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Originally Posted by oracle80
Patrick you are completely off base although I know you probably don't mean to be. The thought that I ever had accessibility to anything is a joke. I don't come from a silver spoon upbringing, very far from it. As a kid I used to help out a paperboy in the neighborhood and do his route when he went on vacation. AFter I turned 12 and was old enough to get my own route, I did. Then I had a morning paper route to go with the one after school. Mowed lawns, raked leaves, shoveled snow(back before everyone owned a snow blower they would pay a kid like me 1 or 2 dollars to shovel their snow). Got a job(as a telemarketer, sucked) the day I turned 16 and could do that. Had a partial scholarship at college and hustled the rest. Drove wrecks of cars that sometimes were held together with duct tape around a broken electrical line. Nothing was handed to me, ever. I had "acess" because I met a guy who had heard I could really cap the ponies and needed a pik-6 connection in NY because he was a maverick that loved to play carryovers and back when I met him there wasnt account betting or simulcasting everywhere. You had to have a guy in that state that could the bet down and NY was a good carryover place. He'd wire me the money to make the bet on a carryover and we would talk over what we were playing and I would get 5%. Later on he became an eclipse winning owner and I got to meet trainers and players from being with him all the time. So you can't even say I caught a break there, I performed hard for the guy with hard work, thats the only reason I got there in the first place. Even after that it was a struggle for a long time. Business is ripe with old money and inherited money guys who frown upon people who didnt have their shrimp peeled for them when they were kids.
I really fail to see how a minority could have had it any tougher than I did, other than I didn't get called racial epithets but heck being from the sticks where I was bussed into school with many rich kids I was called things just as bad. You are off base heer Patrick and I think your generalization on teh whole matter regarding opportunity stinks.
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Oracle,
Thanks for sharing. I have a very similar background to yours.
I also shoveled snow, delivered newspapers, mowed lawns...
then "real" jobs like truck driver, deli manager...I could go on and on. I won't post my entire resume cause I think you know where I come from.
Anything that is earned with honest effort has a sweeter taste to the reward.
This thread took off to places I didn't envision. There have been insults, diversions, and some hateful things said. I'm just glad that some can vent on this thread rather than take out their anger on their wives, girlfriends, or kids.
Despite my modest upbringing, I've learned to do the following:
1) Dispute the "idea", not the person. Ask for reasonable answers without insults or name calling.
2) Think first, then think again. Then work hard to make the vision become.
3) Discuss your own views and respect those that differ. Don't use other's ideas to "mask" your own...speak for yourself.
4) A good debate sticks to the topic and is backed with facts. Diversion is easily seen.
5) Hate less. Others have equal or more difficult events within their lives.
Mike, I'm not attempting to give a sermon. You know what I'm talking about.
What I've said is not directed at you. However, if others see some sanity in my words...that might be the ones that need to hear.
6) Let's be polite and respectful to each other, as we would hope they would be back towards ourselves.
DTS
07-05-2006, 06:06 PM
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