Ruins
Out on the edges of an unnamed playa somewhere off the beaten path in the Great Basin lie remnants of what once passed for civilization.
It doesn’t matter which playa – there are many; there are many ruins.
Sometimes … if the scavengers hadn’t cleaned up … there are enough remnants to help identify the ruins; these appear to be on silver smelter grounds near the California border.
Something substantial once stood here – the pile of bricks suggests a desire of the builders for something longer lasting than a wood frame building. I believe I noted square nails in a higher resolution shot. This would suggest pre-1890s
The track appears to be 18″ between rails – a common size for ore carts and underground transport.
The ruins could date to the 1870s – it’s a very dry climate – but I would guess constructed 1880s and active until maybe the 1920s.
… though given the history and climate of the region, 1860s is possible …
Things are always changing. Creative destruction as the Koch brothers call it.
I was in the Dayton area two weeks ago on work travel, introducing my old clients to a new sales guy. My territory is now the West Coast. As part of the adventure I drove by my old boyhood home in Bellbrook. A woman in her early 40s was mowing the yard. I stopped her and advised I was viewing the house from the street, and the history of it. Didn’t need to have her thinking I was a creeper. She was kind enough to talk with me for a moment, and she was the daughter in the family that bought this house from my Dad in 1974.
The maples that my Dad planted in the front yard had matured, died and been removed. The brick sidewalk around the side of the house was now concrete. New shrubs, and other changes that naturally take place over time. I did not bother her for long and headed on my way, although that is probably the last time I will pass by.
“first the silver run out, then the people run out”
You’ll remember that scene from The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Talking about ruins–our great economy is ruined because of greed.
This just a sampling of financial headlines but the big boys are laughing all the way to the bank while the average American is struggling.
Headlines from CNBC, CNN and Copilot search today, July 31, 2026
Amazon hikes 2026 capex to $220 billion due to higher memory costs
Amazon got $600 million in Trump tariff refunds and will pass return along to some customers
Shell posts best quarterly profit in four years as Iran war boosts oil and gas prices
Exxon made $160 million per day last quarter as oil prices surged
For the quarter ended April 30, 2026, Walmart reported pre‑tax income of $30.62 billion on revenue of $725.31 billion, yielding a pre‑tax profit margin of 4.22%
Verizon Reports Record 2Q 2026 Profits
AT&T Record Profits and Financial Performance 2026: $19.511 billion, up 4.35% year-over-year
Chevron posted its highest quarterly profit in six years in Q2 2026, with $12 billion in adjusted earnings
Ford reported a first-quarter 2026 net income of $2.5 billion and projects full-year adjusted EBIT of $8.5–$10.5 billion
1 Timothy 6:10
Know how much a plumber charges these days? Roughly $500 per hour. This is in response to Joe’s mention below “the average American is struggling”.
I believe the strugglers are struggling because of mismanagement rather than other entities making more than them.
It started by wanting to replace a toilet flush valve which I already had on hand. The supply valve coming out of the wall is old and would not turn off and there was nothing I could do about it because the CPVC piping is very brittle and kept breaking lengthwise. So I called someone. I went to Menards and bought a Tuscany Erie model toilet for $94 + tax. The toilet was complete including the wax ring but I had to but an 18″ braided water line.
I’ve installed 5 toilets in my life and it’s not difficult if the supply line is standard schedule 40 PVC pipe (white) and not the ivory colored CPVC. I have the tools and lots of spare fitting and pipes for PVC. On a good day a toilet can be changed out in about 20-30 mins.
The plumber did just that, 30 mins and he was out the door with 250 of my favorite legal tenders in his pocket. I stood right there watching and he did a good job. I thought the $250 was excessive and it should have cost $100. However, I had called 3 other places and got answering machines and no call backs. I was tired of waiting. This guy answered and said he’d be here right after lunch, and he was. I’ll call him in the future if I need him.
If you earn $10 and spend $9 you are mismanaging your money and if Elon and everbody else that earns more than you went bankrupt tomorrow it wouldn’t increase your bottom line. Envy and jealousy are your smiling, friendly enemies. They distract from problem solving.
