Occasionally I come across camps while fishing local rivers. Homeless folks tend to set up within walking distance of some kind of support like places that give out meals. I spotted a camp last fall across the river from me thinking it was a dumb place to set up. In a suburban park in full view of a paved trail. A few days later the newspaper ran an article about a woman dead from exposure being found inside

I’ve donated blood and plasma and each time I’ve been offered rewards but don’t bother claiming them. I do it to help others. My job pays me enough to live on.

Maybe try to ween them off cable by cutting down to ultra basic cable. Still have access to local news.

Yeah but developed a quick explanation for it: Industrial water treatment tech for HVAC. You know how having a swimming pool or hot tub requires some chemistry? I do that for water in boilers and cooling towers used to heat or cool big buildings

Food server/bartender jobs come to mind. Not only do you meet a lot of people but they often are repeat customers. People would rather hire someone they are familiar with than a stranger off the street and it helps if they see you have a good work ethic. If you are like me and don’t have a college degree don’t underestimate qualities you may have that will work for you. Just by showing up with a positive attitude and being trustworthy puts you ahead. Every job I’ve had in adulthood came by word of mouth and they have all been small businesses. The job I wouldn’t recommend is a factory job. They often will pay a couple of bucks more and seem ideal if you don’t want to deal with the public but you won’t meet many people besides your coworkers unless you work the dock. I hope this helps, good luck

Find yourself a job where you meet lots of people. This will make it easier to find a better job

Does your club meet regularly? Once a week, once a month? It’s important to keep it regular. Predictability makes it easier for people to make it a routine. Meet on the same day of the week. Don’t change it to accommodate anyone. People have their own lives, don’t be hurt if they don’t show. Also know that people often will say they are interested but not follow through, that’s normal.

Meetings need to have a framework. I recently joined a club that begins each meeting by having the secretary read the minutes from the last meeting. Then they address old business and new business. The main body of the meeting is usually a guest speaker. After that members have time to check out a book from the library, pay dues, order hats or shirts.

Every organization needs a leader. It’s never going to be 100% self maintaining. That doesn’t mean you have to do all the work but you’ll have to delegate responsibilities to volunteers. Don’t micromanage them. Be grateful and complimentary, nobody’s getting paid I assume. Be willing to accept things even though they didn’t turn out how you envisioned. They’ll be more willing to take projects on when you are supportive.

I hope this helps, good luck

It vibrates

Before cable news and before there was such an appetite for political news, real news sources were very diverse. Every newspaper had a sports section and an entertainment section. Also opinion was in the opinion or op-ed section. Nowadays I’m more leary of news sources that are strictly political news. Everyone has a Washington DC correspondent. Lots of news sites will buy all of their news outside of DC from a wire service or even sometimes their story is “reporting” what another agency is reporting. Maybe I’m just old and set in my ways but I prefer the traditional well rounded sources. Others just seem cheap and have an agenda

Haha your grandma is awesome!

Why not? Norm Macdonald had a career in show business and he had the blandest monotone voice ever. People tell me I sound just like him

I was at a lull in my life and needed a passion when my girlfriend’s brother gifted her scuba diving lessons for her birthday as he was instructor. Scuba always looked cool so I signed myself up and eventually saved up enough to buy my own equipment. It eventually dawns on me that the oceans are quite a ways from Ohio. Now the price of traveling is a factor so camping is a way to keep the costs down. This soon leads to me taking up backpacking. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than scuba. Diving is incredible but you spend a lot of dough to be underwater for an hour or less. While backpacking you are immersed 24/7 and it’s practically free once you have the gear. In fact I could argue I save money because I’d spend money at home just keeping occupied. Gas money to Pennsylvania is the biggest expense. Fast forward 25 years and carrying a pack is getting harder. By this time I’ve run into a lot of fly anglers along the trail and knew when it came time to hang up my pack I’d give fly fishing a try. Trout seem to live in the prettiest places and the sport attracts the nicest people.

So that’s how I became a fly fisherman. A long rambling point that I hope comes across to others seeking a passion is to just try something that looks fun. There’s no reason you can’t drop it if it’s not for you. Doing things exposes you to other things. The important thing is to not do anything

I have a few Fiskars products I really like. Hatchet, garden trowel, craft cutting board. They use a very durable, lightweight plastic

I have a pair of Oboz that have held up for quite a while

YKK zippers have a reputation for holding up though I’ve had one or two recently that didn’t last (you can see YKK on the handle)

I had an infected tooth and the pain was awful. The dentist told me to take four ibuprofen. When I mentioned the instructions said no more than two at a time he said it was okay for a short period of time.

The Mad Max movies, specifically the more recent ones

Loss of imagination, patience, optimism

Scrap 4x4’s or bricks will suffice

From personal experience I see this as a red flag. If you are close with your family your partner should want to have a relationship with them too. Having them closer should be seen as a good thing.