Comments by "Jack Haveman" (@JackHaveman52) on "Townsends" channel.

I live at what the government says is below the poverty line, retired and living on a fixed income. Strangely though, I probably have a more comfortable life than that rich woman who wrote that travel journal in the early 18th century. Couldn't even imagine what it would have been like for the poor people of her time. She travelled, on horseback, which must have been tough on the back, battling the weather and bugs. A rich woman. Here I am, a poor retired guy, and last year I flew to the Caribbean and then a couple of months later, to Europe. I complained about having to wait around the airport and how slow the lines were moving. 21st century complaints. Going to Cancun in January. I'm a poor guy, worked in construction, factories and tended bar all my life. I'm sitting here comfortably, just finishing a grilled cheese sandwich and watching the end of Monday Night Football on my 42 inch, flat screen TV. I'm one lucky guy when you compare me to those that were living 200 years ago.
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Growing up on a farm in southern Ontario in the sixties, it seemed that there were growths of stinging nettles behind all the out sheds and chicken coups. Every farm seemed to have them. I've gotten into them lots of time and didn't like it. We had them in the woods, too, but they were a different variety and didn't grow as tall. Eventually, I found out that the ones growing around the buildings were imported from Europe and that peaked my interest. Why would they import something that seemed to be good for nothing except to sting you? It seemed to bring our history closer, when I finally found out. The farm I grew up on had so many things growing on it. A small apple orchard, pear trees, a plum orchard, currant bushes, raspberries and gooseberries, rhubarb....we were always picking them and my mom canned all summer. We never used the nettles, though, simply because we had no idea that they could be useful. At least it explained why every farm in the area had clusters of them growing around the place.
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@ms.whitefolks1223 It could be that they're not making the wise choices in life. That their expectations are way too high. I don't drive so I don't own a car. You have no idea how much money that saves me. I walk.....everywhere. It's good for me physically, mentally and financially. I live near a gym and there's a big window where you can see these people on the treadmills. They drive their cars a couple of miles to walk nowhere on a treadmill. It's things like this that make me shake my head. People will drive a couple of miles to get a coffee at a coffee shop. You can make the SAME thing at home for a lot cheaper...but you can't tell people that. I know so many seniors who live on the exact same income that I do and they are always complaining about money. Is it me....or is it them?
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@heidimisfeldt5685 I haven't owned a car since 1991. I've worked at minimum wage jobs or barely more most of my life and, like I said, I live just barely over the poverty level, in my country, as set by our own social standards. Right now, we're going through the crisis of Covid-19. My minimalistic lifestyle has meant that I've hardly suffered at all, other than the social constraints it has placed on all of us. I feel bad for those with families to support. Most people that I hear complaining about their lot in life aren't nearly as bad off as what was shown in this video who lived a couple of hundred years ago. They complain because they're not as well off as some in our society. If you judge your position in life to how well others are doing, you'll always be dissatisfied and you'll always blame your lot in life on others. Make the best of what you have and you'll find that the best you have is way better than you might think.
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Normally mispronunciations don't bother me all that much but hearing Metis pronounced in this manner made me cringe. Must be the Canadian in me rearing its ugly head.
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