HALLOWEEN

                                                            

Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening),also known as Allhalloween All Hallows' Eve,or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church. Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films. 

In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration. 

Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.   SOURCE:  Wikipedia

THIS and THAT

Just Me and My Thoughts

My thoughts appear out of nowhere or that is what they seem to be doing and yet I know that these thoughts must come from somewhere.  The generation of these thoughts is better in the morning for some reason and so it is in the morning that I have trained myself to write and reflect.  Upon reflection, I formulate ideas and once the idea hatches, my mind begins to control my consciousness openly and I put pen to paper and write...  or, in this case, I put fingers to keyboard and type...  however, I can actually write faster than I type and errors are easily scratched out, whereas with the keyboard, one must find and use the backspace key that I use all the time...

Nonetheless, I write in a notebook with a pen in hand, usually black and usually fine point as medium points smear...  and I write on blogs using a computer...  actually a laptop since the keyboard on a tablet is too small for my fat fingers.

And... mornings are the best for me as I drink coffee but also in the afternoons do I write my thoughts as I really have nothing else to do with my life now that I am retired...  although, I have taught some evening college classes in the past and have agreed to teach another one in the spring of 2021...  this class I taught many times before so I just need to update my syllabus a little and I am good to go...  Personal Financial Planning changes very little over the years...  and, as I think about it, I will be adding BITCOIN and CRYPTO CURRENCY to my list of topics.

All Creatures Great and Small

Disrespect For Limits Causes Accidents/Deaths

An early morning scheduled PET-CT Scan had me up at 5:00 am and on the road by 5:30 am since I could not eat or drink anything 6 hours before my arrival time of 6:30 am...  This morning, it was dark, foggy as best as I could tell, and raining as if Trump had won the election and the world was going to end.  Usually, I drive with one hand on the wheel, but today I had both hands and could feel the vehicle sliding a little to both sides as the rain pounded the windshield.

Once in the city limits of Knoxville, the traffic was thin and moving rather briskly until all of a sudden traffic was stopped, backed up, and slowly moving to the left as emergency vehicles creeped past us with sirens blaring.  Fortunately, most of the drivers (including truckers) were polite, allowing every other vehicle to merge left from 4 lanes down to 1 lane that was actually the pull over zone for disabled vehicles.

As I drove by the wreck, it looked like 4-5 vehicles were involved and that a few had been injured since there were 3 ambulances.  One of the vehicle involved in the crash was facing me as I drove by, the front end of the car completely smashed up against the front seat and the driver was still pinned in behind the wheel. 

I later found out that all the vehicles involved were driving too fast and following too close and with the amount of rain coming down on the road and hydroplaning conditions in place...  it was the perfect storm for an accident.

I would suspect that there are twice as many vehicles on the road in 2020 as there were in the 1960's and I have personally observed that unless there is a highway patrolman or cop in plain sight, NO ONE OBSERVES the speed limit and that includes:  Old/Young, Black/White, Male/Female as well as Hispanics, and illegal immigrants.

Personally, I don't care who lives or dies anymore because when I drive, I assume EVERYONE IS DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE and watch my speed, keep my distance, and am constantly on the lookout for asshole drivers.

It's nothing personal, just the world that we are living in today.

Workplace Communications

Communication problems in the workplace can have a negative impact on morale, productivity and interdepartmental working relationships. When left unchecked, ongoing communication problems can potentially cut into profits, increase turnover and lead to mistakes that negatively impact the company’s public image. Recognizing and addressing common issues can smooth over problems before they get out of hand. Watch for common workplace communication problems and resolve them quickly.

Common Communication Problems

1. Failure to communicate fully
2. Assuming someone else has the ball
3. Failure to self edit
4. Being unprepared
5. Using the wrong communications tool
6. Saying too much

People in general make the assumption that communications is simple when in reality if you are not taught how to communicate properly, it is 100% certain that the communicator will be misunderstood...

