Wednesday September 9, 2009...Summer ends

School has started and the weather is getting cooler. Congress is back from vacation and hopefully ready to deal with the needs of the nation. Tonight the President addresses a joint session of congress and hopefully will start the ball rolling on getting a national health care system instead of the hodge-podge we now have.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to getting out to the Rocky Mountains for a couple of weeks of camping. The aspen should be ready to turn and it should be before any major snow, so traveling on the backroads should be well worth while. I haven't been to the mountains for a few years and I've missed the peace and quiet of the mountains. Their ancient timelessness permeates your soul and you come away completely refreshed. It is as if time has stopped out there in the mountains and the ravages of civilization haven't touched some of the high country. You are seeing what the ancient indians saw hundreds of years ago and the wonder of nature still exists.

Sunday August 30, 2009 ...Pass it on

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 44 lessons life taught me.
It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled
over to 90 in August, so here goes:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. Save for retirement, starting with your first paycheck.
9. Love your parents because they will be gone before you know it.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
11. It's OK to let your children see you cry
12. Don't compare your life to others'.. You have no idea what their journey is
all about.
13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
14. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
15. Take a deep breath......It calms the mind.
16. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
17. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
18. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
19. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
20. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion..Today is special.
21. Over-prepare, then go with the flow.
22. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
23. The most important sex organ is the brain.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
34. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
35. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Tuesday August 18, 2009...Depressed

I'm a bit depressed today.

Okay, I'll admit that I now lean to the liberal side of the aisle. I was originally a young Republican with belief in Eisenhower and Nixon and Goldwater. But, once Reagan and Bush (the elder)had their 12 years of trickle down tripling of the national debt and reshuffling of the financial strength away from the middle class to the wealthy and crushing of the unions, I saw the light. Trickle down doesn't work. When the wealthy get more money, they tend toward either conspicuous consumption or hoarding. There is not the sharing of the wealth and reinvesting of the capital as was expected. Instead of replenishing our industrial might, it was outsourced to cheaper labor markets and the middle class was ignored.

Now I'm getting angry. The Democrats won the majority in the house and the senate as well as the presidency and still they cower before the strength of the special interests. Right now is the time for us to join the other nations with a national health plan which should include a public option if not a complete one payer system, but our elected representatives are shying away from what the public needs in favor or what the special interests want. The insurance lobby and the drug lobby have poured millions and millions of dollars into the coffers of the elected officials and into television and ads trying to brainwash us all into actually believing that our broken health system is better than all the other countries in the world have come up with. We DO pay much more per capita for health care than any other country, but we do not have anywhere close to the best health than most of the industrialized countries in the world. We have people going bankrupt and dying because they cannot afford basic health care or insurance. This would not happen in most of the other industrialized countries. I guess I remember when we were among the leaders of the world. We are slipping away and will probably eventually end up second-rate with sharp divisions of the people into the wealthy and the workers. Maybe it's too late to change – our leaders are reacting to the pressure from the wealthy power and not to the wishes of the people. Shades of the Roman Empire when it was beginning to lose it's grandeur. I suppose that the United States has had it's run of power, much like Spain did and France did and Germany did and England did. It appears that China will be the next great power and we will have to give up being the king of the hill. The rich are taking their money and running to other countries now. Off shore accounts and offices in other countries are becoming the norm and we will just be the tenants to the new landlords.

I really had hopes after the last election, but it looks like everything had slipped too far down for us to stop the slide. The future will be interesting, but perhaps not as bright as the past. Depressing, isn't it?

