I just found out that there is a bankruptcy provision in place for farmers and fisherman to apply for rather than the normal route of a personal bankruptcy.  Finding this information came as a great relief to me as a farm owner, because I’ve seen the payback stipulations of normal debt restructures under a standard chapter 13 bankruptcy and my income wouldn’t allow me to make the payments.  As a farmer my income isn’t like a person’s that has a normal nine to five job with a steady weekly paycheck, our money comes in groups according to the seasons.  The harvest seasons can be very profitable, but certain other times of year can be very lean.  Chapter 12 bankruptcy for family farmers and fisherman takes into account the seasonal nature of the income when structuring the payment plan so I’ll be able to comfortably make the payments and get rid of my debt without putting my family in danger of going hungry during the less profitable months.  I’ll have to show that I have a history with a “regular annual income” to show that my income is sufficiently stable enough to make the payments, but as long as the majority of our debt has come from things related to farming and at least fifty percent of our annual income comes from farming we should qualify.

When you’re a kid and someone asks you what you’re going to be when you grow up, no one ever says something like an engineer, bankruptcy attorney, or even a sandwich maker.  No, everyone and anyone says they’re going to be a professional baseball player, the star quarterback of the Superbowl champions, a rock star, or the most famous movie actor in the whole entire world.  No one is ever completely realistic about what their chances are to be anything in this world.  Not everyone is going to be naturally gifted or talented enough to be even a passable musician or have the speed, strength, and grit to become an athlete.  And movie and TV stars are an even odder breed.  Not only do they have a certain look, but they also possess a huge amount of charisma.  Yes, being a fantastic actor can help and many have made it up into Hollywood on sheer acting ability, but not many of them are leading men or movie starlets.  These people are the exceptions rather than the rules.  None of this is meant to make anyone feel bad of course.  When you’re a kid, you have every right to dream about what you can be.  At that age, anything truly is possible, at least in your own imagination. 

There is one homeless man in Chicago that all of my friends that work downtown know.  His name is Reggie and everyday he greets the people that pass by him with an emphatic, ‘Happy Friday!’ or whichever day of the week it happens to be.  One of my friends, that is the editor of a magazine, wants to do a story on him.  He talks to him all the time, and apparently the company he used to work for filed for bankruptcy, and he never really recovered.  Reggie is not the most gracious of homeless people though.  One time my friend Zack gave him a Krispy Kreme doughnut and he told Zack that he would take it because he was homeless, but he probably would not like it.  Another time Zack handed him two dollars, thinking that was being more than generous, and Reggie looked at him and asked if that was all he was giving him.  Another time Zack brought him into Dunkin Donuts to buy him breakfast, and he made a huge mess and was very obnoxious.  He does have his good side though.  For my brother’s birthday my friend Zack had Reggie leave him a voicemail singing him happy birthday.        

This summer, I was planning on visiting my uncle in Canada; it was going to be my gift for getting good grades in school for the entire year. My uncle just called us and told us that he is being forced to file for Chapter 13 by his creditors. He is the owner of a company that owns and rents out limousines. Lately, he has not been getting much business, but he thinks that this setback is only temporary. Even if it is temporary, it still lasted long enough for him to lose enough money to be heavily in debt. He convinced his creditors that this is only a temporary setback and that he will be able to get his business back on track again. This is why he has to file for Chapter 13. This will give him time to repay all of his debts while keeping his business operational and being able to produce more income. While I am happy for my uncle, the bad news it that he told me that I would not be able to come visit him this summer. He is going to be working overtime nearly every day for quite some time so that he can get his business back on track.