crappieperchhunter

I agree with all your points Terry. All these examples are not the majority however...these are the exceptions which is why I made the crappy cards reference. And if your "screw the poor" comment is directed at me I'm sorry if you think that is my message or the way I feel.

X2. Taxes keep going up, honestly is there anyone out there who doesn't know that? My folks live very frugal so that was my upbringing. My dad used to always compare a co workers life to ours. Both families with 3 kids, both families had both parents working making the same amount of money. My folks had a house and a cottage paid for before my parents where 40. The other family still had a mortgage when my dad's co worker retired at 65. My dad retired at 57. His kids who where the same age as my brother sister and I where the kids in school who had everything. Never packed a lunch always bought lunch from the cafeteria at school. They went on $$$ vacations every winter....our family went to Florida twice. I could go on and on, but I think my point has been made. Fast forward to the present. I see the same thing in a large % of all my co-workers and the whole population in general. People have lived there enter lives above there means. The good old days are gone people. This is a global condition not something we can blame on our own government. If you can't see that then I think you are the one who needs a reality check. Politicians are just people like you and I. Most of us are not willing to take any real financial responsibility for our futures so what makes anyone think the government will think differently? I think the next 20-30 years are going to be tough, like back during the depression...before my time. If you are middle class like myself and you have not been frugal with your money and lived within your means, then I think you might be in a little bit of trouble. Some people through no fault of there own get dealt some crappy cards and end up with a bleak future and no real chance at a decent retirement. Most of us however have had more then a fair chance at the future/ retirement that they would be very happy with. They just chose not to take any responsibility in preparing for it properly. Can't always blame all your life's financial woes on other's....though many like to try.

X2. I don't think anyone likes extra fee's. However I have always felt fishing is about the best bang for my buck of all my recreational choices.

Still don't have a cell phone...and I got no problem with that. A couple of times a year a situation comes up and it would be nice to have one...but that's as close as I get to ever wanting one. I am pretty sure the world is heading that way regardless and someday I will be forced to have one. Until then I am happy to be keeping that distraction out of my life.

Right on the same street I work on. Went in there ONCE several years ago because I was told they sharpened ice auger blades. My blades where sharper when I took them in then when I got them back. When I took them back a guy came out from the warehouse..supposedly the guy who sharpened them. Although we did not appear to be more then a few years apart in age he kept calling me sonny????? Creepy looking dude missing a few teeth. While we where talking I had an overpowering urge to start playing a Banjo. Never set foot in the place again.

Fine looking mouse Randy bagged I've heard Galaway is the place to go for the trophies Not a hunter but I enjoyed your post. Thx for sharing.

Always good to hook up Bruce. Except for the slow day we had when Cliff joined in...the fall spot has been real good this year. Here's hoping it returns to the level it was at before you guys started joining me in there. I'd love for you both to experience that. I think Rob would be very happy settling up that way. He sure seems to like visiting his buddy up there. And he has already found some spots to fish. Thank you too for the goodies. I liked it all but the Dills where awesome.

Look after yourself so you can be there for Sue and your daughter Cliff. The rest is out of your hands so try not to stress anymore then you have to..... I know easier said then done. Feel free to get ahold of us if your down in the city with anything concerning Sue . We would be happy to help in any way we can.

Gotta agree with you Lew.I know a fair share of 100% "Canadians" who are the same as you described. On the other hand Debbe is a manager at the bank. Many here would be surprised how many of her tellers through the years where immigrant kids....just working at the bank while they put THEMSELVES through school to be doctors, lawyers..whatever. Incredible work ethic.

Good to see you back on line Bruce..and thx a bunch for the goodies. Just sampled the bumbleberry jam....deeeeelish

Depends on my mood and the service experience. I have corrected mistakes that saw me getting a better deal and I have also done the "start the car". Two best examples. Local hardware store the cashier rang us through for $4.85 for a $485 dollar item. We corrected her...and I hope that young lady never reproduces. Local Sail. Got an Ice Armour suit for less then half price because the kid in the store gave the cashier the price for a cheap knock off suit that was on the racks right beside the one I bought. That was a start the car moment.

Bunk take a closer look at Gerritt's schedule. You will see that whenever you work nights you have the next 7 days either on day shift or on days off, so you work your 2 nights and then your body is on days for an entire week. Then you work 3 nights and your body is on days for an entire week...etc etc. That is why it was hands down my favourite continental out of the 3 versions we worked. Every other weekend was a long weekend off..you never worked more then 3 days in a row and you had a full week to recover from the night shift. My company claimed they did a lot of research on continental shifts and this was the best one. We tried 3 different continentals and then we got to vote which one we went with. Out of 70 plus employees all but 3 voted for this version. That should give anybody a real good idea just how good this rotation is. If you gotta work shifts and or nights I think you would be hard pressed to work an easier rotation then this.

Amazing young lady you have there Wayne She will be running up the fire tower before the snow flies.

