As I recall the friends I had when growing up until my senior years I try to think of what they had in common? Most friends come from encounters at school, neighbors, work, church and so on. Friendships develop from conversations and encounters. Many do not develop into anything, and others grow in a friendship that becomes a gift of life.
The quality that I value the most is, a friend allows me to be myself and I allow them to be themselves. Once you are allowed to be yourselves the union will become stronger and memorable to be remembered throughout the remaining time in your life.
This was not a job but is what I did to earn some extra money. During the summer when I was in middle school, I caught and sold nightcrawlers for the local sporting goods store. The owner told me he would take all I could catch. He paid me a buck a hundred and then sold it for two bucks. I would drop off the nightcrawlers on Thursday and the anglers would buy them for the weekend. I would average about a thousand a week and that was ten bucks a week. The only expense I had was flashlight batteries. If I remember correctly, I would earn about two to three hundred dollars for the summer. That was a lot of money in the fifties.
My next job was parttime at the public library while going to high school. I was a library page, which is code for a do whatever was necessary. The most interesting job was running the elevator on Saturdays. The elevator was automatic, but the crowds were large, and they overwhelmed the automatic system. Another job was they had a basement and sub-basement where books were stored. They would receive an order and they had pages in the basement where they would retrieve the books and put them on a lift that carried them up to the upper floors.
After graduating I started working for a government contractor that was building the Titan I ICBM for the government. I was a teletype operator in the purchasing department. Unfortunately, the job was on the swing shift. So much for my night life.
Three and a half years later I received the letter stating, “your friends and neighbors have selected you to become a member of the United States military.” For the next two years I was in the army. I was fortunate enough to go to Germany instead of Viet Nam. I then had two years of active reserve and then two years of inactive reserve. Then my military obligation was over.
After my two years of active duty, I returned to the aerospace contractor because there was a law that they had to hire me back since returning from military service. A year later I was laid off. They just hired me back to fulfill their legal obligation to have a job for me after military service.
I then started working for a large electronics manufacturer in the consumer electronics industry. First, I was an assistant buyer, then a buyer and then became a department manager. This career lasted for over twenty years and was the highest paying position in my working period. After a purchase of the company a year later the company buyer decided to close thirteen distribution warehouses across the nation and here, I was forty-six years of age and without a job. During that time the unemployment rate was eight percent. Try to tell me there is not age discrimination happening.
Working in part time and temporary positions for four years I finally get a full-time job in a high-tech position where lasers were used to cut close tolerance components used in the solid-state electronics field. This was a field that was totally new to me. I started as a temp, and it worked into a full-time position. Tell me a positive attitude and hard work is not the way to go. This continued for thirteen years and then I decided it was time to retire and have been retired now over fifteen years. Now, “Every Day is Saturday!“
After retiring I decided to give writing a try and this is where I am now. I have posted over two hundred articles on WordPress and having fun doing it. Most of my articles are about experiences in my life. I am not doing this for money, I am just doing it because I enjoy reminiscing and sharing events in my life.
https://tomt2.com/ Stop by and make me feel good. I like to see a lot of viewing numbers, likes, and comments.
Today, the one day in the year that we remember the ones who have fallen for the freedoms and life we enjoy every day of the year. They are the ones that stepped up and fought for this country and made the final sacrifice. So, in your busy schedule of enjoying the freedoms and comfort, take a moment to remember the ones who gave you this gift of freedom and security.
Throughout life you start to accumulate stuff. You get material things. You learn, you have encounters with other beings. You collect all this stuff in this short span of your life. Society promotes that material possessions are the most important in life. Many have a worth more than I cannot comprehend. Do they have it all? That is up for debate.
Little over a year I had a near death experience. I was on the operating table, and I heard an aide say, “doctor his blood pressure is dropping”! I was feeling really bad. I could not inhale or exhale. I thought, this is it! My life is over! After that I felt something, I never felt before in my life. I felt peace, no fear, no anger, nothing, just peace. This peace is very hard to explain. But it is a peace I want to feel again. No, I did not see a light at the end of the tunnel, no angels, no music, just peace, Total peace.
After a period of time, I started to hear operating room noises, I am still alive! What a shock, I thought I died. For a period of time, they did things to me and then the doctor started talking to me. He said, “Tom we got most of the clot removed and things look promising.” I said that I heard my blood pressure dropping and I asked him how low did it go? There was a pause, and he said, “you don’t want to know, and I am not going to tell you.” To this day I don’t know how low the blood pressure was. Continuing the conversation he said, “Tom I think we made the right decision to keep you awake during the procedure instead of anesthesia. I am afraid that if you would have gone under anesthesia, we would have lost you. I feel I had a preview of time after death. Total peace!