Tuesday August 11, 2009...Thoughts about healthcare and education

I've seen major changes in the medical field during my lifetime.
When I was a child doctors still made house calls and hospitals were only used for major illness or surgery. Doctors weren't terribly rich, many lived in the same neighborhood where I grew up. Hospitals were mostly run by churches or charitable organizations. Doctor bills and hospital bills weren't something to be feared, they just had to be paid as they were needed. Health insurance didn't exist for most people at that time. In fact I never had health insurance till after my daughters were born. When my first daughter was born in 1964 the doctor's charge was $150.00 and the hospital bill for 7 days stay was $150.00. At the time, I made $475.00 per month, so it wasn't too much of a burden.
Back then, the doctor's I knew were more interested in the Hippocratic Oath and patient care than the money. It was an honorable profession and the doctor was greatly admired.

We had an adequate educational system back then too. Anyone with a high school education was capable of obtaining work and providing for their family. Our education system was among the best in the world and the education that we received prepared us for the world that existed then. We have slipped way down the ladder compared to our foreign competition. Our students lack the education that will prepare them to compete with those in other countries.

Something has gone way out of whack since then. We have people unable to afford basic medical care in our United States and the whole fabric of the medical field has become obsessed with money. Everyone is worried about everyone else filing suits against each other. We have turned away from helping others to protecting what we have. In the parable of The Good Samaritan, we have become a people matching those who passed by not wanting to become involved. We have become rude and uncaring for those who have less. It is a sad thing to see, because I remember when people were actually polite and cared about others.

At this time, with the way people and things are, I believe the only solution is to have the government involved in the providing of care and education of our people. We can see what has happened when we left it up to the conscience of the good people of this country. We now have a country of the haves and the have-nots and those with the most don't seem to want to help those with the least. Our medical system has fallen way below adequate and our educational system is slipping farther and farther below the norm. The only way we can pick ourselves up by the bootstraps is to unite behind our government and assure equal opportunity, equal education and equal medical care for all of us. Those who have more can still get more than the rest of us, because they can afford the best, but for the good of our country and our own future we need to insure that our people are healthy and educated.

I'm not one to shout and protest. I usually quietly accept the mandate of the electorate and assume that all of us are in the same boat working together. I have lately decided that this assumption is no longer accurate. We are divided and the division is widening with each year that passes and our government seems to be one of special interests and influenced too much by those interests. More and more of the quiet, silent majority of us are becoming disappointed with what has been happening and we are looking for someone who cares about us and works for us. Right now the contentious loud-mouthed wing nuts are shouting down the voices of reason and the rest of us are quietly seething.

Tuesday August 4, 2009...Generations

My grandson informed me the other night that I was no longer an adult – I was now a senior. His parents are adults and he is a junior. I got the impression that he didn't believe seniors were quite aware of how the world works – that is in the realm of adults. I think he believes that seniors and juniors are about equal and should listen to the adults.

Unfortunately, much of society thinks along these same lines as they dismiss the wealth of information available from seniors who have been through the wringer and have very clear views of how to handle many of the situations that people now find themselves in. We seniors have been there and done that and have some valuable insight in how to handle a situation that may be new to the adults out there.

What do you know?
Your world was different from my world.
Your opinion doesn't carry as much weight as my attitude.

It seems that each generation must stumble it's way through the same problems that we have already passed through and won't listen to advice given from those older and more experienced. It really is a shame.

Monday July 27, 2009...Summer

Summer's almost gone!

It's near the end of July and school starts before the middle of August this year, so it is almost gone.

We've had a very cool year compared to previous summers. Our highs lately have only been in the 80s instead of 100s. My Wyoming daughter and her husband don't know what they are missing. Summers in Wyoming may get up near 100, but they remain very dry. Here in Kansas City we usually get the 100s with a whole lot of humidity. But this year has been special. We're still having to mow the grass once a week. The grass hasn't gone dormant and continues to be a lush green. Our garden is growing like crazy without the mid summer droop. I'm not knocking it, I'm just amazed that it continues.

It will probably get really hot just after school starts. Until then, I'm just going to continue to enjoy this wonderful summer, while it lasts.