Let me try to paint an example of what I am saying...

1.  Person A makes a comment to person B

2.  there is a 50/50 chance that communications are perfect

3.  Person B communicates to person C

4.  50% chance of understanding (B) times another 50% chance of understanding (C)

5.  the result is .50 X .50  =  .25

6.  or a 25% chance that person C understands what person A was trying to communicate

7.  now person C communicates to person D

8.  25% chance of understanding (C) times 50% chance of understanding (D)

9.  the result is .25 x .50  =  ,125

10.  or there is a 12.5% chance that person D understands what Person A was trying to communicate.

NOTE:  From the very beginning there is a problem with my communications example because everyone made the assumption that communicating was not a problem...  everyone knows how to talk.

If you are married, you also understand how difficult it is sometimes when talking to your spouse, as what you thought you said clearly was still misunderstood...  and, if the issue is pushed then a huge argument follows pissing off both spouses to the point that they go into separate room and stop communication altogether.

These actions are extremely detrimental to a marriage and they are devastating to a company.

Illegal Drugs

 NATIONAL INTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE       

    

1. Vaping
2. Nicotine & Other Tobacco
3. Marijuana
4. Alcohol
5. Opioid
6. Other Illicit Drugs

More than 42,500 students from nearly 400 public and private schools across the country participated in this year’s Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey of drug use and attitudes among American 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. Encouraging trends continue to be seen for cigarette use, with past month use down by approximately 20-30 percent compared to the mid-1990’s. Declines were seen in five-year trends of lifetime, past year, past month and binge alcohol use and in overall rates of lifetime, past year and past month illicit drug use, excluding marijuana, among 10th and 12th graders. Notably, misuse of prescription opioids among high school seniors is at its lowest rate since the survey began assessing it. Despite these promising trends, the 2019 MTF results show a continued dramatic increase in vaping.

Some of the most common reasons that high school seniors reported they vape are to, “experiment”, “because it tastes good”, “to have a good time with my friends”, and “to relax or relieve tension.” Over the past year, the two-fold rise in the percent of 12th graders that say they vape because they are “hooked” is of particular concern. This report supports other published findings that flavor additives, especially sweet flavors like fruit and mint, are appealing to youth. Overall, reported rates of past month vaping appear to exceed any other kind of substance use, including alcohol and marijuana, for all three grades; and in each grade past year vaping is second only to alcohol.  TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...

Importance of an Education

In 1966, I graduated from high school in the Spring and entered college in he Fall of that same year.  Two and a half years later, I left college because I was not happy, worked for a year then enlisted in the US Navy and after 2 years realized that in the military was not the place I wanted to be, so I left and returned to college and two years later received a BA degree.  Five years later, I entered Grad School and after 2 more years, I graduated with an MBA.

While my MBA opened doors that would have otherwise been closed, I hardly ever used the knowledge from my MBA in the discharge of my duties until I started designing and teaching classes in Project Management which lasted from about 3-5 years out of my 45 year career.

SO...  what was the point of my education?

From my standpoint, my education provided me with a lot of knowledge but did very little in the performance of my job or in my pay raises or advancements, except opened door as I mentioned.  Therefore, my career could have been just as successful had I received no education at all outside of high school.

First of all, when I left college in 1968 and entered the military, I could have remained in the military for 20 years and retired in 1990 at 43 years old.  At that point, I could have used my military experience and secured another job doing whatever for another 20 years and retired a second time in 2010 at 63.  I still would have been below FULL RETIREMENT AGE to receive Social Security, but I would have income from 2 other pension plans.

During my career, I had an opportunity to talk with a restaurant owner, who after high school got a job at that restaurant as a bus boy...  worked his way up to a waiter, then a cook, then chef, then assistant manager, then manager, and after all those years working for the company was given the opportunity to purchase the FRANCHISE and became owner.