My conclusion is that “having it all” is obtainable, but it will happen during the time after death.
I recently discovered a website Near Death Research Foundation. It is an interesting site. I am going to enter my experience on this site sometime.
Daily writing prompt
What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?
Everyone has stuff. Many have lots of stuff. Others have more stuff than they need. You get attached to a new car or new home. Small mementos from someone you are attached to may mean a lot, but they are just stuff. This world is full of stuff, and many are necessities for a comfortable life. Money just buys stuff but that does not guarantee happiness. I have no material possession that I want to put in my coffin when I pass on.
What I do value is my memories played out in my living days. I value the family and friends in my life and all the wonderful memories that they were a part of. Memories of grandma, my parents, my sons, my spouses, my stepchildren, and everyone who has entered into my life is what I cherish. Maybe they could put a thumb drive in my coffin with all of these cherished memories.
I have all kinds of collections. Do they have any monetary value? Not much. My collections are items I have collected over my life. I always think, “can I use this at some later point?” With that in mind I started collecting.
My first collection is my nut a bolt collection. Since I have been a homeowner since the early seventies I have done many projects around the home. You always don’t have the correct nail, bolt, screw, so you trot off to Home Depot and get what you need. You always end up with leftovers. So, I started collecting them. I also had projects that I recycled. I removed every nut, bolt, screw, washer, nail, that I could save. My collection has expanded to five- or six-gallon containers. Bolts in one container, nuts in another and so forth. This collection has saved me many times when I needed a couple of bolts and nuts to repair or finish a project.
The next collection is coins and paper money throughout my life. I have silver dollars, Indian head pennies, buffalo nickels, old quarters, silver certificates of paper money. I also have a stack about an inch high of two-dollar bills. Are they valuable? I don’t have a clue. I have just been collecting them through my life. I also have some World War II savings bonds my parents took out for me. Sure, they could be cashed in, but the paper bond and the age of them is worth more to me than the monetary cash in value.
Third collection is photos. I have photos my parents have accumulated over the years and the photos I have also collected over the years. Many black and white photos and color with my dad’s collection of slides. The last time I looked at the slides they are starting to discolor and fade. I don’t know how long they will last. Digital photography came into existence, and I don’t have a clue how many thousands of photos I have. I have the problem of finding a photo. I never bothered to catalog them. Therefore, I must use the hunt and search method.
Another collection is my rambling writings about my life and experiences. This collection is the most valuable to me. Whether it is valuable to anybody else is up for debate. WordPress contains a large portion of these ramblings. https://tomt2.com/ I have a collection of all the articles that were printed in the Rocky Mountain News insert of YourHub.com. During that time, they published over seventy-five of my posts. This was the motivation to start writing stories and tales down.
My newest project is Ramblings Magazinehttps://tomt2.com/magazine I have had comments that I should write a book. I thought about it, but a book may take years to do so I thought a magazine would be better since I am in my senior years and my warranty ran out many years. ago.
I never thought much about a legacy until after my near-death experience in February of 2023. MyBloodclot (Podcast). After the event I started to reconcile my life and thought, “why was I given a second chance?” I must have some unfinished business to do before my journey is over. I am just a mere mortal. I do not jump over tall buildings or stop speeding bullets. All I have is over eighty years of life on this earth. Searching for the purpose of a second chance I have decided to write about events and experiences in my life. Last August I remembered I had a site on WordPress and became active in the site. Since then, I have posted many events. Is this the purpose for the second chance? Who knows for sure.
The legacy I want to leave behind is, He was a good man. He tried to do the right thing. He was fair and didn’t take advantage of his fellow man. His faith of God and life after death was strong.
I hope my two sons remember me as a good father who did what he thought was right and necessary so they can live a good and productive life.
I hope my spouses do not regret that the years they spent with me was good years together and do not regret the years together.
I hope my stepchildren do not regret that I came into their lives and can call me stepdad with pride.
I hope all the other people I have come in contact with can say, “he was a good man!”
I was born and raised in cold weather. The day I was born the weather was in the middle twenties. Denver metro has cold weather from October to March every year. In January there is usually a couple of episodes of below zero weather. That is when it is really cold.