Saturday July 4, 2009...Summer holidays

Independence day and memories of other summers go hand in hand. I remember so many warm summer days in my childhood. On the fourth we would wake up early so we could start setting off the ladyfinger firecrackers. We always bought the big package of firecrackers and separated the string into individual firecrackers so we could set them off one by one. After lighting the punk we would place the firecrackers in voids in the mortar between the stones in the stone columns supporting the corners of the front porch. Each void would act as a little cave for the cracker to blow out of. They weren't extremely loud, but a lot of fun. Sometimes the fuse wouldn't work, so we would break the firecracker in half and set the powder off so it would fizzle and scoot around on the concrete. The world was filled with the sounds of firecrackers on the fourth of July. Sparklers and snakes were popular too, but not as much fun. We never got into the larger fireworks (too expensive and too quickly gone). We would have loved bottle rockets but they came along much later - the closest thing to them were the roman candles, but they only shot off 6 or 7 times before burning out.

Summers were pretty hot and nobody had air conditioning. You tried to spend your days outside under the trees. We would turn on the lawn sprinkler and run back and fourth through the cool water. When we were really small, mom would set out one of the wash tubs (a large galvanized metal tub about 2 feet in diameter and maybe 18 inches deep) filled with cool water that we could sit in. One summer, it got so hot that dad brought home one of the industrial fans from the bakery and we set a wash tube with a block of ice in it in front of the fan and just sat back and felt the cool moist air rush past us. On the really hot summer evenings, we would make up a sleeping roll and sleep out on the porch. Later, when I was a teenager, dad put in an attic fan and we would open the windows by the beds and the attic fan would exhaust the warm house air and suck in the cooler outside air over the beds. By morning, the cool air would force us under the blankets. About the only places in town with air conditioning were the movie theaters (maybe a few drugstores). We could go to the movies and sit through a double feature for about a dime and spend another 15 cents on popcorn and candy and enjoy hours of cool entertainment. Every Sunday the folks would drop off my sister and I at the designated movie and then pick us up after the shows in 3 to 4 hours. It gave everyone a break.

Saturday June 27, 2009...Thoughts about Facebook

We all think our thoughts are not exciting enough to write about and our past adventures are not interesting enough for other people to read. We don't have the thrilling adventures that are made into movies or written about in mystery novels. But, after reading some of the thoughts and adventures of my fellow classmates in our reunion memory book, I decided that we are all wrong. What may seem normal and humdrum and dull to one person will seem extremely interesting to another. The places people have been and the sites they have seen and the people they have met open up new windows for the rest of us to view. You find yourself living in the high desert or near the coast and the ordinary daily living experiences are unique to your location and interesting to the flatlanders in the middlewest. I can't get too excited about Twitter or Facebook and the little notes about our everyday living, but when someone describes a walk through the mountains or a stroll along the beach or mentions the fog rolling in from the sea, it activates my mind and draw pictures for me.

So, even though I've signed onto Facebook and Twitter and other sites, I will devote most of my thoughts and energies to this blog. It's a place where I can vent my feelings and communicate my innermost thoughts to anyone who is willing to visit. It's a place where I can paint a few pictures with words and perhaps take others with me to view a long lost thought or memory. It may not deal with the everyday actions that we all must do, but it will delve a bit deeper and tell a bit more about the real me that resides within this shell of a man.

Besides, my everyday adventures aren't always things to talk about. Who wants to hear about someone lounging around eating bon-bons?

Sunday June 21, 2009...HOORAY!

HOORAY!

Hip, hip, hooray! I finally finished all 100+ copies of the DVD for the reunion. It took a bit longer than I anticipated. Assembling the finally submitted pictures took 4-5 days to label, sort and insert, then it took 5 days to make the copies and insert into labeled disk jackets. But it is all done now. Tomorrow I will take them to the post office and send them on their way.

It's good to finish a big project like this. It reminds me of the time it took to bid the larger construction projects I used to bid. Sometimes you would spend a month preparing the takeoff, pricing and bidding a project. Then if you won, you would spend the better part of a year managing the scheduling, purchasing and completion of the work. I've been working on this project since last October and now I feel that all the work has led to a successful conclusion. It will be quite a while before I tackle anything quite so time consuming again, but it was a project I felt good in doing. It brought back a lot of memories.

