Early Employment and Training

 My second job after graduating from college with a BA in English was as the Executive Director of the Alamance County Arts Council in Graham, NC.  Before that, I was Director of Product Efficacy for a microbiological media manufacturer, which amazed me because that had very little to do with an English degree.

I worked for the Arts Council for 7/8 years before moving onto a community college where I designed training programs for businesses and industry.  A local Alamance Country artist did the above caricature for me as a logo to be used when I wrote articles for the local newspaper on the Arts.  I have always liked the caricature and have used it from time to time when I write.

While employed at the Arts Council, I realized that I did not have the skills, training, or expertise to manage the organization like it should be managed, so with the approval of the Board of Directors, I enrolled in an MBA program where I attended classes (fulltime) every Friday and Saturday at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

It was a difficult two years for me because my background was not in business, so I had to learn the basics of a business degree while at the same time learn the advanced, more in depth concepts of that business degree.

The class had been designed for mid-level managers who had been in the business field for a minimum of ten years.  To this day, I am still amazed as to why I was allowed to enter the program.

I had to pass 68 hours of classes, fifteen hours each semester and six hours during the summer.  We were given 2 hours of credit for working in the field of business.

Today, you can earn an MBA with only 30 hours of classes.  From my perspective, it seems the education process has been watered down, so the colleges and universities can generate more revenues.

By attending this MBA program, my political views changed from being LIBERAL to being CONSERVATIVE which in my opinion was being more BUSINESS-LIKE in my thoughts, directions, and behaviors.

There are some liberal views that I still hang onto like...  I DO NOT WANT THE GOVERNMENT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO, WHEN TO DO IT, AND HOW TO DO IT...  consequently, I believe in the right of choice for the female when it comes to abortion.  However, it does not belong in the prevue of the Federal Government to enforce this - that is not their role.  It belongs to the states.

I also believe that our federal government has the responsibility to take care of and protect its citizens as long as it has the money to do so - it should not go into debt in order to achieve this goal.  Everyone should pay their fair share of taxes, no exceptions, no exclusions, and no ability to shelter money away from taxes. 

One important aspect of knowledge that I learned from my MBA training is that there will always be:

• winners/losers
• management/labor
• wealthy/poor

This is especially true in a capitalistic society that focuses on the free-market enterprise system.  And tariffs to protect American business is also BAD, because it always American businesses not to product quality because of that protection.

The most important aspect of my MBA education and training was that it taught me to plan well for the future, be flexible in that planning as life is about change and have contingency plans for unintended consequences.  Happiness is not about WEALTH - POWER - POSITION - INFLUENCE, it is about accepting what you have, being appreciative of what you have, showing gratitude with what you have and doing your very best each day that involves taking care of others as best as you can.

Those who are in it for the money have missed the point about life and living life to its fullest.

The Attempt

 

Remember When?

 

She's Ashamed

 

Original Country

 

Two Peas in a POD

 

Robots and illegal immigrants

 

You have got to be living in a cave or dumber than a rock, if you do not realize the following two events are currently taking place right under our noses:

First - illegal immigrants are pouring into the USA at a rate never seen before and it is estimated 10-20 million of these illegal immigrants are already here.

Second - there is a HUGE PUSH to introduce and infuse AI humanoid robots into to workplace that will, by all estimates, replace 80% of all global jobs by 2030, or perhaps earlier since Elon Musk suggest this push will really start happening in 2025/2026.

THINK ABOUT THIS...

• It does not take a brain surgeon to figure out that if AI humanoid robots are going to replace jobs in th next two, maybe three to five years, then what the hell are all these illegal immigrants going to do for work???
• It is obvious that low paying wage jobs will be the first to go when AI humanoid robots start to enter the workforce.
• Illegal immigrants only have the skills to work in low wage jobs otherwise they would come in legally.

NOTE:

• Do you believe that the Democrats will close the border and STOP illegal immigrants from entering the USA???
• Do you believe that AI humanoid robots will not or never replace human workers in the marketplace???
• Do you believe that illegal immigrants will not take jobs away from American workers???

I am not a Democrat, Republican, or Independent...  I am an American Veteran who votes for the person/party that I feel will benefit the American People, not the party or themselves.

