About Me
- Ric Murray
- Cloverdale, Oregon Coast, United States
- I have a lovely wife Arlene, five children, eight grandchildren and, at last count, 14 great-grandchildren. I retired in 2000 and drove a school bus part time for a few years. I guess you can see that kids are important to me. I sure miss those school kids.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Our God Will Help
I am a bit timid about discussions on religion because my faith is so personal and private. I guess that is one of my hangups. So often discussions on religion can become confrontational and I don't like confrontation so I guess that could be number one on my list. I think her list is so inspirational and that her entire blog is so well done that I definitely recommend reading it. It is not a pushy evangelistic blog—just a nice, but honest assessment of her relationship with God.
Go to http://melindatoad.com/2010/05/24/25-things-i-dont-want-you-to-know-about-me-or-the-ones-i-am-willing-to-share-that-is.aspx for a nice read. It could change your life and provide a means of having non-confrontational discussions.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Plan For Long Retirement
Have you read the Social Security online Retirement Planner? Just in case you don’t, I have tried to summarize their latest issue here. I think everyone dreams of a secure, comfortable retirement and now we’re living longer, healthier lives. But, if we don’t plan carefully, we may outlive our money. We can expect to spend more time in retirement than our parents did.
The Social Security Retirement Planner can help you now to prepare for that longer retirement. Quoting that site:
This planner provides detailed information about your Social Security retirement benefits under current law and points out things you may want to consider as you prepare for the future. If you are looking for information, you can:
- Find Your Retirement Age,
- Use our Retirement Estimator and our other benefit calculators to test different retirement ages or future earnings amounts,
- Learn about Social Security programs,
- Find out what happens if you work after you retire, and
- Learn how certain types of earnings and pensions can affect your earnings.
If you are already near retirement age, you can:
- Discover your retirement options,
- Get information about how members of your family may qualify for benefits,
- Find instructions on how to apply for benefits and what supporting documents you’ll need to furnish, and
- Apply for retirement benefits.
Reminder: You need to sign up for Medicare close to your 65th birthday, even if you will not be retired by that time. (If you are getting Social Security benefits when you turn 65, your Medicare Hospital Benefits start automatically.)
If you would like to research this more, refer to the SSA website: http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/.
Credit www.idoretirement.com.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Seniors Visiting Mexico
Second, the constant presence of the militia was a bit disconcerting. Hummer after hummer passed us by filled with, what looked like teen-agers, brandishing automatic weapons. The sound of sirens was almost constant around our luxurious resort. Our desk clerk told us that a year ago, it was a bit dangerous around the area, but this year not so bad.
Next, I was a bit shocked at the poverty and squalor we witnessed around Tijuana. It sort of made me feel guilty that we were spending unnecessarily and all these people were living in such obvious poverty. Many are living on the street or, by our standards, in unlivable conditions. Many of the homes are unfinished. The explanation I received was that they don’t pay taxes on unfinished properties, so they never finish.
However, in spite of these unfavorable things, we had a wonderful time; the local population was extremely friendly and helpful. We have decided that we would like to return to the area. After all, we celebrated my wife’s birthday at a local restaurant and our server made us "promise" to come back for her next birthday. Perhaps we will.
Auto Restoration Continued
My restoration project never got off the ground but it provided me with good economical transportation. I commuted from Camarillo to Oxnard, CA until I decided to retire from the electronics field. The little Metro made several trips between Camarillo and Burns, OR, where we had decided to return to our roots. The Metro was used for second car In Burns until the engine finally died. Again my restoration project faded into obscurity.
Several years later my career led me back to Maryland. Again, the old tow bar came out and the Metro was towed to Maryland where it sat in our driveway for several years The Metro was finally sold several years later to a 16-year old boy in Maryland who promised me he would let me see the restored car. Although I never saw it again, I hope he was more successful than I was. Perhaps it has joined the large contingent of restored Nash Metropolitans in the US.
Auto Restoration
My first restoration project was a 1940 Chevrolet, four-door sedan—probably not the most desirable project. The old Chevy seemed to be in pretty good shape-good solid body. It didn’t appear to have ever been wrecked. The interior was original and in fair shape. But, the engine needed some work. It had a bad connecting rod. I tore the engine down to see what it needed and went to the nearest Chevrolet parts department. Surprisingly, they still carried the needed parts. I put the engine together and started it up. It purred like a kitten.
My employer then transferred me to California. So I purchased a tow bar and headed for California. The experts say you cannot tow that model without disconnecting the drive line. In my wisdom, I decided to attempt it because the driveline was the old enclosed type and rather involved to disconnect. All went well from Maryland to Needles, California. There, my son said "Dad, it sounds like the Chevy is running." I stopped and found that the transmission had seized up and indeed the engine was "running". At least it was turning over as we rolled. I then got to crawl under and disconnect the driveline. If you have ever been to Needles in midsummer, you know how hot it can be. I lay under the car on several layers of blanket to keep from burning my back on the hot pavement. After I disconnected the driveline, we continued on to California. The Chevy sat in our garage and gathered dust for the four years we lived in California. It was finally sold to some other dreamer and I purchased another dream car. I'll tell you about that one at another time.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Driving Your Vehicle Into Mexico
If you are traveling further into Mexico than a few miles, you may be required to get more involved with permits and other legal requirements. The Internet is a great source of information for your trip. I recommend spending several hours researching for your trip. At all costs, plan ahead so you can enjoy your trip.