So today is Father's day and I will take the day off and enjoy having no timetable or schedule to follow. It will be a peaceful day and I can now think back about the reunion and even have time to view the memory book that we received at the reunion.

Saturday June 20, 2009...Different worlds

It was so nice getting together with all my friends and acquaintances from high school at the reunion. The one thing I especially noted was that we were all from the same background and carried many of the same childhood values throughout our lives.

Life is so different now and the patience and understanding and values that we developed during our childhood after World War 2 are so very different from the values of later generations. We grew up with a different attitude because many of our parents had experienced the great depression and the World War. We were made to appreciate the value of simple things and to make them last. We did not grow up in a “throw away” world. There were no fast food restaurants. In fact without microwaves and dishwashers cooking and cleaning in our world took time and care. Many of us grew up without air conditioning and without television, so ours was an outdoor world and a world where your imagination created the playing field. Our smaller houses without many labor saving devices were where the family came together each evening for supper. After supper, in our house, the kids did the dishes. Mom had enough to do just cooking and cleaning and washing clothes and ironing clothes and grocery shopping, so the kids had to help clean on Saturdays before they could listen to the radio and did the dishes every evening. The only time we ever ate out at restaurants was when we went on vacation. Other than that, we had potluck dinners with church and scouts and relatives. It was a “make do” world with decent home values. It felt good to be with other people from the same background and similar values. We seemed to understand each other.

My kids and grandson don't understand the importance of making things last and repairing and attempting to keep operating those things that they would just throw away. They have a hard time staying away from the fast food chains and preparing simple meals at home from scratch. Theirs has been a world of prepared foods and throw away and grab a bite. Sitting down to supper with the family is a novel idea to them and a world without television makes them shudder.

I guess life goes on at a different pace, but I feel more comfortable with the simpler life that I grew up with.

Friday June 19, 2009...How hot is it?

How hot is it, you ask. Outside the heat index has been up in the mid 100s (like 104). That's hot, especially for springtime. Summer starts next week and it promises to be a warm summer.

I've been slaving over a hot computer day and night copying DVDs. Actually the computer has been running hot, since it hasn't been off for days and it occasionally hiccups from the heat and won't let me shut it down. I have to unplug it and let it cool down with a nice refreshing drink and then start up again and reload the program and start all over again. The word to use at that juncture is fratersmashing-vritzilsmittzen!! It doesn't mean anything, but you feel better after saying it.

At least it's nice and cool in the house while I'm copying, ..copying, ...copying....

Excuse me, I had a hiccup myself there for a minute. Life can be exciting sometimes and at other times it can be repetitious. The good thing is that most of the DVD blanks are good. You always end up with a few that, due to manufacturing defects, won't allow themselves to be written to. Some of the off-brands will have 25% bad. The really good ones may have 2-3% bad. It just comes with the mass production.

Once I get through with the 100 copies, I'll shut down the computer and take off the case and give it a good airing out with blasts of air (to eliminate dust - helps the machine run cooler and prevents arcing).

I'm babbling a bit, am I not? I guess I'm just thrilled with sitting here waiting for the next copy to finish, to finish, to finish.....

Sunday June 14, 2009...Company Picnic

I meant to publish this on Sunday, but Sunday got away from me and now it's Monday. Time has a way of doing that when you're retired and lazy, like me.

Saturday was a reunion day for me when I dropped by Builders Steel annual company picnic. It was so good to see the folks there. It's been 5 years since I retired, but many of the people that I worked with are still at Builders. It's like a family firm where people will spend their entire working life at that one organization. I started work at Builders when I was still in college in 1960 and worked there, off and on, till retiring at the end of 2003. Many of the folks have been there for 20, 30, 40 and even 50 years. It's a good company of people working together. You don't see that too often anymore. Greed has invaded so many organizations and the welfare of the people working together has been forgotten. Builders Steel still maintains the old ethic that we are all in this together and all are important. It really is like family when you get together again. There are only a few people there now that were there when I first started, so the company of people has changed over the years, but the atmosphere is still the same.