When in grade school I remember walking to school, which was about ten blocks away, in cold snowy, blowing snowstorms. They didn’t have school bus service for public grade schools in those days. The cold and snow were just something you had to deal with. The coldest and most miserable was when I was in the army stationed in Nurenburg Germany in the winter of 1965. That was cold! Plus, you had to be out in the cold making sure the equipment was still operating.
I didn’t pay much attention to the weather until I started to become older. The older I get the more I think about cold weather. It has been over fifteen years since I have retired and now I do not like cold weather. No wonder older citizens move to a warmer climate when they get older.
I have been a X user (Formerly twitter) since 2010. I have fun with X and have enjoyed this trip. Some have negative feelings after Elon Musk made the purchase. I can’t really see much difference. Recently they introduced The Grok. I do not really understand the platform or why I have access to it because I am not a premium+ member. I just have a blue check mark. Grok is an AI platform where you can ask questions and AI comes up with the response by accessing the information from X. I have just asked stupid questions and I am having fun with it.
I asked Grok, “what is the purpose of Grok?” AI replied, ” The Grok platform, developed by xAI, is an AI-powered chatbot designed to assist users in various domains, including Blockchain technology, Crypto, and more. It is specifically built to help with tasks such as no-code smart-contract programming, debugging, market analysis, and even creating NFTs. Grok distinguishes itself by offering a unique and fundamental advantage: real-time knowledge of the world via the X platform. This allows it to provide up-to-the-minute information and insights into trending topics and conversations.” Do you understand that? I don’t.
I then asked Grok, “who is Tomt 2.0?” This was the response. “Tom T2.0 is a persona behind various online platforms, including tomt2.com and a blogspot domain. He seems to be a senior individual with a rich history, reminiscing about his past and sharing his experiences through his writings. Tom T2.0 has a strong interest in reminiscing and has over seventy-five years of memories, experiences, and good times to draw from. He is also a proud American, expressing his love for his country and the American dream. His online presence includes posts about personal experiences, such as memories of Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day. He has also shared information about his life, including his military service and his regret for not appreciating the love of his mother more. Tom T2.0 has mentioned being involved with the wrong crowd in his youth but was fortunate to avoid long-term consequences. Additionally, Tom T2.0 has discussed his health, mentioning a near-death experience and his ongoing battle with allergies. He also shared an anecdote about his love for olives, which he attributes to a past life as a Roman soldier. In summary, Tom T2.0 is an individual who shares his life experiences and reflections on various online platforms, with a focus on reminiscing about his past and his love for his country.“
I have no concerns what Grok found on me. However, it is concerning how fast this information was retrieved. In less than thirty seconds AI composed this paragraph. Just think of all the information that could be retrieved on you after a longer amount of time.
In conclusion, I will continue to ask Grok dumb questions until they want me to become a premium+ member.
I have been a leader and a follower. In my growing years I was a follower. You learn to lead by following. Throughout my growing years I was never a head boy or the leader of a school club. It was easier to follow in army period than lead.
After army life I decided it is time for me to move forward in a private industry. I became a team lead and worked my way up to swing shift supervisor. Two or three years later I became a department manager for a large electronic manufacturer. I held that position for over twenty years. I think that could be classified as a leader.
During that time, I hired and fired for a department of over fifteen employees. We had office workers, warehouse personnel, delivery drivers, and outside salespeople. There was also a building. I had to get the contractors to maintain the building, lease delivery vans and have a solution for any unforeseen problem. The only requirement from corporate office was to show five percent net profit every year.
It was an experience and sometimes very stressful. Unfortunately, when I was only forty-six the corporation closed 13 warehouses across the nation, and I became unemployed. I survived the transition from a high paying executive to a person that had a difficult time finding a second career.
Now it has been over eighteen years since I retired, and all things worked out well.
Without a doubt my favorite fruit is bananas. A half of banana with my boring breakfast cereal. My doctor recommended that I eat a half of banana because of the high sugar content, and I am prediabetic. You peal them instead of wash them, how convenient.
Next is the grape. I prefer green grapes over red. But they do say red grapes a better for you because of the additional antioxidants. Oh well, life is not perfect.
The third pick is oranges. We have become attached to the small Cuties. Some call them clementines. Standard size oranges are just too large for me and the sometimes can be a job to peal.
One must not forget apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Finally, are olives. I enjoy green olives. Sometimes I eat 6-7 or a dozen at a time. These are the small olives, not the martini size large olives. The olive haters ask me, “how can you stand them, they are too bitter?” I reply, “In a previous life I was a Roman soldier and during a march to a new battle we would stop by the olive orchard and eat them right off the tree.” If you believe this tale, I have a bridge in Arizona you can buy.