1. I want low taxes
2. I want my children to be protected and have the same future that I have/had
3. I want a strong military
4. I want a strong law enforcement
5. I want a strong growing economy
6. I don't want political censorship
7. I want a fair and honest media
8. I don't want wealth to influence politics
9. I want a balance budget
10. I want to reduce the national debt
11. I am against socialism and communism
12. I want only legal immigration
13. I want a strong educational system
14. I don't want the judicial system weaponized
15. I want EVERYONE to pay their fair share of taxes

Wages and Cost of Living

I grew up in the 1960s where we paid $0.18 for a gallon of gasoline, $0.15 for a hamburger, $1.25 for a six pack of beer, $0.25 for a pack of 20 cigarettes, and $0.25 for a movie ticket...

Obviously, have a century later (50-60 years), our cost of living is much, much higher and WAGES HAVE NOT grown at the same pace as the cost of goods and services has grown.

WHY?

Those who control the economy, business leaders, politicians, CEOs and the workers have not demanded wage/salary increases like they are demanding those increases now.

PROBLEM:

When wages grow, so too does benefits, and those increased expenses put the employer in a difficult situation...

• decrease profits
• raise prices
• layoff workers 

We have gotten ourselves (Americans that is to say) in a difficult situation where Americans are the highest paid workers in the entire world.

If we want LOW PRICES to keep our cost of living down, then we MUST NOT HIRE AMERICANS, we must ship business overseas and have the work done by workers who are not so expensive.

HOWEVER...

If we do that (to lower the cost of living), it hurts Americans because we are losing jobs.

SO...

What do you want?

Employed Americans and hirer cost of living

<OR>

Unemployed Americans and a lower cost of living???

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> US men's gymnastics team wins bronze in team all-around competition, their first medal in 16 years (More) | See recap of Day Three (More) | See latest medal standings (More)

> Martin Phillipps, lead singer of New Zealand rock band The Chills, dies at age 61 (More) | Sinéad O'Connor's 2023 death revealed to have been caused by pulmonary disease and asthma (More)

> Longtime BBC presenter Huw Edwards charged with three counts of "making indecent images of children" (More)

Science & Technology
> US health regulators approve blood test to diagnose colon cancer, the second-highest cause of cancer-related deaths in the US; test detects DNA released by tumors in the bloodstream (More)

> Apple to include features powered by its Apple Intelligence AI platform in upcoming iOS 18 update and future products; beta versions for developer testing released yesterday (More)

> Paleontologists discover new species of tyrannosaurus relative; 69-million-year-old fossil fills a gap in the evolutionary record as the creatures grew smaller and more bird-like (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (Dow -0.1%, S&P 500 +0.1%, Nasdaq +0.1%) as analysts await key Federal Reserve meeting this week (More)

> McDonald's reports first drop in global sales in 13 quarters, falling short of analysts' expectations of 0.5% growth (More)

> Oil futures fall 2% on signs Israel will try to avoid a broader conflict in the Middle East; signals come after Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah traded missile strikes over the weekend (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> US national debt tops $35T for first time; current spending projections have total debt passing $56T by 2034 (More)

> Former President Donald Trump to be interviewed as part of FBI probe into attempted assassination at Pennsylvania rally (More) | Law enforcement texts show shooter was spotted as a potentially suspicious person 90 minutes before attack (More)

> Officials in West Texas declare state of emergency after area experiences more than 100 earthquakes over the past week; cause of seismic activity is suspected to be from oil and gas extractions (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Last Day of JULY

 

WOW!!!

This is the last day of August 2024, and these months just seem to be flying by.

YES...

It is true that as one ages, time moves by at a quicker pace than it does when you are young or younger. 

I remember saying a while back that I never have a bad day because they no longer last very long.

With the passage of the month of July, several issues come to my mind.

• First, the summer is almost over
• Second, school will begin again next month
• Third, only a month or more to mow the yard
• Fourth, we will vote for President a little over two months
• Fifth, cold weather is just around the corner

During this month, we obviously spent more time outside than we did inside and as far as our family is concerned, we power washed the house and deck; once the deck dried, we stained it.

Many families decide to go on vacation during the month of July rather than the two months on either side of July for one reason or another.  We used to vacation in July as well but stopped because of the crowds and cost.  We discovered (and it makes sense) that vacations cost less if we went April/May or September/October.

We always spend the Fourth of July at home mainly because of the people and because the highways are more dangerous when there are so many other people driving.  The last thing we would want to do is fly somewhere during this holiday either.