He had no college debts that he had to pay off but when talking with him he came across as a well educated person.  During our conversation, he told me that he read a lot and learned most of his knowledge by reading as there was no tests or pressure on him to retain the knowledge he was reading so it was easier for him to remember.

When one speaks of the IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION, one is always assuming that this means going to college, but college is not for everyone.  I was lucky because the GI Bill paid for all of my college education after I returned to college; otherwise, I would have had TONS OF DEBT to pay off with very little to show for it...  and, because of all that debt, I may have been forced to move out of the South where the wages are traditionally LOW...

Importance of Family

Over my lifetime...  at least so far, I have know several families many of which had 2-3 children while only a few had more than 3 children...  and, the general consensus of my thoughts were that most of these families (around 90-95% I would have to say) were CLOSELY TIED when the years between their ages were far apart or when they were close...  as family is family and that is more important than age difference.  However, I never knew or came into contact with any family where one sibling was substantially more wealthy than the other siblings.  Typically, each family were comprised of the HAVE and HAVE NOT siblings in various degrees of success but they were still all close.

This is in STARK CONTRAST to my siblings where my sister is much more successful that I was but mainly because she lived and worked in a State that paid much higher wages than the State in which I lived and worked...  so, we were relatively on the same playing field.

Our brother, on the other hand (8 or 12 years younger) quickly became a MILLIONAIRE and then a BILLIONAIRE and as he acquired more and more wealth, he wanted less and less to do with his two siblings...  not sure why, but I can speculate that not only were we beneath him but that he traveled in different INTELLECTUAL CIRCLES than we did, making it damn near impossible to have a conversation.

This SIBLING INDIFFERENCE extended to me personally when I was told I had experienced a heart attack, had cancer, then developed another cancer, and was later hospitalized with a STAPH infection...  his response was GOOD LUCK...  although, he did recommend a cardiac surgeon who inserted stints into my arteries so I did not have to have a triple bypass...  this was accomplished because he was on the BOARD of DIRECTORS of the hospital and MADE IT HAPPEN.

Other than that, for the last 12 years, I have only had minimal contact with my brother outside of a $50 gift card for my birthday and a $100 Christmas Present that I did not need.  He does not answer my phone calls, my texts, or my emails...  and, on those rare occasions where a text or an email is answered, it is usually less than 6 words and there IS NEVER A FOLLOWUP...

IRONICALLY, on his 50th birthday celebration,  he rented a library for 150 of his closest friends and invited me and my sister up for the party as well...  and as a parting gift for everyone, we were given a book by a Harvard Professor, curiously enough on the IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY...  My sister and I were invited as TOKENS because during the party and afterwards, he had nothing to do with us other than a QUICK thank you for coming hello.

During his son's wedding, we were treated the same way, except this time our mother was isolated with us.  The only time when we were really treated like family was when our father was alive...  and, I am sure that his behavior was for our father's benefit and not ours.

YES...  the family is important...  just not our family...  since those events, my sister has backed away from me...  or, I have backed away from her, as I am not totally sure other than the fact that we do not communicate anymore either, except when she wants to share what is going on in her family with us but never responds to our reply.

What it boils down to for me is that the only real person that I can count on outside of my wife, is myself and my faith...  and, whether or not that is sad is beside the point, since this is a fact of my life.

MATTHEW 18:20

"FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE

 GATHER TOGETHER IN MY NAME

 THERE AM I WITH THEM..."

This is the passage most often used by the United Methodist Church Ministers with whom I spent my morning on Sundays at the request of my parents, to justify the necessity of attending Church...  but, as you can easily see, NOWHERE is there a command or instruction to be in Church.  If fact, according to this passage, I could be in my vehicle, outside on my deck, on the battlefield in Vietnam, or at Myrtle Beach as long as there were one perhaps two others who were gathering in HIS NAME.

This is a CALL TO WORSHIP...  not to attend CHURCH...