If you can’t do the plumber thing, of charging more than usual because of scarcity of service, then you need to attack the problem from the other end.
Cut expenses.
Or go online and piss and moan.
Virtually ALL money problems are self inflicted.
People no longer realize this because they have had 5 decades of mostly financial goodness paving their way. They don’t know what it means to struggle or even sacrifice on a micro basis.
=====================
Not only is it pretty but when you hit the handle it sounds like a 747 taking off. I’m pretty sure it will outlive me.
ghost sniper, I understand where you are coning from. The point that should have come through is that these corporations are soulless entities that are using less and less human workers and making more and more money. FYI. I was in business for 35 years and always paid above going rate for labor, always took care of my people, was always there for them. I could have gone the other way and cheated them but that is not the way I was brought up. Look up the worth of the Walmart family, even those who married into the clan and remember, a lot of Walmart employees are on food stamps.
I have been a business owner since 1986 and everyone that has worked for me has been a 1099 worker. I pay what I believe is a decent price and it’s up to them whether to accept or not. Same with Walmart employees – they accept it. I believe people should be responsible for themselves. I don’t give a shit how much walmart owners or anyone else makes, it’s none of my business.
I remember a time when people didn’t know what everybody else earned as it was an agreement between the employer and the employee only.
Joe,
Most poor people in the country have poor people habits. People who do not have two nickels to rub together commonly have purple hair, piercings, bad tattoos, eat out all the time and have a car newer than mine.
If oil companies are making gobs of money then you can always buy and own their stock. Take some of theose profits for yourselves.
Carpool, get a roommate, do not eat out, eat rice and beans, get a second job, don’t pump out babies you cannot afford, get rid of that credit card, go to college/tech school at night, invest when you can, even small amounts. Tithe. I have done all the above and it is not glamorous, but it develops character. It develops success.
Like Ghost, I have replaced toilets, hot water heaters, run PVC and soldered copper plumbing, fixed AC units, repaced windows, installed 3/4″ flooring, run electrical for new lights and switches, vehicle work such as replacing starters, alternators, spark plugs, oil change, brake change, U-joints, common stuff. Don’t know how? YOUTUBE.
The above is the path to becoming the Millionaire Next Door. Have a plan, execute the plan and never quit. Fail? You will have failures. Try again. DO NOT QUIT.
Most people will not do what it becomes to be successful and debt free. They will not handle their money. They frequently take the easy route. “The gate is wide and road broad that leads to destruction and those who find it are many” Matthew 7:13.
Excuses. No time, too tired, blah, blah, blah. I took college bound exams and was average, average, average with exception to abstract thinking. I got an F in college bound English. People close to me told me I as not college material. I almost believed them. I have three college degress, technical and in business and conversationally speak two foreign languages. This is the first year in the past six that my kids and I have not mowed lawns for their college tuition. I have worked 2nd jobs most of my life. I am 61 and debt free for several years. My wife is good as gold and I intend to buy her a new Mercedes later this year. I will pay cash. I can retire in December of this year.
I have failed. Divorced twice and pretty much started over financially at 35 years old. Had major setbacks professionally. Nearly fired, demoted, pay cut. Get back up and figure it out.
No time? Not enough money? Do a true accounting of your time and spending habits. Take a notebook and truly account for all the money you spend and time your waste. The truth will hurt. It will show anyone that they have time and probably have more money than they think. Gobs more.
Three books formed and confirmed my thoughts in my life:
THE BIBLE. Both the Old Testament and New Testament have endless wisdom.
BASIC ECONOMICS – Thomas Sowell. America’s greatest economist. That man never lost a debate and has the wisdom of Solomon.
CAN’T HURT ME – David Goggins. The true story of a grossly overweight man with learning disabilities that decided to become a Navy SEAL.
I shut up now.
Very inspiring, Snakepit. I like your first two sources; don’t know number three. Many are not born with that instinctive drive and tennacity. It takes that also, IMHO.
