Man of the House

I'm about a third of the way through a book with the same title, written by a pastor. The sub-title is "A Handbook For Building A Shelter That Will Last In A World That Is Falling Apart." I bought it thinking it was advice on how to keep your family from getting destroyed by the culture.

But it's more on how to build a "family economy" that gives you a measure of financial independence, and is something to pass on when you're gone. The author brings up a lot of interesting points, some rather profound. If I were (a lot) younger, I might take some of this to heart and get started. After all, younger people can't take for granted that certain things like pensions and social security will be around for them.

I do think about people who are already onboard with family economies. People like my older son, and Phillip, too, who have developed skills and businesses that their immediate family members contribute to. Up until the Industrial Revolution, that's how everyone used to do it. Nowadays, the vast majority of people are dependent on an overpowering government/corporate system. It takes a village, don't you know?

I'll check that out. We're definitely already entrenched in the whole generational transfer thing, but it's always good to learn more efficient and effective ways.

I took over the elec business from my dad and he receives a set salary from it. I appreciate everything he did to get it off the ground and running, so I always want to honor him for his efforts financially as well as relationally. I definitely believe in the reciprocal principle of family helping out.

One day I'll be in my golden years and I hope I've set the proper example for them.

Not this Cat!

I was raised on a dairy farm in Southwestern Wisconsin. Those Holsteins didn't take off for Christmas, Easter, New Years, your birthday, their birthday, weddings, funerals, or the flu.

(Try milking cows, when you have the flu.)

On my 18th birthday, I raised my right hand and took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States.  When I got to Infantry Training, I said, "Man, this is easy.  Work Monday through Friday, spend half of Saturday cleaning weapons & the barracks, and get Sunday off."  

All the time, accruing 30 days of paid vacation per year.

I left "legacy" farming in my rear-view mirror.

Claymore wrote: (Try milking cows, when you have the flu.)

Wait a minute. What year was that? I remember the time I spent a few days in bed after drinking....

A few quotes from the book:

(Borrowing from Mark Twain's) "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme," the author then states the premise of his book...If our problems rhyme with problems faced by people in the past, maybe the solutions do, too.

The fear those (past) people lived with is impossible to appreciate. They needed exceptionally strong bonds. As husband means house-bound, we see how marriage establishes a household where the members protect each other.

Modern people resist the idea of a concentration of authority in the head of the house, although they accept it with perfect ease when we speak of the workplace. Of course there must be hierarchy at work, as that is where we get important things accomplished. The fact that people expect perfect equality in the home is evidence that they really don't think anything productive happens there.