Ronald Collins:  

lay to play....the passion....and enjoyment....many together for 20 plus years! The last few years have been a challenge....last year really kinda got me....the universe pointed its finger at me....and said, "ure turn!" So, I am recovering....my family,sons, daughter, brother, sister, MOM (my Angel) and friends were very supportive. *Over the years just because you loose track of your old friends does not mean they are still not there for you....and don't care about your well being. I can attest to this because last year if it were not for the many people that came by Moms to "give me a kick start" and my families phone calls and visits - I probably would not be writing this now - THANK YOU ALL! I got to know why MOMS are so important....Thanks MOM - she is my Angel! Thanks Tom & Tress, and Danielle, Shaun & Tommy - Dan Bilka, Tom Alexander, Richard Sexton....Dad & his church members in Virginia,and many more that prayed and stopped in to say Hi...May you all be blessed with great health and joy. I lost 2 of my idols - Evil Knievel this year....I was great at going off jumps...problem was I could never perfect my landings....usually pretty explosive with parts flying. HA! Paul Newman....awesome person with his contribution to his non profit and what he accomplished with his life! Our biking days with Tom Alexander, Tom Collins-my brother and main mechanic who always fixed my bikes with parts left over, and also forgot to hook up brakes - which left my body imprint in the farmhouse siding- ha!, Johnny Knox, Doug Cooper, Jeff Phipps, Mark and John & Mark Lambert, Dan Bilka, The Holbrook brothers, the Foards, Rick....what a group! We were old school stunt man on ice, hills, jumps, flat, straight up(straight down), using barn heaters on our gas tanks to get the gas to mix with the oil (until boiling) in cold weather....insanity at its peak! Going off jumps with my poor sister Teresa screaming on the back....hide and seek in the dark chasing people down with dirt bikes....riding 6 people on a 100cc kawasaki...the stuff we don't want our kids to do now...ha. * Tim Kueski, Billy Foard, Jimmy Foard heading to Trailway in Pa to race...when we had a light show-ha.,the race in Elkton with Jimmy Foard and my brother Tom - Thanks guys - wheres the beer.....just got ran over...ha! The stuff we used to do....sorry kids don't try it at home or out! Times have changed.... Hope to hear from you all....if you have pictures please send them (of the old class or parties) or your family, PLEASE NO Pictures that would contribute to a verdict of guilt...in regards to anyone.*This is a joke! Ha! PS. In case you forgot NHHS 1974 had the first Harford County Streaker that knocked on Benson Barrack MSP door....and the poor chap was left running amuck through the cornfield, convulsing from cold....when his "good" friends got back from eating at Ginos....to find him chasing his car....no it was not me....never...but...I was crying from laughing for about three days...LOL.... I will not tell! PS: Lets not forget the "win the date with "Donny Osmond" contest - we had a great time with that. We had a great party from the money raised....too bad "Donny (DJ) Osmond" didn't make it! Subject: ONLY IN AMERICA! When a company falls on difficult times, What happens? Here's a great idea!!! When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall street, and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision", and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. Our government should not be immune from similar risks. Therefore: Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Also reduce remaining staff by 25%. Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps / two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting. Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include: $44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay / member / yr.) $97,175,000 for elimination of the above people's staff. (estimate $1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate every year) $240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%. $7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion / yr) The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country? We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing. Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few) Note: Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators & congress. Summary of opportunity: $ 44,108,400 reduction of congress members. $282,100, 000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff. $150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff. $59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members. $37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members. $7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members. $8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings. (that's 8-BILLION just to start!) Big business does these types of cuts all the time. If Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits there is no telling how much we would save. Now they get full retirement, full health insurance, and other perks after serving only ONE term. Gee... I think one or two of them that made the statement about "our retired Senior Citizens" - "There is no reason retirees can't make it on $12,000.00 per year." GREAT! Lets reduce their pay to that after they are out of office.....and put them on medicare/aid...saving us MILLIONS! IF you are NOT at all happy, then I assume you know what to do. FINANCIAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT! TAKE CARE - LOL Sincerely, Ron "Cloudwalker" Collins 3426 Dublin, Md 21034 (443)617-7417