JD,
Do a quick YOUTUBE search of David Goggins. In about 15 minutes you will get the idea of what he is about. Goggins was born to lose, then something clicked. His message is that ANYBODY can do most anything, if they want it bad enough.
Have a good weekend!
Very good. Write more like that.
No one hates failure more than I. But honestly, some of my greatest lessons came from the bazillions of failures I have had. I think the reason for that is that, because everyone hates failure, when it happens it causes you to pause and reflect on the how, what, when, why, where and who. In detail. Kind of like forensic self analysis if you will. I can’t change others but I can change me and I can only do that if I am brutally honest with myself. Admit to my contribution, no matter how small, to the failure. Then figure out ways to avoid making that failure again by altering my behavior.
I believe that online I may present myself differently than I do in person. Part of that is my command of the written word is so much worse than the spoken word. Me in meatspace is different than me in virtuality. I also believe I am perceived differently for the same reason.
Early on in my career as a self employed architectural designer I read a lot of inspiration books and articles, listened to books-on-tape by wealthy and successful people, and the same for late night radio and TV shows. I was thirsty for success and wanted to learn from successful people, so I surrounded myself in them.
Old friends and family members were seen for what they were, time and money wasters, and were gradually abandoned. Solitude is better than distraction.
From 1970 at age 15 when my first real job was at McDonald’s and over the next 16 years I had 33 different jobs (including 4 years in the army) and I realized that my problem with holding down a job was totally my fault, and not the fault of all the people I had worked for. I am just not cut out for the boilerplate template of the average american employee. I am not like anyone else and I believe everyone else could be different too, if they had a burning desire to be.
My attitude went the other way. Being an employee was like being in prison mentally. The best “job” I ever had was the last “job” I ever had. I was the lead designer at the largest architecture firm in Florida, had my own corner office on the 2nd floor, was making more money than should have been legal, had 2 assistants, and I wasn’t even an architect yet, but everyone there treated me like I was. I was running at 120 mph and getting everything done in half the time at half the cost and none of the 30 architects that worked there had ever seen anything like it.
But I was in mental prison. I was expected to do a certain thing for a certain amount of time each day for a certain amount of money. And though there was considerable leeway in all of it, there was still a line I was required to toe and that was simply not acceptable. I have to be 100% free in all things, no matter what. 1% slave for others is 100% slave to me.
So after 2 years I quite just like that. They begged, they pleaded, they offered wheelbarrows of money, the head administrative assistant Hilda almost went to tears. Only after I pulled off the leash of employment was I able to soar for the first time in my life, at age 31.
I was Icarus many times in the past 40 years, soaring too close to the sun only to crash back to earth in flames. Over and over and over again. I always chose new routes to soar but the sun is everywhere and the sun always wins.
After a crash, some might cry and blame others and refuse to admit they were wrong, even partially. In the late 70’s I read a book titled ERT. It explained that in our life’s journeys we make many little decisions along the way and when we encounter failure we should go back over the details of the multitude of choices and try to figure out which one was wrong. If, for example, on your way to work you have a traffic accident. Maybe if you had stopped at McD’s and grabbed an egg mcmuffin the car that ran into you would have run into someone else because you weren’t there when they were. Or, the car you ran into wasn’t there because you altered your normal course. Recognize and accept your contribution in all things and a certain calmness will take you and lead you.
I have little sympathy for whiners and complainers and they that are envious and jealous of others. Those things are poisonous and it flows through their veins. They will never be happy in this life while they harbor so much negativity within. They are their own worst enemy and only they can conquer that enemy. No one else can do it for them, and they that try only prolongs their misery.
The reality is that anyone can be a success in this life if they are willing to do what it takes. Most people are successful to some degree. Another reality is that some people will never be successful because they never really understood what it means because the poison that runs through them has distorted their views and deceives them. They get to choose how to live the only life they will ever live.
Peace, out.
—the raging patriot, 2099
I have to disagree on one point, Ghost. You are an
excellent writer and a born story-teller which is the more
important. Anyone can learn to write.
I agree.