Maybe Living In The Wagon

I've shot at Centerline before. It's fairly primitive, but decent. The one my dad and I were thinking of doing would have been all indoor ranges. I doubt we could do rifle inside, though. We'll see

 

Drg and Steve...
guys i dont know what to say...

but it makes you start to wonder if all the people doing illegal sh-t for the money...maybe didnt have a choice at one point eh?

sending positive thoughts for you guys

 

That makes two of us. I finished my BA degree in computer science in June 2008 and it hasn't done me a bit of good. I've switched my focus back to Injection Molding and have a good shop targeted, but all I've got from them is "We want you but we can't hire anyone right now."
Even the temp agencies don't have enough work to go around.
I've got a huge variety of skills, and nowhere to apply them.

Thanks for the good thoughts, Rick.

 

I'm in the same boat. It's the reason I had to move to TN. Jobs are even slimmer in the area I relocated to. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm living with my father now, I would probably be living in my van.

 

My dad and I owned a small, licensed junkyard back in the late 60's to 1973. The City wanted to add two lanes to the area, so they made us a good offer and told us we could keep our scrap license until they started building. Dad and I would go to garages, and pay a set rate for Generators, Starters, Alternators, etc, that were not rebuildable and aluminum trannies. The key was to be regular at pickups. I went to university with my share of the junkyard. Dad carried on in the garage, at home. He'd gross about $1,200 per week, paying about $300 for these old scrap parts. Then he joined my in University, got credits for his prewar medical degree courses and we graduated together in Engineering.

Cold calling in person worked the best. You need a place to burn off the varnish on the windings, for copper. An old 45 gallon drum with a tall stovepipe chimney (10 feet over the garage roof, and some old engine oil to get the fire started. That's Number One copper, and it's over $2.00 per pound. Brass, Bronze, Aluminum, non-magnetic stainless. Get a package of business card sheets from Avery, a standard receipt pad with a rubber stamp of your business proprietorship and a place to work, and a monstrous old vise or two. Even if you only make $500 net (after gas and trading costs, its better than a stick in the eye. Dad kept doing it until he graduated, but he controlled his time, and made a decent dollar at it.

The London commodities exchange more or less set the price of these metals, but I think USA today or Washington Post would have daily updates in the stockmarket/business sections.

Unemployment back then was higher than today.

 

I hear ya on that one!

When I was going to tech school in Wyoming, I used to repo cars for a small used car dealer. When I came back from college in the summer, I would drive a 12 pass. limousine. I stopped doing that, when we would wait for 3-5 hours between fairs. You did NOT get payed by the hour, just on a percentage of what the fair was. In HS, I used to work for a guy that restored cars from the 1900s till about the late 1960s. He taught me inteior work. Then there is my training with Volvo, BMW, and Jags.........skills, I have them. Just no one wants them.

 

The problem with my generation and the one after mine, most of them don't really know how to "think outside the box". I mean there are a handful of gen "x" (me) and gen "y" out there, that can think on their feet but over all its a slim margin.

While I was in college, I brought some of my record and 8 track players with me. When I would pull them apart, clean them, service them, these kids just looked at me.

Prime example:

The two guys that lived in the next room. I was walking past, their door was open, I saw out of the corner of my eye, one of these guys beating the hell out of this little brass nail with a pair of pliers. I walked in, intro'ed my self, and asked what is he doing. It was a Wal-Mart TV stand, most of us had them, for $10.99, if it would last two semesters, its a great thing to a college kid.

So I looked at Brian, said "I have something you can use. It was made for this". He looks at me all funny and laughed. I walked back to my room, grabbed my tool box, handed him a hammer. From that point on, I was known as "Uncle Jon", "Dad", or "grandpa".

What I am trying to get at. Most of the people I am fighting over jobs with, the only skills they have are in front of the computers and X-box game systems. Normy, if some kid about 20, read what you typed. More than likely he would go "what, I don't get it? You mean you can't point and click?"

 

Why the 10% unemployment figure is a huge understatement of reality:

 

Well, if things keep tightening up, they'll have to talk with their dads about developing survival skills.

 

i know how you feel, back in 2006 my wife and i were both unemployed for 6 mo. due to dealership regime change.

we both worked for All American Ford in Tallahassee. my dad was the GM and 10% owner, my step mom was in charge of used car processing, my wife was the warranty administrator and body shop secretary. i was a service advisor.
the main owner (also one of my dads friends) had his mid-life crisis and left with is secretary.
so since my dad couldnt afford to buy his share, they sold it to Eddie Accardi
(you south Florida folks will recognize that name) well his a-hole son decided he wanted to run the dealer so they moved my dad to ops manager.

well, about a week later my stepmom got into a verbal battle with the new used car manager. (he wanted to put cars that weren't legal on the lot... and she didn't want to put her name on them)....he then slapped her across the chest...in front of the acounting dept. she then filed a complaint with the corporate office. well Accardi's brat son caught the complaint before it went through and fire my step mom. then asked my dad to leave. 2 hours later my wife and i were let go.

6 months later....after trying to make a $500 per mo car payment and $950 per mo. rent on $1000 per month combined unemployment...our savings were wiped out. we had to move back to pittsburgh and .....(gulp) in with her sister! we did eventually get back on our feet. but we had to make some sacrifices...i had to sell my f150 and lose my dignity and self worth by moving in with my sister -in-law and her a-hole boyfriend!

point is ....things will come around...and hey...nursing jobs here in pittsburgh!

 

I'll be praying for you, that you and your wife can both get back on your feet and get back to life the way it's supposed to be in America. I'm sorry the tough times are hitting you so hard.

 

Hang in there and best wishes

 

A1A, that sounds so typical of the stupid car business. I was in it for over 30 years, starting out as a salesman and working my way up to general sales manager. Last October, the owner called me in and said he was closing the dealership in two weeks. I had been there for 14 years and the store had been in business for 74. The only "severance" I got for my time there was they let me buy my Taurus X for about $4K less than what they were in it for. They probably wouldn't have even drawn that at the auction. Absolutely zero loyalty in the business and somehow or other, ignorant people get to positions that A)Where they are way over their head and B)Are too stupid to realize it. By the time the owner does, it's usually too late and the business has lost a bundle.
I got out and got a job in the theater production business in NYC. It hasn't worked out near like I had anticipated because that company is hurting as well, just barely holding on for dear life. Don't know what I'm going to do, but I have to do something to start making decent money again soon, like real soon, like I should have done it 6 months ago soon! The only saving grace I've got and the only thing that has kept me sane is that I still have the Colony Park sitting in the garage all detailed out and lookin' fine.

 

Guys, I am really shocked by the stories you have told here. It is so strange to read these personal drama's happening every where and of course even more to "my wagon family". I know this might sound strange, but even being inactive for some time here now, I think I have gotten to know some of you and these things really have made an impression on me.

The horror stories on how some employers threath their people is absurd and is only increasing the idea that loyalty does not make any difference and this results only in a more individualistic society.

I sincerely hope you all get through to the other side without to much damage. I work in the steel industry, which you might know has suffered a lot globally, but we are seeing the first sign of recovery now. We do had to cut 8% of the total workforce here in IJmuiden (about 800 people) and probably more in the UK part.

If I can ever be to anyone's help, please don't hesitate to contact me.