Thoughts: Where to Retire To?

[Grizzly]

My brother who I lost three years ago, lived in Grants Pass, OR for some 35 years right along the Rogue River. What a great small city with low humidity, great scenery and good fishing. Can't get better than that.

george

 

[AEdelheit]

We chose Bend Or and love it here !

 

[Killgore]

Yep, they left Scotland and came to Chester County, PA. From there they drifted down the Shenandoah into Western North Carolina that eventually became East Tennessee, and then into Texas. The wanderlust hasn't been satisfied in seven generations I guess; always looking for a better compromise. Interestingly, each time they moved the same families picked up and moved together. Only after the Civil War did some go their own way and that was probably because they fought on both sides of the conflict.

If you check your family history I would bet some of your people did the same thing. As Bocephus said, "I'm just carryin' on an old family tradition..."

- Ed

 

[Wayne M.]

That was GREAT, Ed. And so true!

 

[Killgore]

Thanks, Wayne. And thinking of BIG; when they weren't fighting Indians on the frontier, they were marrying them.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Thanks, Wayne. And thinking of BIG; when they weren't fighting Indians on the frontier, they were marrying them.

We weren't the most popular couple in her culture for some time, She was looked down upon for marrying outside her Nation, and then on top of that her Race. But they must have found something about me that they didn't want to hang my scalp on the totem pole outside her Fathers lodge. Her Mother and I have always been best of friends, and One of her Sisters, the other two sisters have come around to thinking that im ok, her brother and I have always been Pards, Her Dad????? for awhile I didn't sleep much when visiting MT.

 

[Killgore]

Hah! I wondered if I should be carrying a Passport and have another set of eyes in the back of my head.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Hah! I wondered if I should be carrying a Passport and have another set of eyes in the back of my head.

Her Pop is Fine now, I just didn't like the way the girls were and in some places still are treated, We got married in Sept and we went hunting right after the wedding, THAT'S SOME KIND OF GAL!! (we went on a romantic honeymoon a month later) I came back to camp after a day of hunting with her Brother. Penny, all 125 lbs of her was using a 20 lbs monster maul to split wood like nobody's business, I got off my horse and asked her what the hell!!! she thought she was doing? She told me its fine Gail just let it go, BS!! ain't no gal of mine going to do this **** while Tonto sits over there on a log watching!! (Tonto was her dad)

Penny started to cry, I said what's wrong with this? she's a Girl and you treat her like a grown man!! Her father said something to me in Blackfoot, told him if your going to bad mouth me, do it in some BS I can understand!! I split the wood with Penny and her sister stacking it. The girls were told something else in Blackfoot, and picked up the water buckets, I told him in Vietnamese something and asked if he liked that **** took the buckets and went to get water with Penny hot on my heals telling me that its ok its our way. Well little one YOUR WAY HAS JUST FRIGGING CHANGED!! We went to the dinner table and all the other hunters were pretty quiet. When the girls brought out the food to the table my plate was just like a picture everything was perfect, her Fathers looked like the camp dog had just took a dump on his plate, Penny's Mother and Sister stood looking at him, as if daring him to say ONE WORD.

Over time he has gotten use to the idea that the girls are NOT going to do a mans work while im around. It was funny when I shot my first Elk with them, I went to field dress it and Pop's said ( IN ENGLISH) lets see how good he is at this? I had done it before, I went after it and noticed that everyone else was getting a little antsy, Penny said let me do it, I told her I can do this just back off a minute. She watched for awhile and said Gail!!! Get out of the way, took the knife from me and I was left standing there with a look of on my face. First thought was First I have to watch her Dad, Now!! if I P*** her off she will gut me and castrate me faster than lightning, WHAT THE HELL HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO!!

If she is in camp she does all the Game butchering, im still reminded of her skills each season and at least one time a week when I kill a chicken and bring in to her to get it ready for dinner. My Brother is visiting with us now he seen her work on a couple of chickens and asked me how well I sleep? :-laf I sleep fine, I dont P*** her off before bed and if we have a burglar he will be easy to find at the hospital with no nuts bleeding like a sieve

 

[Killgore]

I'll have to admit my life hasn't been that exciting. She's in the kitchen now preparing jaeger snitzel, spatzel, fried taters and red cabbage. That's all the excitment an old man can stand!

 

[Wayne M.]

Thanks, Wayne. And thinking of BIG; when they weren't fighting Indians on the frontier, they were marrying them.

Ed, back when we were PM back n forth, I may have mentioned my seventh back Gramps who traveled west with George Rogers Clark, and whose kids went on to help settle Illinois. There were Indians involved- good and bad.

 

[Tractorat]

You guys talking about your wives indian roots. My, how times have changed. My wife is an 8th Cherokee. Her great grandmother was a full blood indian. When the census came in what ever year it was, she would not admit to being an indian. (I guess she was fairly light skinned). It was looked down upon at that time to be an indian. So, she does not show up on the census as being a Cherokee, and does not show as belonging to a tribe (she was married to a white man).