The one downside of July is that in our neck of the woods, there are more mosquitos during this month than other months and these damn mosquitos seem to really like my lower legs.  This year, I have 6-8 bites of either leg.

For me, mosquito bites itch until they are scratched and bleed.  Once that happens there is no more itching...  however, once it bleeds, scabs form, and I end up with scars all over my ankles.

Somewhat Political

 

Dark Matter in the Ocean

Relicanthus sp. is a newfound species collected at 4,100 meters (13,450 feet) in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. It lives on sponge stalks attached to polymetallic nodules that are of interest to the mining industry. Courtesy Craig Smith and Diva Amon, ABYSSLINE Project





A mysterious phenomenon first observed in 2013 aboard a vessel in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean appeared so preposterous, it convinced ocean scientist Andrew Sweetman that his monitoring equipment was faulty.

Sensor readings seemed to show that oxygen was being made on the seabed 4,000 meters (about 13,100 feet) below the surface, where no light can penetrate. The same thing happened on three subsequent voyages to a region known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.      READ MORE...

Three Dog Night

 

Wondering

 

These are Americans?

 

Not Welcome

 

Victims

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Deadpool & Wolverine" hauls in $205M in its opening weekend at the domestic box office, the eighth largest opening ever and a record for an R-rated film (More)

> Three members of the Grammy-nominated gospel group The Nelons are among seven killed in Wyoming plane crash (More) | Gail Lumet Buckley, author and daughter of Lena Horne, dies at 86 (More)

> About 28.6 million Americans tuned in to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, a 60% jump from the 2021 games and the most since 2012 (More)


Science & Technology
> SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket two weeks after its first failed launch since 2016 (More) | The history of SpaceX in three minutes (More, w/video)

> Researchers demonstrate new nanometer-sized transistor—the basic component of nearly all electronics—capable of switching at least 100 billion times without any signs of degradation (More)

> Scientists pinpoint brain circuit responsible for the mother-infant bond in mouse study; results shed light on early postnatal development in newborn humans (More)


Business & Markets
> Markets surge Friday (Dow +1.6%, S&P 500 +1.1%, Nasdaq +1.0%) on positive inflation data, signs the Federal Reserve may begin cutting rates in near future (More) | Heard about the Fed, but don't know what it is? (More, w/video)

> US home insurers report more than $15B in underwriting losses in 2023, more than double the previous year and the worst since 2000; analysts point to population growth in areas prone to natural disasters (More)

> Apple strikes contract with union organizers at Maryland store, its first collective bargaining agreement with employees at a company retail outlet (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Israel reportedly strikes weapons depot in Lebanon in retaliation after Hezbollah rocket strike kills 12 at a soccer field in Golan Heights; Hezbollah denies involvement (More) | Israeli strike hits school in central Gaza; at least 30 people killed, according to Hamas officials (More) | See updates on war (More)

> Justice Department accuses TikTok of collecting user data on political issues, including abortion and gun control, storing the bulk information on servers in China (More)

> California's Park Fire destroys at least 130 buildings, has burned through 350,000 acres; blaze started after a suspect reportedly pushed a burning car into a gully last week (More) | See maps and status (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Summer of 2024

 As I have mentioned before numerous times, my wife and I live in East Tennessee and have been living here for over thirty years.  

While this area may not be like Atlanta, GA; NYC, NY; Chicago, IL, or Dallas, TX, it does provide many amenities available to most lifestyles and most financial brackets.

There are million-dollar homes and $200,000 homes, there lakes and parks, shopping areas, entertainment, gambling casinos, NASCAR, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and plenty of land for homeowners to have vegetable gardens.

My wife and I have had a vegetable garden every summer that has in the past included:  corn, potatoes, lettuce, squash, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, melons, and several kinds of tomatoes.

You can buy fresh vegetables at a grocery store or at a farmer's market, but you still have to pay for the veges and the cost is substantially less if you grow them yourselves including their original price, insecticides, and fertilizers.  

My wife makes up her own nontoxic insecticides and we purchase a box of miracle grow which lasts us all summer.

In addition to eating our own veges, we freeze what we cannot eat for consumption in the winter months.  So far, we have frozen enough squash and zucchini to have two meals a week for three months.

Because of the early high temps, our garden has not produced what it has produced in previous years.  When the temps dropped a few degrees, our plants started producing normally again.

