I once owned a house in Sturgis, Mich. This was extremely convenient since I happened to be living in Sturgis at the time.
It was a nice place - three bedrooms on a lot-and-a-half, on a nice shady street, with the town's only surviving elm tree in the back yard. And it had a heated garage that was massive - big enough for two cars, a motorcycle, and various pieces of lawn equipment, with enough room left over for a big four-wheel drive diesel pickup truck with dual rear wheels.
I bring up the truck because that's what I'm looking to buy in the near future. And I bring up the house in Sturgis because its price was approximately half of what it's going to cost me to buy the aforementioned truck.
Yes, yes, I know those were 1976 dollars for the house and I'll be spending 2012 dollars on the truck. Even so, it still looks like spending two 1976 houses' worth of money on one truck, and if that thought hits you at the wrong time it will make you spit root beer all over the place.
Trust me on this one.
The question then becomes, "Are you sure you need all that pickup truck, Michael? Isn't that showing off? Aren't you really just fantasizing about making all your cousins envious when you pull up to the next family reunion in a 2012 Heavy Duty Manlyhauler?"
Well, yes. Also yes, and yes.
I need a lot more truck than I currently own because I'm doing a lot of hauling in one of my other jobs, and my old truck is vastly underpowered for the job. I need something with some oomph, and when I got my old truck they weren't offering the Oomph Package. That was okay because I never really hauled anything heavier than garden supplies and the annual Christmas tree. Now I'm carrying actual freight and the truck isn't happy about it, not in the least. In fact, it is currently expressing this unhappiness by not running.
But I must admit the showoff in me likes the idea of tooling down the road in something massive with a big engine, clearance lights, and dual rear wheels. You armchair psychologists can make of that what you will. I will only add that in my life I have also liked the idea of tooling around in a British sports car, so your size compensation jokes don't work on me.
As for wanting to make my cousins envious - guilty as charged. We McKenzies are a highly competitive people, and never more than when we compete against each other. When I roll into the reunion in a new ride, my cousins will give me grief for buying the wrong brand and choosing the wrong engine and getting way too much vehicle, which is their way of saying they are absolutely scorched that I got a great new truck and they didn't.
But boy, is it going to be expensive. Two houses for a truck. That's a lot. And I wonder if I can handle it without feeling incredibly guilty for being such a spendthrift.
Then again, perhaps I should stop thinking about it in those terms. Houses and trucks? It's apples and oranges.
Besides, it's hard on whoever's sitting across from me at the root beer joint. Trust me on this one, too.
Apparently, it is not enough to tolerate, accept, or even endorse the gay agenda. Now, unless you tolerate and accept criminal behavior committed by gays, you are a hater.
Believe it — that is the very public argument being made in behalf of Florida high school cheerleader Kaitlyn Hunt, 18, who faces criminal charges for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Word on the street and in the media is that it will be a really bad summer for mosquitoes. Or should I say, it will be a really bad summer for humans, because it will be a great year for thirsty mosquitoes.
When Barack Obama announced his presidential campaign back in February 2007, he did it in front of the old Springfield, Ill., Statehouse in a speech full of references to Abraham Lincoln.
Ordinarily I don’t take requests, but a bunch of people have written to ask how I’m doing with my weight-loss surgery and I thought this might be the most efficient way to answer.
I am a grandmother who went to the Brownsburg graduation ceremony on June 7 and due to very poor planning on Brownsburg School’s part, I could not sit and watch my twin grandsons graduate in person. I was directed to an overflow room where I had to watch it on a TV screen and could not even take pictures.
What you are now hearing across the land is a collective whine. Blue-state Democrats are upset that Texas Gov. Rick Perry dares come and play in their sandboxes, and worse, threatens to “poach” jobs from their states.
The website Politico reports that Perry’s attempts to lure jobs to Texas are “infuriating to prominent Democrats around the country.”
I am the first to admit I am behind the times when it comes to technology. I remember way back in the olden days of the 1990s when I was actually ahead of the game. Now there are second-graders that are more tech savvy than me. I just decided to stop my forward technological progression a few years back.
College graduates facing a crushing debt – some more than $100,000 – is a very big and a very real problem.
But U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s recent proposal to deal with it won’t solve the problem. It is a cheap ploy to divert attention from the real problem.
An NPR broadcast examines the question of how communities can better prepare for tornadoes like the one that struck Moore, Okla. on Monday. The broadcast features commentary from Michael Fitzgerald, who reported a five-part disaster series for the CNHI News Service.
Commentary
Discussion
Sometimes you just need more truck
By Mike Redmond CNHI
I once owned a house in Sturgis, Mich. This was extremely convenient since I happened to be living in Sturgis at the time.
It was a nice place - three bedrooms on a lot-and-a-half, on a nice shady street, with the town's only surviving elm tree in the back yard. And it had a heated garage that was massive - big enough for two cars, a motorcycle, and various pieces of lawn equipment, with enough room left over for a big four-wheel drive diesel pickup truck with dual rear wheels.