My wife is still steamed about the whole deal. She claims that, had her great grandmother admitted to being an indian, our kids (who are 1/16th cherokee) would have had some kind of indian financial benefits for college. Oh well.

 

[Grizzly]

We chose Bend Or and love it here !

Yep, any part of Oregon is great. From Portland to Medford to Creator Lake.

george

 

[Killgore]

Scratching around doing genealogy, reading old letters, and looking at old pictures helped me in discovering that my great, great-grandmother was referred to as 'that Indian woman' and the family was ostracized. She was a Cheraw, who I understand have all been assimulated by now.

My wife's children by a previous marriage have been registered and are card carrying Cherokee. One of the daughters and her two children are now living with us. 'My daughter' is in the process of registering for college and I suspect that very shortly I will find out first-hand whether or not there is assistance available for her.

I think it would be difficult to find someone around here that is not part Cherokee or Choctaw. Being Choctaw in Alabama or Mississippi is now considered financially desireable since most of the casinos are on Choctaw reservation land. Hah! The tables have been turned on the 'greedy white-man'.

- Ed

 

[Regcabguy]

Yep, any part of Oregon is great. From Portland to Medford to Creator Lake.

george

Agreed! Two years ago we traveled up the eastern half into Wa and returned via the coast. Spectacular state. My friend lived in Gold Beach and aside from the rain,it's breathtaking.
He grows exotic bamboo there on 3 acres just east of 101.

 

[Bill Stockard]

We will retire here in Texas and travel in the RV from our home base. Some reasons why are that there's no income tax in Texas, no ad valorem personal property tax, real estate property taxes are capped, reduced or eliminated at age 65, etc., so it's very financially friendly for retirees. Not to mention that my wife and I are native Texans - we lived elsewhere for 22 years and made it home (on a company transfer) in time to retire.

Rusty

We too are native Texans, and after living here almost all our lives, Texas was always our in our plans for a retirement state. We like it here, mild winters, a few hot weeks in the summer, and the tax advantages you mentioned. My wife lived in Sioux Falls, SD for several years before we were married and couldn't wait to return to Texas. We retired over 21 years ago to the family farm north of DFW area and used our home there as a home base for extensive RV travel for 15 years. When the farm was sold, we moved to our current location on 35 acres about 5 miles out of a small town in northeast Texas and over 100 miles away from the DFW crowds, traffic, noise, and congestion. If we want to go to a city for some reason, Tyler, Longview, and Texarkana are each about 50 miles away on very good lightly traveled highways. Life couldn't be any better!

Bill

 

[JR]

He grows exotic bamboo there on 3 acres just east of 101.

I hear that ain't the only exotic plant that grows well in those parts :-laf

 

[RUSSELL5000]

I'll have to admit my life hasn't been that exciting. She's in the kitchen now preparing jaeger snitzel, spatzel, fried taters and red cabbage. That's all the excitment an old man can stand!

That sounds about as good as gets in my book!

 

[Killgore]

Somebody once said that 'home is where the heart is'. Mine must be in the kitchen. Wherever I am or wherever I'm going, I'm looking for something good to eat.

- Ed

 

[BIGNASTY]

Scratching around doing genealogy, reading old letters, and looking at old pictures helped me in discovering that my great, great-grandmother was referred to as 'that Indian woman' and the family was ostracized. She was a Cheraw, who I understand have all been assimulated by now.

My wife's children by a previous marriage have been registered and are card carrying Cherokee. One of the daughters and her two children are now living with us. 'My daughter' is in the process of registering for college and I suspect that very shortly I will find out first-hand whether or not there is assistance available for her. I think it would be difficult to find someone around here that is not part Cherokee or Choctaw. Being Choctaw in Alabama or Mississippi is now considered financially desireable since most of the casinos are on Choctaw reservation land. Hah! The tables have been turned on the 'greedy white-man'.

- Ed

Ed

You have any Indian Bingo Parlors near ya? I call them Bingo Parlors but casinos? When Penny and I opened our home to the Nieces and Nephews to come to Calif and go to school, (not much in Seeley for schools after 12th grade) Her Brother and Sisters didn't have that kind of money then, to put their children threw college in another state!! Penny is Native Blackfoot she went to the Indian Bingo Parlors that are pretty hard core about staying Indian, and had a talk to them, Penny can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be. She got the Indian Bingo Parlors to help out tremendously with the tuition for their schooling. Seems the way it works is that the casino gives the Tribal Elders a certain amount each month, if they don't spend it they loose part of it so they are always changing things around their home or building another home so they don't loose money, so by helping another Native American (they aren't like most of us with the you ain't from my hood or barrio deal) they attended College with very little out of their parents pocket, OR THE STATES POCKET, it was a gift from one Tribe to another, there are many laws about that but you could give it a shot it worked for them. The only thing that I really lost was a Nissan Pickup that they all drove to school and I stated to ride my Cannondale Bike to work.

 

[Killgore]

Thanks for the suggestion, BIG. Most are down on the Gulf Coast but it's worth a try.

- Ed