The Coal Bond

I was in bed thinking of some of the posts & personalities here & had a few thoughts that made me get up, come downstairs to my computer ( in my coal stove warmed basement) & post them before I lost my train of thought. As much as we can get angry with other forum members here, especialy when getting lost in emotional, off-topic threads relating to politics, religeon or whatever, we should always remember that we all share a bond here......We are like a small fraternity, 21st century neighborhood, elite group bound together by one common trait............The independance/self-reliance that heating with coal discloses about each of us.
Yesterday, in one of these political debates, I was accused of being a person born & raised with "a silver spoon" in my mouth, of belonging to a priveledged class & thus not having had to work hard etc. None of this is true, but the accuser would have no way of knowing that he was wrong............other than one simple point: The very fact that we are all here to read the posts on the "Anthracite Coal Forum" speaks volumes about who we all are. I can't imagine a scenario in which a rich, spoiled person would ever be willing to do what we do to provide heat, comfort & security for our families. People very dissimilar to us, walk over to an interior wall, turn a Honeywell thermostat clockwise until it reads 73* & then walk away, waiting for the heat to magicaly appear & warm their family. They tpicaly have no clue how that thermostat works, how it is attached to their furnace, or what to do if the heat doesn't appear other than picking up the phone & calling for help! They are totaly dependant on others to provide for them.
We, members of this forum, all share one very important trait......We are not that hapless poor sole, unable to provide the basic necessities for his family........We know how that thermostat works (we probably installed it!) & , if we run a hand-fired stove, we don't even need a thermostat at all! We know what to do to get the heat working.... We don't have to call anyone....We do it ourselves!!
So the next time you get angry at a fellow forum member, remember that we share alot more in common than you think. I can be pretty well assured that everyone here has most of the following traits:
1. Is not afraid to work & get his/her hands dirty
2. Does not like to be dependant on others for something he can do himself.
3. Looks at adversity as a challenge & always has backup plans to succeed if "Plan A" fails
4. Probably has multiple thermometers scattered around the house!
5. Has plenty of canned goods/supplies if needed to whether any storm
6. Stocks enough coal to carry his family for a few months, if not the entire winter.
7. secretly enjoys a winter storm! (the worse the better!)
8. Probably owns a firearm (or a few) as we are not about to wait for the police to come & defend our families.

I'm sure there are many more similarities but it's late & I think I made my point. We all have more in common than not, so let's try to be good neighbors & give the benefit of doubt to the members that you think you dislike.
Just think how much better off this country would be if we all burned coal to heat our homes & were not dependant on foreign oil! (I don't really buy the whole global warming thing anyway & I think even if burning coal represents a small hazard, it is far better than the hazrds we face by being dependant on fgn oil)

Sermon over!!!

Devil5052 wrote: I can't imagine a scenario in which a rich, spoiled person would ever be willing to do what we do to provide heat, comfort & security for our families. People very dissimilar to us, walk over to an interior wall, turn a Honeywell thermostat clockwise until it reads 73* & then walk away, waiting for the heat to magicaly appear & warm their family. ...

Spoiled ones that have never done manuall labor you are correct however I had more than few customers that were quite wealthy. One was a double digit millionaire. I really think its how you are brought up and/or how you came about your money. When I first stated many moons ago we even delivered out to the old Nesbitt mansion in Kunkle . Rich people burning coal may be few and far between but there out there, with the way oil and gas is going you can bet more will join the ranks. The self made ones didn't get rich because they are stupid.

1. Check, really no need for me to anser that one.
2. Check.
3. Check
4. Negative
5. Check, buy in bulk though. not necessarily "stocked up"
6. Check
7. No secret here, I love storms. Good camping weather.

[quote="Richard S."]
Spoiled ones that have never done manuall labor you are correct however I had more than few customers that were quite wealthy. One was a double digit millionaire. I really think its how you are brought up and/or how you came about your money.

