The lost sock...

Why AM I here? I have not created a life, supported a life, taken a life, sacrificed a life nor saved a life. By so stating, it supports my previous supposition that I have not lived a life. I have not enriched myself with knowledge or information or data or a lifetime of fond memories, nor have I done so for someone else.

For twenty-four years, part of my income was paid into Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance (previously known as Unemployment Insurance), as well as Federal and Provincial Income Taxes. For ten years, I have paid Property Taxes as well as water, sewer and garbage fees to the local government. In that twenty-four year time period, I took a one week vacation to Disneyland in 1992, and two weeks to Hawaii in 1994. My other holidays were when I lost my eyesight for a period of time and when my mom died. In all those years, even when handling payroll, I never once thought about the money that was deducted from my income, or the money I paid for Property Taxes. It wasn't until I didn't have that same income, when I found that I was not eligible for any government assistance that I started thinking about it. As a single person, with no spouse and no dependants (children) to support, the money that you pay goes towards paying for other people's lives. The funny thing is that much of it is in support of other people's children, their schools and education. However, as a single person with no child, you do not have a voice in regards to said schools and education of which you are paying for. Considering the state of the public education system where I live, I am rather... disappointed. But I could also say the same of parents of school age children in general these days... In the age of political correctness, equality and fairness, you have failed your children. Common sense, honesty and integrity seem now to be abstract concepts for both parent and child. Good sportsmanship and the spirit of competition are now things that must be taught. But I must ask... who are the teachers now? Products of the same failed system.

So... why AM I here... and why am I HERE? I am in essence neither a part of the problem, nor a solution to the problem. I am the unpaired sock in the wardrobe of life.