Every summer is always different but as we grow older, we find that our bodies have become fonder of warm/hot weather to cold/freezing weather.

Somewhat Political

 

Changing the Future of Nuclear Power

In an exciting step toward a cleaner energy future, the world's first coal-to-nuclear power plant has broken ground in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

This innovative project, led by Bill Gates' company TerraPower, is set to be the most advanced nuclear facility on the planet, according to Electrek and a recent appearance by Gates on Face the Nation.


The Natrium demonstration plant will be a fully functioning commercial power plant, designed to be much safer and produce far less waste than conventional nuclear reactors.

What's more, it's being built on the site of a retiring coal plant, with plans to hire many of the skilled workers from the old facility.

This groundbreaking project has the potential to be a real win-win for the community and the environment. Not only will it provide 200-250 long-term jobs, but at the peak of construction, it will create 1,600 jobs, giving a major boost to the local economy.

Even better, the Natrium plant is designed to work seamlessly with renewable energy sources. It features a unique molten salt-based storage system that allows it to ramp up power output when needed, such as during peak demand times or when the sun isn't shining and wind isn't blowing.      READ MORE...

Magic Carpet Ride

 

Logic

 

End/Begin

 

Only in America

 

Batman

 

Not One

 

Who's the Toughest?

 

Lesser of the TWO EVILS

When Donald Trump was competing against Joe Biden for President, the lesser of the two evils favored Trump.  Now that Joe Biden has been replaced by Kamala Harris, the lesser of the two evils favors Harris.

There was an immediate and positive reaction when Biden dropped out of the race and Kamala Harris assumed his role, and this positiveness may propel her to victory in November...  UNLESS...

• The Democrats remember that Kamala Harris was the first Democratic candidate to drop out of the primary race.
• The Democrats realize that Kamala Harris not elected by them to be their Presidential candidate.

Of course, if they do realize this, their HATRED of TRUMP is so STRONG that those two points may not make any difference to them.

What I see, not being affiliated with either party, is that illegal immigration will continue, anti-police feelings will continue, anti-military feelings will continue, our national debt will continue to increase, and our premature push towards going green will continue...

All of this has a strong probability of slowing down economic growth.

What I also see, is that Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea will escalate their attacks against the USA and it allies and that more wars are likely to pop up like China invading Taiwan.

HOWEVER...  if this is what a majority of AMERICANS want, then this is what AMERICA should receive.

Somewhat Political

 

Blonde Man Found in Ancient Cbinese Tomb

A tomb discovered in Taiyuan from the 8th century features murals in the “figures under the tree” style.  The multiple scenes depicted throughout the tomb show daily life during the Tang dynasty.  One image includes a man with blond hair and western dress, likely an influence from the Silk Road trading route.

A Tang dynasty tomb decorated with colorful murals is providing a new glimpse into daily life in China during the 8th century. Most interestingly, the murals show signs of Western influence, particularly the inclusion of a blond, bearded figure.

A 2018 reconstruction project of a hillside road in the capital of the Shanxi Province led to unearthing the tomb, but archaeologists hadn’t really reported on the discovery until now.     READ MORE...

Wooly Bully

 

100 Days Until the Election

 

I am sure that if you are a Democrat then you are head over heels in love with Kamala Harris as our next President and cannot wait for November to arrive...

I am also sure that if you are a Republican then you are head over heels in love with Donald Trump as our next President and cannot wait for November to arrive...

As an Independent, undecided, or someone who simply does not vote, then you are as exasperated as I am over all this BS media coverage regarding these two candidates.

• Democrats smear and put down Republicans.
• Republicans smear and put down Democrats.

This type of behavior happens every day and will continue and no doubt escalate as we get closer and closer to November.

Whether you want to admit it or not, the DOJ has had an unbelievable hardon for Donald Trump ever since he announced his candidacy in 2015, making up one story after another to try and get people to abandon him.

Very little, if anything, of what he has been charged with is a legitimate crime and if these charges were ever leveled against a Democrats the rest of the world would not hear the end of it.

DOUBLE STANDARDS UNDER THE LAW is going to undermine any political party because the people will eventually wake up and realize that this might happen to them one day.

If you really look at any of these candidates, Donald, Joe, or Kamala, or any of the others that ran and were not selected including the member of the Kennedy clan, there is NO ONE that I want to vote for to be PRESIDENT OF THE USA.  NO ONE!!!