I can only complement the remaining people at Builders and say "Keep up the good work". You'll always feel good about yourself when you share your efforts with your fellow workers and look out for each other. Thanks.

Monday June 14, 2009...Whew!!

Whew is a great word. It's an exclamation and a sigh combined. It's like letting the air out of your tires after a long hard day and you flatten out on the cool damp concrete and just lie there.
I'm getting to that point and close to that exclamation. I didn't realize that so many people would take their cameras to the reunion and take so many pictures. I've been trying to label each person in each photo and add it to the reunion video before I can finalize the video and then make one hundred copies to mail out. I thought I could easily add the photos from the photographer in an hour or so and then add a few individual pictures to that. Right now there have been about 300 pictures that have come through and there are more to come. So far I've spent about 3-4 days labeling pictures and adding to the video. Once I finalize the video, it will take me about 4 full days to make the copies and mail them (you make one copy at a time - about 20 minutes each). That isn't difficult, you just have to be there every 20 minutes to start a new one and package the old one.

I've enjoyed the experience, but I wouldn't want to make a habit of doing this. I had assembled a video story for Dad's funeral and my daughter's wedding and a few other events, but they weren't quite as elaborate and time consuming as this. I want to make this right and enjoyable for everyone, so I'm trying my best to make sure that no mistakes are evident and that the music is enjoyable. Right now the video is within 5 minutes(video time) of being full, which means there is room for about 30 more pictures and then it will be cut-off time or else there will have to be a lot of shuffling of photos to squeeze in any additional.

Anyway, it will be good to complete the project and move on to less laborious retirement activities like blogging. All those on the reunion list, enjoy the video!

Tuesday June 9, 2009...Grandchildren can be a joy

What a pleasure grandchildren can be, especially when they show a bit of their true nature. Kids at the age of 10 are not known to be unselfish and are generally concerned only with things that immediately affect them. It's no surprise to most of us older people when they try to wangle and twist words around in their favor. They aren't lying or cheating (they are being creative and crossing their fingers).

My grandson calls me Grandpa Bob. Yesterday, without coaxing or even suggesting, he came up to me and said “Grandpa Bob, the kitchen floor is sure getting dirty. Can I mop it for you?”. I have a wonderful looking white linoleum floor in the kitchen (never again) which shows every little speck of dust, footprints, spilled ketchup, etc and has to be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week with intermittent moppings. It's a constant problem with young children and pets around. When Zachary volunteered and then followed through doing a great job, it really impressed me. Later he helped me count out some pills, asking me what each one was for and was generally a fine young gentlemen. I know that this won't happen everyday, but it was so nice to see him care enough to help without anyone forcing him to do it. A real insight into the type of person he may become. I'm looking forward to his development in the years to come.

Sunday June 7, 2009...Reunion thoughts

Well. the last function of the 50th reunion of our graduating high school class just finished. It was a grand weekend and good to see all the older youths from my past. It was especially sweet to share hugs and kisses with all the beautiful women of our class. It's amazing to me that the years have treated them all so kindly and they have matured into really beautiful women externally as well as internally. The guys are the same fellows that I grew up with in older bodies, but still great friends to spend time with. The years melted away and the time apart disappeared. We shared memories and I was amazed to find out that they had developed such depth of character and thought. I could have spent days talking with each one and enjoyed every moment.

Life is so precious, especially when you can share time with friends.

I just want to tell all those friends from long ago that you are still my friend and I enjoy your company. I hope that we can at least communicate and that it won't be so long until I see you again. I hope that each and every one of you will drop me an email when you have a chance. I will respond.

