I'd rather have been in Scranton, PA today.

 

The Union Pacific Big Boy - #4014 is a unique survivor of the scrap heap.  Instead, it was put into static display when it was retired from service, and rehabilitated for use to show of the Union Pacific railroad's heritage.  This weekend, it traveled through Pennsylvania to reach the Steamtown museum for temporary display and boiler servicing.  Yesterday and Today (as I write this) were the only two days this machine would be available for close up public inspection before it is taken in for servicing.  Sadly, I couldn't make it there today, as I had a lot on my schedule for the day.

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Before I got to any of the items on my docket, an old acquaintance messaged me.  Six years ago, we had a nasty falling out (I won't say more on that), and now we are able to have a good chat again.  It's a nice thing, and I hope that we'll have more of these chats in the future.  One bit of good news - her family is going well, and she has someone nice in her life.  (Again, I won't say more about this.)  Sooner or later, we will finally meet again.  Although things won't be the same as before, it will be in a better place than it once could have been. 

The first thing on my docket was lunch with SJM.  We had changed the date, and our time was limited by appointments on both of our calendars.  She discussed family affairs, and I talked about my brother finding a job, the sale of the family homestead, and the current political situation.  When I mentioned that I want to take RQS to Hawaii with me presenting as Marian, she advised against it - she is especially sensitive to what is going on with our government officials.  Next, I talked with my financial advisor.  He gave me some bad news regarding tax liabilities from the sale of the family homestead, as well as other things I'm not in the mood to mention today. 

Just before dinnertime, I had to facilitate a co-op board meeting for the purpose of interviewing an applicant. I set things up, and all went well.  Yet, I noticed something unusual - without my face on screen, people were comfortable talking over me.  This was a problem in my last project with the bank, where I had to manage a group of people remotely with no visual contact.  Without today's Zoom technology, my voice alone is ineffective for a male voice.  It's not in a timbre which commands attention.  At least, it was a pleasant meeting for all  involved..

As one can see, there was no way I could have gone to Scranton today.  But, damn, I wish I could have been there to see the Big Boy! 

 

 

The three biggest lies ever told

 

The three biggest lies ever told are:

1. I'm from the IRS and I'm here to help you.
2. I won't cum in your mouth.
3. My name is Donald J. Trump, and I, alone, can fit it.

How much has he ever delivered for the American people?  Yes, he gave the alienated lower caste whites a feeling that their grievances would be addressed.  But this was done while he grifted billions from the American public, and pocket more billions from businesses willing to make a few payoffs to get things done for them.

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Recently, the Orange Monster has made so many conflicting statements regarding the war with Iran that only a person addicted to the monster's Kook-Aid can make any sense (if any objective sense can be made) of his statements.  First, he says we're at war.  And then he doesn't, so that he can avoid being accountable to Congress.   His administration said that we neutralized Iran's nuclear program, and now the same administration claims that we must eliminate it.  Of course, he claimed we defeated Iran, and yet, they control the strait of Hormuz.  In short, we get more real coverage of the war from Iranian propaganda than from anything said by our administration.

Yet, the monster continues his screeds against America's transgender population.  In addition to my European citizenship by descent, I am going for a third citizenship via my maternal line of descent.  My objective is to be able to leave the United States if I have any inkling of "trans vanishings" occurring due to the ICE Gestapo.  

Soon, the family homestead will be sold.  And I will be looking for a place to put my money.  Ideally, I want to get money outside the US in a way that is legal.  I am comfortable with the idea of holding funds in an overseas bank, filing appropriate paperwork with the IRS when required.  But if the crud hits the fan, I want much of my money out of Uncle Sam's greedy hands.

So, my thoughts keep going back to the Monster.  He's broken all of the promises (formal and informal) we have given around the world.  I just wonder what will happen between now and our November election.....

The ordeal of owning a rental house will soon be over.

My brother and I have owned our family homestead for years, but have only controlled it since my dad went into a nursing home.  My dad is dead now, and the house has become much more costly for us to own.  So we decided to sell it, rather than take the risk of having a bad tenant move in.

The house holds a lot of memories for us.  Both of us spent our formative years in that house.  And it'll be a sad day when we sign the house over to its new owners.  For a house built in 1941, it still has good bones, and the new owners will only be the third family to own the house.

My parents bought the house because it was walking distance to a bus that would take us to the subway station, and still be outside NYC limits.  Their children could get a good suburban in a suburban school, instead of a mediocre (or worse) education one would get in NYC schools.  (And they were right, given how NYC debased the quality of its education in order to allow certain groups to "earn" a diploma without having to meet all the former requirements for that diploma.)  

I grew up in good times, in a prosperous post-war America that was at the top of its game.  Anyone who wanted a job that paid well enough to support a family could have one.  Anyone with a decent education could make it to the top of business - if they knew how to "play the game" and were members of the right group.  America was far from perfect.  But it was a good time for people like me to be alive - unless we were among the persecuted minorities.

My dad had some college (from what I remember), but he never had use of it.  Instead, he became a salesman of machine tools.  When manufacturing died in NYC (this was before Amazon), he couldn't retool to sell another type of product.  There were too many different customers with whom he'd have to build new relationships.  So, he retired early.  When I took my first computer job, I earned more than he did.  I could have afforded a house like his with a few years of saving.  But I took a different path.  I bought only the living space I needed - a one bedroom apartment.  And, that would be the only space I would ever need, as children were not in my future.

When my brother and I inherited the house outright, we rented it out for a while.  And when our tenant left, we tried to fix it up and rent it out.  But it made more sense to sell.  Soon, the day will come, and we will leave that house forever with only our memories to show for it.
 

Taxes

April 15th comes awful quick these days.  If you're not careful, you might just miss it.  Yet, it's hard to believe that most people didn't have to pay income taxes a little over 100 years ago; our government raised most of its funds via tariffs and customs duties.  Now, tax day is a day that many people dread.  In my case, I have to over withhold through the year on money I earn so that I can make up for under withholding on my pension.  Although I can afford to pay estimated taxes throughout the year, I prefer to pay them up front and not have to worry about finding money to pay taxes at tax time.

If you think I have it bad, I know someone who has sold a house and is now renting.  Although this person has owned a share of the home for over 30 years, a divorce and property settlement may trigger the payment of more taxes than this person would want to pay.  (As if we ever want to pay taxes.)  Thankfully, this person can shelter a $250,000 gain from the sale, but what about this person's share of the gains that must be shared with an ex-spouse?  I know that my brother and I will be paying capital gains on any gains we have from selling our family homestead, as neither of us have lived in the house for years.

Others have it even worse.  My niece is an American citizen living in the United Kingdom.  She has to file taxes to two governments.  Luckily, the United States allows people to exclude a certain percentage of overseas income from double taxation. (I don't remember the figures or the mechanisms.)  But if she had as large income, she'd be going broke giving money to two governments.  (I want to find out what my brother had to do for her this year - he could provide me with an education on this topic.)  Luckily for UK subjects, they don't get taxed by the UK for income earned overseas.

At least, I only have to give New York under $200 this year.  I'd rather owe NYS  than owe the Federal government, as NYS takes forever to send out refunds....