His implication was that both my father and grandfather were lazy. Those that know/knew my father and grandfather know how hysterical that comment was. That is the one thing I pride my family in most, a stellar work ethic.

I have written extensively about both characters in previous articles. People like Dick Friedeman inherit houses; I inherited a sense of pride from my blue collar family and a strong work ethic. I understand that many who have not lived in a blue collar family or congregated with those who labor might not understand how difficult the work is.

Both members of my family worked outside with their hands. Rain, snow, sleet or hail, building pipelines to ensure Americans' homes are heated and cars fueled. Sometimes they worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, far away from home.

I feel this is a good opportunity to open the door and talk about unions or perhaps just a living wage. Being part of a union ensured my father and grandfather a chance to take care of their families. Things weren't extravagant, my mother clipped coupons and we wore hand-me down clothes, but we never had to worry about food being on the table or not being able to pay for our home. Money was left over for a savings.

Because my father made a living wage, our family did not have to depend on government subsidies, and even donated to lessen the amount of money the government has to pay into things.

As a child and adult I have seen my family members do some pretty gracious things. My father found two classmates of mine in a snow bank without proper clothing while he was snowmobiling, late one evening. I was in the 5th grade, my father brought them home and gave them some of our snow gear to keep warm; they were half frozen. My father and mother told my sister and I we weren't allowed to talk about the events at school, there was no need to embarrass the youngsters. This was a great lesson for me.

We had extra, not excess. This donation made it so the government did not have to pay for warm clothing for those children when they went into state custody. Tax dollars saved.

My mother volunteered in our classrooms, lessening the government's burden to hire another paid staff member. She was able to volunteer because Dad made enough to get by. There are many kids in the community that still remember her because of her volunteer work in the schools. Tax dollars saved.

As an adult I had a friend come over to go sledding with our family. You see, sledding is a fantastic past time in Northern Michigan. Adults and kids alike go. My friend did not have a coat to wear; my Father literally gave her the coat off of his back. He had extra, not excess.

My parents paid for me to go to college. They saved for years. I have no student loans; I did not need to borrow money from the government or use grants like other kids. It was a priority for both of them that my sister and I receive an education. Tax dollars saved.

My father enjoys fishing, and when he catches fish he enjoys giving it to people in town. I have known him to shoot a deer at deer season and give it to someone that is unemployed and can't put meat on the table, a person that may have had to resort to food stamps at some point. Tax dollars saved.

My mother and father are both very giving in the community, lessening the burden of tax dollars on the government.

On the way back from shopping late one evening, my family pulled into the driveway of our home to find a young man stealing items from our Van. The boy took off, Dad sent us out of the truck and chased the young man down. Dad found him, gave him a good talking to and drove him home. I wouldn't recommend this for safety reasons, but he never called the police, saving tax dollars. (This may have nothing to do with a living wage, but it is a hell of a story about saving tax dollars.)

My father retired at 49 years old, however he had moved up the ladder of his company. Like I said, he is great with numbers. My mother bought many houses in Kalkaska to start a rental business and fix up the houses to help add value to a community that has many of its own issues. Because they had extra they were able to invest in stocks, in their community, and in their own business.

My grandfather was hard working and responsive to community needs. My grandmother, and he took in ANY family member that needed help, because they had extra not excess.

Grandpa bought a little trailer for his mother-in-law to live in when she became too old to stay in her home. He put it on his land so they could care for her. This lessened the money the government would have to spend on senior care. Many tax dollars saved.

They took in my grandfather's parents after his Mother had a stroke. Tax dollars saved.

Grandpa helped Mom and Dad get on their feet, and the majority of his kids as well, giving them a bit of a start.

Grandma volunteered so many hours for the Red Cross she received recognition and a banquet when she "retired" from her volunteer gig. Grandma was able to stay home and take care of the community because Grandpa made enough. Tax dollars saved.

Grandma took care of every ailing family member. Most never went into a home, she dropped by enough to help clean their homes and go shopping for them. Since they didn't need elder care services tax dollars were saved.

Grandpa was a Korean War Veteran. Forty percent of homeless are veterans. I am glad that my grandfather received a living wage job, and did not result in that statistic.

Two percent of American's own the majority of wealth in America, leaving the rest of Americans to fight over the remaining bits. Things have changed; our government has redistributed the wealth of our country into the hands of few, and want to play it off as the middle class working man who is causing problems. The census findings of 2009 report the gap between the rich and the poor are wider than any other time in American history. The source documented here provides fantastic stats and graphs. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-09-28-census-income-gap_N.htm)

Great Bend has many atrocities crime wise for such a small town. When the people of a town are poor, crime increases. Crime on children in the home increase, social services increase, less people are able and willing to give, ending in the government paying out more dollars. My fiancé Chad is from Detroit, yesterday he said, "With crime like this in Great Bend we would be safer living in Detroit".

Great Bend has an average income of $24,493 a year, median for all female full time workers is $19,647 per year. (http://www.simplyhired.com/a/local-jobs/city/l-Great+Bend,+KS) . I wonder if the majority will ever be able to retire, or give back to the community.

Unions give the working man a voice to keep the middle class alive. Of course there is corruption, but where isn't there? Even churches of today are not free of corruption.

My uncle put it into much better words than I, "When a union member pickets he knows that he risks the chance of loosing his job, but he does it for those that come after him. For posterity. If a person chances the risk of loosing a job, you know it must be for a good reason. "

Instead of neigh-saying unions because of some corruption, we need to work on fixing corruption. We need to ensure my generation and those following have jobs that they can afford to raise a family on. We need to ensure that the middle class will still exist in twenty years. We need to ensure our communities are safe.

In this country, if you work hard you shouldn't have to worry about food on the table and you shouldn't have to depend on the government to help you get by. You also shouldn't have to listen to neigh-sayers who earn more than a living wage themselves complain about your wage. Earning a living and hard work are things we should be proud of in this country.