That is what I was trying to convey......It's not so much a matter of the amount of money you have in the bank, as your mindset. I guess if I was Bill Gates I probably wouldn't be running a Harman TLC, but then again, I do get enjoyment out of feeling independant. With his money, maybe I would just buy my own personal power plant, but then I wouldn't get the same pleasure I do out of my Harman.
Anyway, my real point was in response the the anger & vitriole towards eachother that I have been seeing lately on alot of the political threads & it dawned on me that I'm guessing that we sometimes forget where we are & who we are. We must be losing sight of the fact that we share a common trait here, & I think it is a good one! That common trait (or traits) should keep us respecting eachother more, no matter what our politics, religeon or location are. This is not a "Gentleman's Country Club" where we rich people sit around having an after dinner brandy served by our man-servants while we count our fortunes & idly discuss the world. From what I can see, we are a very proud, independant group of self-made hard workers who are obviously not afraid to role up our sleeves, do heavy work & take resposablity for our lives.

1. Is not afraid to work & get his/her hands dirty
2. Does not like to be dependant on others for something he can do himself.
3. Looks at adversity as a challenge & always has backup plans to succeed if "Plan A" fails
4. Probably has multiple thermometers scattered around the house!
5. Has plenty of canned goods/supplies if needed to whether any storm
6. Stocks enough coal to carry his family for a few months, if not the entire winter.
7. secretly enjoys a winter storm! (the worse the better!)
8. Probably owns a firearm (or a few) as we are not about to wait for the police to come & defend our families.

1. yup
2. yup
3. yup
4. nope
5. whatevers in the pantry
6. not yet
7. any season
8. If you own anything not designed by JM Browning, you're a communist, pinko or fruit.

I totally agree with you guys, our country is becoming a bunch of softies. Two weeks ago we had a terrrble ice storm and were with out power for four days. Some of my neighbors abandoned their homes for motels in town. My family and friends weathered the storm just fine! We had plenty of the two B's, Blaschak and Bud!!!!

i'll be fruit , I have S&W.

1. Is not afraid to work & get his/her hands dirty
2. Does not like to be dependant on others for something he can do himself.
3. Looks at adversity as a challenge & always has backup plans to succeed if "Plan A" fails
4. Probably has multiple thermometers scattered around the house!
5. Has plenty of canned goods/supplies if needed to whether any storm
6. Stocks enough coal to carry his family for a few months, if not the entire winter.
7. secretly enjoys a winter storm! (the worse the better!)
8. Probably owns a firearm (or a few) as we are not about to wait for the police to come & defend our families.

They could have said a silver coal shovel in your bucket instead of a silver spoon in your mouth - would have been more appropriate on this forum!!

I stay out of the political threads since it doesn't seem to accomplish anything but to spread hate & discontent.
I really don't know how you tell the difference between the Demicans and Republicrats any more so it isn't worth arguing about. I think if you took away the names and party labels and had to identify a candidate by a list of their positions 95% of the people would get it wrong. Sort of like a blind taste test!

Anyway....here's how I stack up on the list...

1. yup
2. yup
3. yup, but not sure how well the backup plans are thought out sometimes.....
4. only 4, does that qualify?
5. That's my wifes fault. She loves shopping at BJ's and I kid her that we have enuff to survive a nuclear winter.
6. yup
7. the really good ones make me get the generator out!
8. only a shotgun so I don't have to be as accurate!

Let me add a few more "guesses" to my list:

9. Probably owns a snow thrower/blower
10. Has a fairly well stocked shop with many tools (& knows how to use them)
11. Probaly owns a compressor & air tools (nail guns, etc)
12. Used to change the oil in his car,................. but now is too lazy & would rather grab a nap!
13. Very rarely has to call a professional in for repairs. (plumber, electrician, etc)
14. Does not like French Food! (no taste & the portions are too small!)
15. Snores
16. Can fall asleep....anywhere & in almost any position!

9. Probably owns a snow thrower/blower
10. Has a fairly well stocked shop with many tools (& knows how to use them)
11. Probaly owns a compressor & air tools (nail guns, etc)
12. Used to change the oil in his car,................. but now is too lazy & would rather grab a nap!
13. Very rarely has to call a professional in for repairs. (plumber, electrician, etc)
14. Does not like French Food! (no taste & the portions are too small!)
15. Snores
16. Can fall asleep....anywhere & in almost any position!

You're batting average is pretty high in my case.....I feel like you're watching.....where's the camera.....are you the one in the black helicopter that keeps circling?????