Since I am in my seasoned years, I think it is too late to think about an improvement I could make.
However, I can think about what I could have done differently. Throughout my life there was a telephone. In my younger years the phone was a four-party system, and each party had a special ring, so the parties knew whether to answer or not. It is amazing how this technology has progressed.
Throughout my years I always waited for the phone to ring and very seldom started a call. It is one of the many questions that I don’t know why. I still do not like to make phone calls. Therefore, I should have made more phone calls instead of just waiting for the phone to ring.
Daily writing prompt
What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?
Today is Mother’s Day and a couple of days ago I realized that it has been over forty years since mom passed away. I was in her body for nine months. She nourished me, kept me warm and protected me while I was just growing inside her. I am sure I created her a lot of pain since she commented to me that I was a large baby.
From birth until my twenties, she fed me, protected me, taught me many things about living and life. As I look back at my life, I was a handful during my young years. One time while standing in the grocery store behind this lady. The lady turned around and said to me, “you little snot!”. My mother asked her what the problem was, and the lady replied. “Your son just pinched me on the butt!” I then received the lesson that you don’t pinch ladies’ butts.
The teenage years were very difficult for me which today I still do not know why. I was angry at the world and didn’t like myself. I took everything for granted and gave my mother many trying times in those years. I got involved with the wrong crowd of teenagers and was very fortunate I didn’t get arrested or paid long term for any deeds we did. My mother continued to love me and never left my side.
When I was drafted into the army, she faithfully wrote me a letter every week If it wasn’t for the letters from mom, I would have received very few letters from home during military times. I had very few friends at that time. I am the type of person that does not attempt to continue a friendship.
Coming home from the military my parents welcomed me back into their home and allowed me to live there until marriage came into my life. I did have to pay room and board while I lived there though. It was good for me because I needed to realize in this world nothing is free. Mom loved me just a much as she did when I was young.
Through marriage, a divorce, living alone mom was always beside me. Her love never faulted. I now regret that I took this love for granted and I wish I would have done more and showed more appreciation for this everlasting love. I am sure mom is looking down at me now and saying, “Tom, I still love you”.
Mom, I love you. I am sorry it took me so long to realize how much I love you.
Some years back a nurse friend of mine were talking and I mentioned that I had some pain and discomfort on the top of my big toes. She said I could have fungus underneath my toenails and that more than likely is the reason for my discomfort. She suggested using Vicks VapoRub to help alleviate the discomfort. I thought “what are you smoking?”
Anyway, I gave it a try. After showering I put lotion on my calloused heals and started applying VapoRub on the top of my big toes and around the cuticles. After a week or so I started to feel the difference and in a couple of months I had no discomfort at all.
At my next wellness exam with my PCP when she was checking my feet, I mentioned about the VapoRub procedure and she said, “oh that is an old wife’s tale that has been around a long time.” She didn’t recommend it or discourage it.
When writing this story, I thought about going to the internet and found this.
What gives me direction in my life? Everything that I have learned or experienced in my life.
From birth until now everything that I have learned or experienced in life gave me direction. I learned the necessities in life like going to the bathroom in the toilet instead of my diaper. My mother raised me as a Catholic and that gave me direction in my young years. Going to kindergarten and twelve more years of schooling added on to this direction of life.
Army service gave me a vast source of knowledge of how to deal with many different personalities and cultures. You meet hundreds of people from different parts of the country, and this was a great help in my later years dealing with people. This learning experience was very helpful in my journey of life and do not regret it one bit.
Employment in private industry, marriage, raising children, divorce and the heartaches and hurt involved in all of the above made me realize that the perfect life I have dreamed of may not come true. These events made me realize that my dreams may not be the purpose for my time on this planet.
After a period of time, I found a new direction with a new loving wife and her loving family. This told me there is light at the end of dark tunnels. Following this I retired and discovered that “Every day is Saturday.” and the stress of full-time employment is over. We also moved into the home of my dream. These events also gave me a direction in life.
A little over a year ago I was standing in front of deaths door and Dr. Death was holding the door open. I survived and as my wife says, “your room was not ready yet.” Again, another life experience has changed my direction in life. Life is not over and according to statistics the survival rate of my illness was three to five percent.
In conclusion, many events in my life and learning experiences has changed my life. I believe the purpose in life is to learn, and one should learn as much as then can in this short visit on planet of earth.
TomT2.0 