We all have have that one family member...

Ron said:
There is an age component too.
I see a lot of myself often in a lot of Ben's posts. At 25 I was brash and set to conquer the world. By 30 I though 25 year old me was a dumb sass and if he wasnt so damn smart and talented someone would have put him in his place. At 35 I still had it all figured out but I wasnt sure I wanted to execute it. But I knew I had all the answer. By 40 I think that it is all about relativity. (I love this expression a crusty old 1 eyed marine vet taught me)
'A millionaire is a pauper in the billionaires club. A foot of dick is tiny on a horse farm. The biggest badest sumbitch you know cant beat an average pissed off gorilla thats half his size.' Today I think success is found in contentment and acceptance of yourself. If you ever find it let me know how. Happiness is also found in Bourbon - want a drink. By the time I hit 50 I expect to either be dead or realize Ive beeen a dumbass all along.
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Well I've got one thing going for me, 25 year old me wasn't a dumbass :flipoff2:. I'd add another layer to your age analysis...if it weren't for goals and ambition, you can bet your sweet ass I'd be living the laissez faire way, right now. I always likened 40-50 year olds to caged lions. You can see they're drained, you can see they lost a step, you can see they're done fighting the fight. Call it wisdom or whatever you please, but there's a reason most people plateau in their late 40's/50's and there's a reason the saying 'nice guys finish last' exists. If you have had the pleasure of being around Fortune 500 executives that are beyond that 50 year old mark, name one that's not still a stone cold killer. And don't forget, 45 year old Ron gets to 'coast' because 25/30/35 put in the work to build the credibility and respect, 45 year old Ron wouldn't have yielded the same results at 25. Admittedly, goals change throughout the course of life, but I guarantee you, 25 year old Ron still exists and still comes out to party from time to time. I assume that's just me having all the answers again because I’m too young to know better, but you show me a guy that doesn't stand up for himself, I'll show you a guy that gets walked all over and taken advantage of. Exhibit: this thread.
 
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UTfball68 said:
And don't forget, 45 year old Ron gets to 'coast' because 25/30/35 put in the work to build the credibility and respect, 45 year old Ron wouldn't have yielded the same results at 25. Admittedly, goals change throughout the course of life, but I guarantee you, 25 year old Ron still exists and still comes out to party from time to time.
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Whole lot of truth right here. (But I aint 45 yet dick head dont age me before my time)

UTfball68 said:
If you have had the pleasure of being around Fortune 500 executives that are beyond that 50 year old mark, name one that's not still a stone cold killer.
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This is where I have changed though. I dont WANT to be a C level of a Fortune 500 anymore..... Id MUCH rather be the owner of my own small little empire. The castle aint as grand, the maidens not as fair, the beer not as cold...but its mine and I dont have to answer to any other soul in this world that doesnt sleep with me.


Its the antithesis of the chameleon the OP described who changes based on his current friends. Ive reached a comfort in my own skin that I value greatly. If I want to listen to 21 Savage with my son with the bass cranked stupid high, while drinking a natty light, wearing work boots, holy jeans, and a $15,000 watch I will. And I really dont care what anyone thinks about any of it. (except the watch...if I ever do spend $15k on a watch please slap some sense in my head)
 
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying pick every fight. I fully believe in picking your battles. Merely saying, if it’s worth getting worked up over and posting online...stand up for yourself. A life mantra I stick to is ‘if you can change it, there’s no use in worrying, if you can’t, there’s no point in worrying’. Loosely applicable on this topic.
 
XJsavage said:
Sounds strikingly similar to my brother in law.

Did I guess correctly?

Anyways, doesn't matter.
My sister married a clown 8 years ago against the wishes of every person in the family, best friends, ex's.... Everyone. Then, he was 18, HS dropout and as close to illiterate as one can be to still get a driver's license. Pissed away more good jobs in one year than any of us would have in a lifetime. Got kicked out of the volunteer FD, destroyed more vehicles than a used car lot has.....etc. The rest of the family floated them through their entire marriage, my sister pregnancy, hospital trips, first days of school and the whole 9. After all of this, my sister's still with him. She's happy, her daughters are happy, and we're happy for them. I still consider him to be a deadbeat, but on the plus side, he doesn't drink or do drugs and is extremely close to becoming a full time police officer and is actually a damn likeable person. Regardless, my sister and nieces are the most important.
Good people are generally looked out for. I've come to doubt this less and less.
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Okay, does anyone else find that a bit scary, given the rest of your description?
 
A friend of mine offered this bit of wisdom:

Your family NOW is your wife and kids. Everyone else is just relatives. Look out for your mom/dad if they are good folks, but brothers, sisters, cousins? Fock 'em if they're worthless. They are relatives, not family. Not anymore. They aren't your responsibility, your family is.

My brother is a sorry ass like some have described here. Never has worked a real job for any significant length of time in his life, and he's now 50. Lives in a 1978 double wide that is falling apart around him, and Fred G. Sanford would say his yard is a mess.
Dude can do anything...body work, mechanical work, HVAC, plumbing, carpentry, tree work...he just WON'T. Not consistently. He gets to work when something is about to be cut off.
Mom and 2 grandmothers bailed him out all his life. I told them and told them, nobody would listen.

I get along with him okay and all, but there's not a lot of hanging out done these days. Too busy with my family.
 
Pacfanweb said:
Okay, does anyone else find that a bit scary, given the rest of your description?
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It's like any other job. Police Dept is very shorthanded right now.
 
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