Aerospace Tags

Updates: September 11, 2011 - I have been able to get a part-time job which is good news, but the rest is just about the same. Thank you for your help Malum Designs
and Pete B.
Since my previous posts have yielded only four donations over the last five months I thought I would try this approach. My financial problems are quite real. If you find my fable entertaining please send a small donation.
- Fortuna vitrea est, tum cum splendet frangitur -

The Grasshopper and the Ant
A Classic retold by Joseph the Beggar King
Part One

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there were two friends, the Grasshopper and the Ant. Why these two became friends is a bit of a mystery. The Grasshopper was a dreamer and a drifter. The Ant was a believer and an achiever.

In school the Grasshopper would look out the window without thought and only learned the subjects he found interesting. Sometimes he would fall asleep in Math class, other times when a angry teacher would jump him with a pop question he would give the correct answer in way that would confound them.

The Ant was a teachers dream, he soaked up every subject the system taught him, gave the correct answers in the correct way and got straight A s. He would delight his Math teacher by doing compound interest in his head. The Ant believed that what they taught him would help him succeed and was very completive. After graduating High School the Ant got an Academic Scholarship and the Grasshopper got a Pell Grant.

Within four years the Ant got two BS degrees in Business Management and Engineering. The Grasshopper dropped out after the first year. He went to live with the Rainbow Tribe for a few years. On the way to the bus station he found an old fiddle in a trash pile along the road and when he got station he was able to panhandle his bus fare. That was the Grasshoppers first beg.

The Ant took the College like a fish to water. During open Rush some Greeks invite him to be a brother in their Fraternity. He earned his dues by being the Frat Houses Accountant and made beer money by writing term papers. One day while visiting the Tri Deltas he watches the girls play volleyball and is amazed that even though they are playing a vigorous game not one of them breaks a sweat. It is there he meets the girl of his dreams, Polly Fishbane.

While the Grasshopper was living with the Rainbow Tribe he never meets the girl of his dreams, but it does not really matter too much because they believe in Free Love. So free, in fact, that after what you might call the Honeymoon he found himself getting a little bored with it. From the Rainbow Tribe he learns to live off the fat of country and from his new friend, Buffalo with Runs, he learns to live off the land. Buffalo with Runs was an very old Indian that was adopted by the tribe. He taught the Grasshopper what wild plants were safe to eat or use for medicines. He showed him how to set traps and hunt small game. Then, during one winter Gathering four people froze to dead because they were too stoned to come in out of the cold. The Grasshopper became very sad and hopped away.

The Ant is recruited by a Aerospace firm even before he graduated college and goes to work on the Apollo Program. He and his new wife Polly loved the Florida sunshine and settle down to start the American Dream. They decide to have two and half children. Even though the third kid looked a bit odd the Ant loved him as only a father can. With easy money down and mortgage tax deductions compliments of Uncle Sam, they get a house with a two car garage. Next they get two cars and the Rat Race is on. The Ant loves it! Working on the Apollo Program is more than a job, it is being part of history. Polly loves it! Raising their kids and Keeping up of with the Jones. She starts selling Avon products on the side. The Ant buys the best bass boat in the neighborhood, but only uses it once a year because he too busy working. He sets up his retirement funds and a small stock portfolio. Life is Good!

After leaving the Rainbow Tribe the Grasshopper panhandles his way across the country. He sets up in parks and subways where he pretends to play his fiddle while selling jewelry made of deer anthers and beads. The noise he makes with his fiddle sounds like a cat being killed and people give him money just to make him stop. Before the Cops run him off, the Grasshopper usually made enough in one day of begging to cover his needs for the week. When he is hungry he goes to a Soup Kitchen and when he needs clothing there are the Sharing Centers. Every now and then he lets some good hearted woman try to save him. Life is Good and he hops away.

The Apollo Program ends and the new Shuttle program does not start for a couple of years. The Aerospace company were the Ant works at does not win any of the new bids. They offer him a job in California at 20% less of his salary. Polly and the kids are in a rage. Nobody wants to move and leave their friends. The Ant sells his house at a loss because the real estate market in flooded by the laid offs. The one car and the boat are reprocessed. He sells off his stock portfolio for the down payment on the new house in California and even though money is tight the Ant decides to take the family on a short vacation to Key West to uplift their spirits. He finds the Grasshopper selling deer antler jewelry at the Front Street Market. While Polly and the kids go shopping, he and Grasshopper catch up and have a couple of beers. The Ant tells his friend about the laid offs and the move. The Grasshopper asks him - Are you Happy - ? The Ant says - Yes -. His friend says, - Good - . They watch the sunset and see a green flash on the horizon.
To be continue.