Back in the time of Jesus, the Synagogues (our modern Church so to speak) were located in the cities and not everyone lived in those urban areas and did not have a Synagogue to attend in order to worship...  so, Jesus was telling the people of his day, that they did not need a Synagogue in which to worship but they could do so in HIS NAME where there were two or three present.

And...  while this does not indicate that an individual could worship alone, I am sure that was also possible since Jesus prayed to HIS FATHER all the time when he was alone.  Jesus wanted to encourage gatherings.

Komic Korner Kartoons

 

The Shadows of our Memories

President John F. Kennedy in the month of November 1963 was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas and the ENTIRE WORLD mourned the loss of a GOOD MAN as he was perceived by the general public according to what the NEWS MEDIA wanted the general public to know about JFK.

I was living in Cairo, Egypt at the time and a classmate at the time called me on the telephone and told me what he had heard.  I did not believe him but told my parents who made a few phone calls and confirmed what I had been told.

Interestingly, Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH earlier that same year in August when my parents, brother, and I were traveling to Cairo, Egypt via several sightseeing stops in Europe after a 12 day ocean voyage across the Atlantic on Holland America's USS Constitution.

1963 was a transition year for me, my family, as well as ALL AMERICANS because that is the year when, like the song APPLE PIE (or When the Music Died) AMERICAN POLITICS DIED as well.

And, for a half century (53 YEARS)  American Politics stopped being FOR THE PEOPLE and became FOR THE POLITICIANS and their hopeful perpetual re-elections.  As Americans became FAT, DUMB, and HAPPY, the rest of the world like:  the Middle East, Russia, China, Japan, Asia and India began to silently grow in population, technology, strength,  power, and most importantly STEM education.

What did Americans do?

We smoked marijuana, snorted cocaine, inhaled meth by freebasing and drank more than our share of alcohol and food...

2016 is not the year and with more than unexpected alarm, a new President is elected but not by the popular vote but by the ELECTORAL COLLEGE which was put into the US Constitution by the Founding Fathers because they PERCEIVED that the American People could be manipulated...  and, not only did this happen but our new President is a political outsider and a disdainful businessman who is a billionaire and exemplifies the heart and soul of our Capitalistic Free Market Enterprise Economic system...

What a crushing blow to the LIBERAL DEMOCRATS who theoretically are the party of the working class and the Middle Class who have no opportunity to achieve such wealth in their lifetimes, even though our advertising brochures for America refer to us as the LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.

And so the attacks begin and as our ECONOMY STRENGTHENS and grows beyond expectations, so too does the attacks on our President.  THEN... the unimaginable happens and China releases a Pandemic and the ENTIRE WORLD is shutdown economically...  and, even though President Trump listened to his health advisors, he is not only blamed for the Virus but is blamed for the destroyed US economy.

Whether the US changes in 2020 or 2024 is not the question...  the question is not a question but a statement of fact...   and, that fact is...  at some point-in-time in the near future, America will change politically and that change will be dramatic and that change will put us into a position economically from which will MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RECOVER...

2030 will be the year to watch...

2050 will be the year that America is no longer even close to being a world power...

It does not take a brain surgeon to see this.  All one has to do is perform an INTERNET SEARCH on Forecasts for 2030 and 2050 and read the results.

Here is an example for 2050

1.  The world economy will double

2.  The world population will double perhaps triple

3.   China and India will have the greatest economies, the USA will be third or fourth behind Indonesia

4.  Shortages of food and water will begin to emerge as problems

5.  The global economy will shift towards China/India and away from NYC/Los Angeles

6.  Technology will be the fastest growing industry

7.  The USA will no longer lead the world in millionaires or billionaires

8.  America's Colleges and Universities will not longer lead the world

9.  America's military will no longer be the most powerful

10.  China will be the most powerful country in the world

If you are 30, 40, or even 50 years old now, you will live long enough to see this happen....

THIS and THAT