9. Nope, retired neighbor has too much fun plowing us out. Don't want to insult him so I keep turning down my Dads offer of his older model snowblower since he upgraded.
10. Of course. My motto is no project is worth doing unless you need to buy a new toyl.
11. yes....see #10
12. still changing the oil & brake pads & air filters....everything else gets farmed out now.
13. Plumber and Electrician were required for new kitchen a few years back because of permits, after they left had to fix a few minor things. Still don't know where a switch in the 4 gang box goes to?
14. Do French Fries or French Toast count?? I like those.
15. I never wake myself up, so I don't know for sure.
16. Yep.

I will add a few also.

17. Hires a contractor only after trying to do the project himself atleast 3 times. .
18. Would rather drink a cheap beer than an expensive wine.
19. Loves diesel engines.
20. Secretly likes to plow the driveway.
21. Would rather go hunting in the mountains than go to the beach.
22. Thinks a 3 piece suit is only for funerals.
23. Checks the fire in the coal stove just for the fun of it.
24. Has atleast one firearm in his bedroom"easily accessible" at a moments notice.

Here's a story about the rich and spoiled. My furnace guy years ago was semi-retired from Rhode Island, where he maintained boilers etc. for the spoiled ones. He cleaned a lady's furnace, and that night she called to say she had no heat. He asked her to check the emergency shutoff switch in the cellar stairwell, in case he had left it in the off position. She said, "I don't do switches." So he had to drive 15 miles at night to turn the switch back on.

On second thought, I'm not sure I blame the lady. About 3/4 of the times that he serviced my boiler, he forgot to turn on one switch or the other. I just got in the habit of going down cellar and checking the switches whenever he had visited. Except for that he was great, we never had any problems with the heating system. I did always wonder how he adjusted the burner with the power off -- used jumpers to bypass the switch circuit, I suppose.

"... Still don't know where a switch in the 4 gang box goes to?

err, since youse knows about dem black helicoptors, then youse best consider this here a wake up call, bud.

Do NOT flip that switch, if youse nows whats good fur youse

signed da boyz

What's interesting is that many people with money are great money managers (misers). My Father in-law who is an ass, is a millionaire and married a girl who has mucho money. Anyway, we're at a park and he decides to buy a hotdog. He asks for onions or sauerkraut and the guy says that will be an extra 20 cents. He looked shocked and said no. This is a man who moved into a condo which he bought furnished, lived there for 15 years and never changed a stick of furniture, drapes, wall paper, etc. I don't think he ever cleaned it either. It was disgusting. On the other end of the spectrum is my wife's mom who is the opposite. She lives on SS and will take my daughter to Red Lobster and spend $70.00 on a meal. She also goes to a high end hair salon and pays close to 50.00 for a hair cut and it usually costs her 200.00 with coloring. She has a few dollars saved but not much at all. My mom who is almost in the same situation but owns her own home goes to the beauty college to save money.

Funny thing is that I really believe that saving money may be the reason why most of us originaly started heating with coal, but once you get into it...you get hooked! I think if most of us won the lottery we would probably just end up buying the best coal stove money can buy, a fancy dumb-waiter arangment (to bring the coal up to the stove) & a separate, attached wharehouse to keep many tons of coal, supplies, generators.....Oh hell.....Have our own attached Sam's Club or BJ's Wharehouse (with coal & a nice armory in it)!!

Not too long ago I stepped back and marveled at how this forum represented an atypical community, one where background, political views, and other normally devisive demographics were not a factor. I saw that our ingenuity and a common goal out prioritized any trivial differences in background or politics. Our common bond was a desire to bring more into the fold and help them with the knowledge and savvy we had to share. I would often view the posts with a sense of pride in our community and it's growing strength.

Lately I feel we have been letting that precious sense of a common good and purpose be diluted by the bile of our more base human nature and ego. Not that I think folks shouldn't be able to speak there mind, it's just that here in this community we have an opportunity to nurture and protect a "coal bond" as Devil and others so nicely have illustrated we share many attributes and tendencies. I hereby challenge each and everyone of us to stay focused on the community and very carefully choose each word we type to ensure it maintains a sense of community and a true coal bond.

Yeah I know.... "snap out of it"! this is real life.