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Re: [ Gen. Discussion ] fence
Posted By: Landru In Response To: Re: [ Gen. Discussion ] fence (Hot East)
Date: Tuesday, 6 June 2006, at 9:37 p.m.
I am an HVAC technician who specialized in controls. In the late 70s, our industry changed from Pneumatic to DDC (direct digital control) using computers. I jumped head first into DDC. We now use a computer to "call" up a building and troubleshoot problems, change some routines. The work mandates a certain income which is higher than some but not as high as others. I lived in CP and worked in Manhattan for about 8 years.
After marriage, one child and another on the way, we moved to Pennsylvania, just over the bridge from Trenton and commuted by Penn RR. I have the last weekly ticket in my collection box dated 1973. I spent the next 25 years in the midwest. The only drawbacks were two marriages, two divorces and the strange circumstances of both. The moves never hurt our economy and at any time, even now I could return to CP and back to work in NYC. I joined a union apprenticeship and that was after college. With a 4 year degree I had no clue what I wanted to do. The apprenticeship looked good so I went for it. My wage in NYC would right now be in 6 figures. My wages here are in 5 but the cost of living is not nearly so high. I have a 3bed, 2bath house on 3/4 acres worth about $250,000 and a $1575 tax bite.
The work in NYC bottomed out in the early 70s and although I was still employed and may have continued to be so, I saw the grass in the midwest as a bit greener. So we moved.
You have to be very careful; I don't want to make this sound like a piece of cake. It was for us, but I had to plan for it. I've lived by this saying all my life, "Fail to plan, you plan to fail." Even so, two divorces and 4 children make some things a bit more difficult. A long story I wouldn't try to relate here, but I was given custody of two girls aged 4 and 8 from the first marriage, then married a gal from out this way who had two boys. First wife decided drugs were more exciting than a Methodist Deacon; the second one became involved with New Age religion and it so changed her life that she left for a commune in California. My two stepsons stayed with me until one went in the Navy, the other in the Army.
A few years later, I married the third and wonderful woman. We've been together for 20 years now. So all in all, I've been married 38 years but it took some understanding women to get me there. All kids and prior relationships have done well, there are no regrets.
I'll leave this missive with the idea that only fear holds you back. When we left Pa., we had an airplane and I moved with it. The rest of the family came after the house was closed on. I'll never forget the sheer terror I felt as I filed a flight plan for 2000 miles in bad weather. The weather in fact was a lifesaver in that my attention was on the aircraft and not so much the radical move I was making. This first one was the most difficult. The kids were all gone, out on their own when our next move came, the next and then the next. We do not plan to stay here when I retire.
Peace...is a controlled mind.
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