That's sad when you think about it.

Our election is not just about the USA unfortunately, it is about the rest of the world as well and what they may or may not do based upon our election results.

While on the one hand, a majority of Americans might want higher taxes, more illegal immigrants, more crime and violence and more WOKENESS and CRT in our schools, I wonder if those same people want to get into an economic and military conflict (WAR) with Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea and their allies VERSUS the USA and our allies...

If you do not think this is a real possibility, then you need a glass bellybutton to see out of.

China is preparing for war with Taiwan and ultimately war with the USA.  WEAK LEADERSHIP in the USA will move China closer to that goal.

AND...  if you don't think that the MIDDLE EAST and the leadership of IRAN does not HATE the USA, then you have not really been paying attention to the words of HAMAS when they YELL OUT...

DEATH TO AMERICA....

Although maybe you think all that yelling is just a bluff and they don't really mean it...  Maybe you think that the cutting off of American heads is just a deep fake.

There are only 100 days left until Americans vote for who they want to lead this country and if their decision end up being the wrong one, then whether they like it or not, they will be forced to live with the consequences of this election and the unintended consequences that will last long beyond the next four years.

In The NEWS

Arsonists attack France's train network ahead of Olympics.

A series of predawn fire attacks hit France's high-speed rail system Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The fires and subsequent delays in service impacted at least 800,000 passengers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Separately, catch up on yesterday's opening ceremony here, and see photos from the event here.



Venezuelans vote tomorrow in presidential election.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro seeks his third six-year term amid the country's economic crisis, marred by hyperinflation and its struggling oil industry. Maduro has ruled since 2013 following the death of the country's former president Hugo Chávez. Maduro faces nine challengers; former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia is considered the main opposition candidate. Polls show González leading Maduro by double-digits.



California's largest fire of the year grows to 164,000 acres.

The northern California blaze, known as the Park Fire, has grown to a size larger than the city of Chicago (about 148,000 acres) due to warm, dry weather and high winds. Roughly 4,000 residents in the area have been forced to evacuate, while 130 structures have been destroyed, according to officials. A 42-year-old man was arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of starting the fire via a flaming car. The fire was 0% contained as of this writing. See photos here.



Prominent short-seller charged with fraud in $16M stock scheme.

The US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges Friday against Andrew Left, founder of Citron Research, with 17 counts of securities fraud and one count of making false statements. Left is accused of making sensational comments about publicly traded companies to manipulate the stock market. He was also accused of similar misconduct in Hong Kong in 2016.



Key inflation gauge rises 2.6% year-over-year in June.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which measures costs consumers pay across a wide swath of items, excluding food and energy, rose 2.6% year-over-year and 0.2% month-over-month. Both figures are in line with analyst estimates. The index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure; the central bank targets 2% annual inflation.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Passing it Forward

 

I get a phone call from my Urologist Nursing Line every month and the call does not just pertain to how I am doing with my prostate but how I am doing in general with everything going on in my life.  This includes arranging doctors' visits with other doctors, filling prescription refills, or arranging transportation to doctor appointments if and when I need that.

I am sure that this is part of my insurance policy, but it is a nice feature and greatly appreciated at least by me.

As a result of my phone call from this nursing line, it prompted me to reach out to my brother and sister just to see how they were doing.  It was a quick email, just asking them how they were doing.

My brother responded in an hour but I have yet to hear from my sister.  In my original email, I mention that I expected no reply, I was just reaching out to be nice.

Passing it forward I think is what it is called and when you do this, speaking for myself, it makes you feel really good, as if you have done something positive in your life rather than just thinking about you.

I also thought if I shared my actions in a posting, that it might prompt others to follow my lead.

Have a great day...

Somewhat Political

 

THIRTY-FOUR Million Year Old Snake Discovered

The fossilized skeleton of the newly discovered snake species Hibernophis breithaupti, which lived 38 million years ago in what is now western Wyoming, reveals insights into the evolution and social behavior of its modern descendants. Credit: Jasmine Croghan

Ancient snakes have been unearthed, shedding light on the continent’s slithering past.
A newly discovered fossil snake species in Wyoming is transforming our understanding of snake evolution. Unearthed from a burrow where four well-preserved specimens were found intertwined, this species, named Hibernophis breithaupti, lived in North America 34 million years ago. This discovery provides valuable insights into the origins and diversification of boas and pythons.