I bring up the truck because that's what I'm looking to buy in the near future. And I bring up the house in Sturgis because its price was approximately half of what it's going to cost me to buy the aforementioned truck.
Yes, yes, I know those were 1976 dollars for the house and I'll be spending 2012 dollars on the truck. Even so, it still looks like spending two 1976 houses' worth of money on one truck, and if that thought hits you at the wrong time it will make you spit root beer all over the place.
Trust me on this one.
The question then becomes, "Are you sure you need all that pickup truck, Michael? Isn't that showing off? Aren't you really just fantasizing about making all your cousins envious when you pull up to the next family reunion in a 2012 Heavy Duty Manlyhauler?"
Well, yes. Also yes, and yes.
I need a lot more truck than I currently own because I'm doing a lot of hauling in one of my other jobs, and my old truck is vastly underpowered for the job. I need something with some oomph, and when I got my old truck they weren't offering the Oomph Package. That was okay because I never really hauled anything heavier than garden supplies and the annual Christmas tree. Now I'm carrying actual freight and the truck isn't happy about it, not in the least. In fact, it is currently expressing this unhappiness by not running.
But I must admit the showoff in me likes the idea of tooling down the road in something massive with a big engine, clearance lights, and dual rear wheels. You armchair psychologists can make of that what you will. I will only add that in my life I have also liked the idea of tooling around in a British sports car, so your size compensation jokes don't work on me.
As for wanting to make my cousins envious - guilty as charged. We McKenzies are a highly competitive people, and never more than when we compete against each other. When I roll into the reunion in a new ride, my cousins will give me grief for buying the wrong brand and choosing the wrong engine and getting way too much vehicle, which is their way of saying they are absolutely scorched that I got a great new truck and they didn't.
But boy, is it going to be expensive. Two houses for a truck. That's a lot. And I wonder if I can handle it without feeling incredibly guilty for being such a spendthrift.
Then again, perhaps I should stop thinking about it in those terms. Houses and trucks? It's apples and oranges.
Besides, it's hard on whoever's sitting across from me at the root beer joint. Trust me on this one, too.
© 2012 Mike Redmond. All Rights Reserved.
Will the current V.A. backlog on veterans’ compensation claims be the next scandal to hit the administration?
Currently, the backlog is at 865,000 plus compensation claims with a wait time of greater than 125 days.
June 18, 2013
Apparently, it is not enough to tolerate, accept, or even endorse the gay agenda. Now, unless you tolerate and accept criminal behavior committed by gays, you are a hater.
Believe it — that is the very public argument being made in behalf of Florida high school cheerleader Kaitlyn Hunt, 18, who faces criminal charges for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
June 18, 2013
Word on the street and in the media is that it will be a really bad summer for mosquitoes. Or should I say, it will be a really bad summer for humans, because it will be a great year for thirsty mosquitoes.
June 14, 2013
As a Christian, I feel compelled to respond to a recent letter to the editor.
June 14, 2013
When Barack Obama announced his presidential campaign back in February 2007, he did it in front of the old Springfield, Ill., Statehouse in a speech full of references to Abraham Lincoln.
June 14, 2013
Ordinarily I don’t take requests, but a bunch of people have written to ask how I’m doing with my weight-loss surgery and I thought this might be the most efficient way to answer.
June 11, 2013
I am a grandmother who went to the Brownsburg graduation ceremony on June 7 and due to very poor planning on Brownsburg School’s part, I could not sit and watch my twin grandsons graduate in person. I was directed to an overflow room where I had to watch it on a TV screen and could not even take pictures.
June 11, 2013
What you are now hearing across the land is a collective whine. Blue-state Democrats are upset that Texas Gov. Rick Perry dares come and play in their sandboxes, and worse, threatens to “poach” jobs from their states.
The website Politico reports that Perry’s attempts to lure jobs to Texas are “infuriating to prominent Democrats around the country.”
June 11, 2013
I am the first to admit I am behind the times when it comes to technology. I remember way back in the olden days of the 1990s when I was actually ahead of the game. Now there are second-graders that are more tech savvy than me. I just decided to stop my forward technological progression a few years back.
June 7, 2013
College graduates facing a crushing debt – some more than $100,000 – is a very big and a very real problem.
But U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s recent proposal to deal with it won’t solve the problem. It is a cheap ploy to divert attention from the real problem.
June 7, 2013
Follow me on Twitter
Is Eric Snowden a traitor or patriot?
Tires
Telecommunications
Beauty Salons
Government
An NPR broadcast examines the question of how communities can better prepare for tornadoes like the one that struck Moore, Okla. on Monday. The broadcast features commentary from Michael Fitzgerald, who reported a five-part disaster series for the CNHI News Service.
May 22, 2013 1 Photo
Complete Report:
Part I: Are We Prepared? | Part II: Disaster Dollars
Part III: Lessons Learned | Part IV: Warning Signs
Part V: The Big One
A man killed in a fiery car crash in Hollywood on Tuesday was award-winning journalist Michael Hastings, his employer said.
June 19, 2013 1 Photo
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