I am posting this ad for my family who means the world to me. I want so badly to good for them. We are being evicted from our home. and my husband is very ill. I am not saying much to him about these issues, because he has stress induced seizures. We dont have much time before the eviction goes through. We have been blessed with food to eat every day, and by the grace of God our utilities are on for the time being. My husband and i both lost our jobs in aerospace a little over a year ago, and have not been able to work full time since. My two grown sons live with us and do what they can to bring money in but its not enough to take care of all the bills. We have tried everything we can think of. But with little to no resources we are down to end of the rope. We dont have any transportation which makes it even harder. I have set up an online accredited health sciences class, and grant and student loan has paid for it. But with no security i've had to postpone it temporarily. We just need a temporary hand, I see a bright future for us. Anything would help right now, I am very willing to work, im 46 yo, intelligent and very determined. Any HONEST inquiry will be answered by me, honestly and greatfully.
Thank you and God bless you for reading
Patty

My name is Matt. A few years ago I started a non-profit organization to encourage students to pursue careers in science, math and technology. There's a tremendous shortage of engineers and scientists in the country. I thought this was a need I could help with. For awhile, I worked on it while also having a regular "day" job as a software programmer and website developer. Earlier this year, I realized the workload had become too much to have two full-time jobs, so I left my "day" job to focus on the non-profit. Of course, this isn't a good time for non-profit organizations or charities. In fact, donations and grants are almost zero at this point.

The organization is the Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc., http://www.aresinstitute.org. If you visit the website and click on the "About" link, you can read more about it and there's also a link to the official IRS registration of our 501 c(3) tax-exempt status.

So, here's the situation...

Since the spring, I've put as much as I can into the company from my personal assets to keep it alive. I've sacrificed my car, luxuries like cable TV (ALL luxuries, in fact) and have even reduced my food budget to next-to-nothing. I'm actually relying on friends donations of food and household items otherwise I'd be down and out for sure.

I do NOT have any credit card debt; do NOT have student loans; have NOT lived beyond my means; and I have never bought luxury items or things not necessary to live. In short, I live within my means and sacrifice as much as I need to. I haven't been foolish by running up credit cards, buying a house or car that I can't afford or going to movies and vacations when I can't afford it. In other words, I know I'm doing the right thing and playing by the "rules" such as they are.

I'll also point out that I have been employed, full-time, since the 1990's. I still work every day, 12+ hours, and don't intend to change that.

So, no debt, full-time job, what's the problem? The problem is that I put so much into the non-profit that I am not exactly financially self-sufficient right now. Worse than that, more importantly, the non-profit (like many these days) is struggling to remain viable. There's just no money out there it seems.

Because of that, I'm turning to any resource I can find on the internet and off in order to ask the good people who are around for assistance. I'm not asking for any specific amount - $1 or $100, it's all helpful. It will help me personally as well as my company as it tries to make it through the recession as well.

If anyone out there can help, please use the PayPal Donate button on here. I can't offer anything in return except eternal gratitude, although I wish I could do more.

Thanks so much.

Hello whoever decides to read this. I'm in kind of a tough situation. I am in my second year of college, majoring in Aerospace Engineering. I'm from a lower middle class family, and even the small gap in the financial aid is hard for my parents to pay. I've had to work part time while studying full time to save up money just in case my parents can't make a payment. Recently, I was informed my dad is going to have a lot of trouble making this next payment. Which is not the best time, since my car insurance just doubled (for reasons I have not been made aware of), I am in some personal debt, and my part time job is not making enough money. The curriculum here is so difficult I do not have any extra time to work. I've done the math out, and there is no way to make the money I need by the 8th of November. I don't like asking for help, but I feel like I have few other options. I'd be very grateful for just a small amount of money to help cover the costs of insurance, or my tuition.

Thanks for reading,
Alex