Hibernophis breithaupti has unique anatomical features, in part because the specimens are articulated—meaning they were found all in one piece with the bones still arranged in the proper order—which is unusual for fossil snakes. Researchers believe it may be an early member of Booidea, a group that includes modern boas and pythons. Modern boas are widespread in the Americas, but their early evolution is not well understood. These new and very complete fossils add important new information, in particular, on the evolution of small, burrowing boas known as rubber boas.           READ MORE...

The WHO

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Inside Out 2" hauls in $1.46B at global box office, surpassing "Frozen 2" as the highest-grossing animated film (More) | "Deadpool & Wolverine" expected to have biggest opening weekend ever for an R-rated film (More)

> US women's national soccer team kicks off Olympics group stage with 3-0 victory over Zambia (More)

> San Diego Comic-Con kicks off; see full convention schedule (More) | Screen Actors Guild calls for strike with video game companies over use of AI (More)


Science & Technology
> NASA provides update on Boeing Starliner currently stuck at the International Space Station due to issues with helium leaks and thruster control; no return date for pair of astronauts aboard the ISS (More)

> OpenAI announces pilot of SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine meant to compete with Google and Perplexity; launch will be initially limited to 10,000 users (More) | The history of OpenAI in three minutes (More, watch)

> Butterflies can use static electricity to pull pollen grains from flowers more than half an inch away, increasing the effectiveness of the pollinators as they fly (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq -0.9%) as tech sell-off continues and investors assess US economic growth report (More) | Cold storage giant Lineage raises $4.4B in largest initial public offering of 2024 (More)

> Southwest Airlines to end open seating for first time in 53-year history, will also offer pricier seats with extra legroom; Southwest shares close up 5.5% on the news (More) | California Supreme Court upholds ballot measure classifying gig workers like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash drivers as contractors (More)

> Supermarket chains Kroger, Albertsons pause $25B merger amid federal and state legal challenges (More) | Meta reportedly to face antitrust fine from European Commission over its bundling of Facebook and ad service Marketplace (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House to discuss the war in Gaza and potential cease-fire deal; trip marks Netanyahu's first White House visit since 2020 (More) | See war updates (More)

> The US indicts North Korean hacker accused of stealing military secrets and targeting US hospitals, NASA, and military bases in cyberattack (More)

> California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issues executive order to clear homeless encampments in the state (More) | Man arrested for allegedly starting California's largest fire of the year, which has burned over 70,000 acres of land (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

COURAGE

There have been more than numerous broadcasts made, several novels written, and no telling how many movies made about Americans who acted like heroes as they displayed extraordinary amounts of courage.

Many of the people, males and females, can be found in the military from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and other wars in which we participated because our government felt like we needed to in order to protect our DEMOCRACY and FREEDOMS.

There have been a plethora of athletes who struggled with deadly disease and dismemberment only to rise above the disappointment and end of careers to find some kind of peace-of-mind, living life living these new cards that had been dealt to them.

And there have been countless stories of ordinary people with no special skills except internal determination, mental strength and fortitude and belief in a greater power who controlled their loss, disappointment and short life after being diagnosed with some sort of life ending disease or cancer.

BUT... we have totally forgotten about all of our senior citizens, who once live vibrant, healthy lives, who once they turned 60, 70, and sometimes older, encountered the gift of OLD AGE that all of us will eventually encounter whether we like it or not.

Old age is horrible because it destroys SLOWLY and METHODICALLY...  tearing down day by day that which up to this point was alive, active, and mentally tantalizing.

None of us realize these daily struggles until they happen to us and when they do, many of us simply give up and just wait around to die.  While other state that they will not go calmly into this good night.

My mother was on a walker for the last 10 years of her life when she died a month or two shy of her 96th birthday.  She was not about to let anything slow her down, attending every event that was offered at assisted living where she had her own apartment.

If you want to see a group of people with courage, just visit your local hospital where cancer infusions are given.  There is not a frown in the room, not on your life, and there never will be.  Most of the people are in their 60s, 70s, 80's, and 90s and some are younger...  BUT they are all appreciative, grateful, and show gratitude for the life they have been given.

OLD AGE IS A BITCH AND THEN WE DIE...  was what one of my friend's fathers said to me when I was 19 years old...  and I still remember at 76.  The difference is I finally understand what it means.

 

Somewhat Political