broken...myself.

I feel guilty...complaining, worrying....when I see So Many Others, with Far Worse Issues.

Heartbreak.

What's happening here, to us...isn't because of a Pandemic.

It...isn't because of an act of Nature.

It isn't because of a disease, or...a horrible accident.

Friend's have been trying to tell me,

 This...wrongfulness...is...

 deliberate.

I, didn't want to believe them.

After what I've seen, in the last few days...

I...believe they are right.

Guess I gave some human's a little more credit, than I should've.

My mistake.

I have to work outside...today.

Try to make some sense...of This.

Not looking forward to it.

It was a Basin...for sure, yesterday.

but...

like John, all I can do, is...keep working.

Stay busy.

Take my own advise, 

'One Day...at a Time'.

This Day...is after all...a Gift, many...didn't receive.

There's a Reason...for this Madness.

God has a Plan.

<3

Love to Ya...

Prayers, for All.

Barb C.