I have worked 3 continental shifts. The best one is the exact one Gerritt has already outlined. You never work more then 3 shifts in a row except if you put in some OT. And every other weekend is a long weekend off. We did a rotation for awhile that had you get 7 days off in a row every fourth week but the only full weekend you had off was the weekend that fell in the middle of your 7 days off. The other 3 weekends a month you either ended up working the weekend or having to work nights Friday which meant you got off work at 7AM Saturday morning. The week off once a month sounded great but it really sucked when I had 3 weekends a month messed up with young kids at home into sports. Gerritt mentioned a fan and blacking out the windows to help you sleep during the day. Another tip... have as cold a shower as you can tolerate JUST before you go to bed. It will lower your core temperature a little bit. Your body does this naturally while you are sleeping so in effect you are tricking your body into thinking it is time to hit the hay. Also when you are heading home in the morning to go to bed wear the darkest sunglasses you can find for the drive home. The less bright sunshine you have shining in your eyes just before bed the better you will sleep. Our company got rid of the continental in 2004. We work 8 hours Mon-Fri now but I would go back to continental in a heart beat. I loved that shift and all the time off.

Good karma is heading your way now Emil May the Whitie and Laker gods smile on you this winter

Good topic Cliff. I'm 46 months out from retirement at 55. That has been the light at the end of the tunnel for me forever. However a few years back I had 2 surgeries in the fall and was off work for a total of just over 3 months. I was bored to death. I have been rethinking the freedom 55 ever since then. Two years ago the company I work for restructured our holidays and we all got another 1/2 years worth of holidays for that year only...so I ended up with 8 weeks holidays that year. That was fantastic. Since then I have been thinking if I had 8 weeks off every year doing a job I actually like and working with people I enjoy working with...why in the hell would I ever retire? I mean I really don't need more then 8 weeks of free time a year. I am already financially in a position where if we are not busy I voluntarily take time off work unpaid... mostly to go fishing...so I plan on proposing to management that I would be willing to take 3 weeks off unpaid every year once I hit 55. In our current work environment it is a good fit and I am 100% confident that it will work out good for me and the company. So this would not be a career change but it would definitely be a different approach to remaining in the work force while gaining more free time to do other things as well. I know that this is not really in the vein of what you are experiencing Cliff...and I apologize if anyone feels that this is a hijack to Cliff's thread....but I thought it might offer food for thought for other people here who may be in a similar situation as mine.

The smile says it all. High 5's all around

Busy with prep now Brian..then company. I'll send you the recipe later...or tomorrow. If I forget shoot me a PM. Debbe got this recipe 2-3 years ago. She already made the best stuffing I have ever had but this is even better. It never goes in the bird either so you can have it as a side dish whenever you want Which we do as often as I can talk her into making it.

Looks awesome. You had me at chestnut stuffing. I'm drooling already for my wife's chestnut sausage stuffing tomorrow when the whole clan comes over!!!

Just remembered another. Carp fishing with Beans. He gets a hit and the fight starts. He makes a comment about it fighting funny and all of a sudden a good sized muskie jumps out of the water. So I witnessed a muskie being caught on a hair rig loaded with a few kernels of corn.

I have a few which I have shared on here before.I do enjoy these threads so I'll share some of them again. 1. Float fishing for perch. Float goes down I set the hook and reel in a keeper perch. When I go to unhook it I see a huge hook hanging out of the fishes mouth and I had actually hooked the eye of this hook...so technically I caught a hook not a fish...lol. 2.Ice fishing for walleye in 12-15 FOW. Get a good hit, set the hook, feel some weight and then nothing. Figured I got bit off by a muskie. Just then a 2-3LB walleye rockets straight up the hole and into my portable hut. All I had to do was kick it away from the hole. 3. Evening fishing for smallies at my folks cottage on the Bruce. Fishing about 200yds from their dock. A good feed of eater's on the metal stringer. Get ready to call it a night and the stringer is gone Get up the next morning early to try and make up for the night before. Get down to the dock and see something shiny under the corner of the dock. Bend over to have a look and low and behold...it's my stringer of smallies I lost the night before They had picked a very bad place to hide. 4. On a fly-in trip out of Chapleau. My brother and I are trolling rapalas. He gets a hit and starts fighting the fish. I cut the motor reel in and wait with the net. When the fish gets close to the boat I see that it is a 6-8 LB pike and I see his rapala...trailing a good 4 feet behind it After being hooked the fish must have rolled in his line, got tangled up and then spit the hook. The 5 of us spent the rest of that trip listening to my brother say anybody can catch a fish...but only a pro can lasso them

I fished with Bruce and Rob Sunday Kelvin. Your right Bruce is a stand up guy. BTW his computer is dead so he might not see this. So if yourself or anyone else wishes to get ahold of him don't rely on your computer to do so.

double post remove this one please

Headed up to the north end of Simcoe for perch today. Just before 8AM a little south of Uptergrove a calf moose wanders unto the southbound shoulder of the road I had stopped and a southbound minivan had stopped as well. I edged forward and when I was maybe 80 ft from the moose in got right on the Hwy and trotted straight up my lane right in front of me It went a little ways and then cut down someone's driveway. 30 years driving #12 from Oshawa to Orillia and that is my first moose sighting. It made my day Anyone else seeing them south of Orillia? Just curious if they are moving south into this area.

Just seeing this now Lew. A week in paradise at the cottage with no phone no TV and no internet. Not the stuff I wanna read when I'm on here catching up It however sounds like things where caught at the best possible time so I'm sure the road might be a little bumpy but Diane will sail through with flying colors Debbe had her cancer 18 years ago and is still here, healthy as a horse and still putting up with me. Our prayers are for the same results for you folks.