Saturday June 6, 2009...Reunion

Last night we held our first reunion get together at the Union Station. It was a success, but way too short. Not nearly enough time to see and chat with all the long lost friends from long ago. Tonight we get together for a dinner/dance and hopefully have enough time to actually visit with my friends. It's hard to catch up on fifty years of living in just a few moments of conversation. I must say that everyone there last night was comfortably friendly and we all felt a closeness from the years that we spent together in our youth. Some of us were more successful than others of us and some of us weathered the years better than some of us, but we are all survivors and come from a common background of a gentler and more peaceful time. We can all see that the world has changed and not all the changes were good, but we feel lucky that we had the years and experiences that we did.

Tonight should be a great time for all our Paseo friends from long ago.

Sunday May 3, 2009...Comments?

Okay, out there - all you many people who sometimes read my blog! I need some comments. I mean really real comments that completely agree or completely disagree with what I've said. The question is whether a tree that falls in the woods without anyone around will make a sound. Is the sound only in the ear of the beholder? Am I writing to a vacuum and there is nobody listening?

If I'm the only one reading what I write, then I will most often completely agree with myself. And I generally am right! But, if someone will point out the error of my ways, I won't hate them. Especially if they can show me where I have really gone wrong – maybe they can set me on the right path again and life will be beautiful once more.

Come on, make my day!

Friday May 1, 2009...Stories

We all have our stories.

I just now published Dad's Story on Blurb. It was a collection of memories he wrote down about his childhood in Wichita, Kansas. I wanted to preserve his memories for my grandson and other folks in our family. My story is still incomplete but ongoing. Each of us has his or her share of memories, sweet or sad, that have affected his or her life. Often we just carry on and let the stories pass away. It would be better for some of these stories to be written down and passed along to those who care so that they could better understand who we are and why we are the way we are.

We influence so many other people in our lives and if those people care to really understand us, it would help to know the underlying factors that brought us to be who we have become. Some stories may be dull. Others may be highly fraught with doom and disaster. Each story bears telling.

If you're like me, you have put off writing down your memories of childhood and young adulthood. It seems like it was just the other day, but it was another world back then before so many changes in society. Our descendants should know what life was really like back then, before the advent of all the discoveries that changed our world.

I'm going to get to my story one of these days.

Thursday April 23, 2009...Wishing life away

How often have we wished?

I wish Christmas would get here.
I wish that we didn't have to go back to school.
I wish that I didn't have to go to school today.
I wish that summer would never end.
I wish that I was old enough to drive.
I wish that I was old enough to date.
I wish that I was old enough to stay out late.
I wish that I was old enough to go to the bars.
I wish I was 16.
I wish I was 18.
I wish I was 21.
I wish I could do that.
I wish this workday was over.
I wish it was the weekend.
I wish I could retire early.
I wish I had done that.
I wish I hadn't done that.
I wish I had my health back.
I wish I was a little kid again.
I wish I had it to do all over again.

We wish our lives were different, but we don't take the steps to change it.

We ignore the days of our youth and health and wish for a brighter future while we let the years pass without notice. We let the days pass, because we consider them dull and repetitive and set our sights on the future days that may be brighter and different.

Each day can be exciting. Each day can be a new adventure. Each day we can learn something new. We just need to focus on the moment we are right now living and find the joy and excitement and adventure that can be found right there in front of us. Until we grasp the concept that this moment in time, right now, is all we have control of, we will continue to slide through our lives without living the moment - and we will end up looking back wishing that we had it to do all over again.

Enjoy now.
Learn.
Find the beauty.
Find the joy.
Build the memory.
Live your life.

Don't wish it away.

Thursday April 9, 2009...What's in a name?

I was thinking about April.

The month of April is upon us and a fine month it hopes to be. I got to thinking about where the name April came from. This thought got me to thinking of where many words come from. Did someone pluck the work out of the air and say April is a nice sounding name for this time of year? Or did it have some hidden meaning that corresponds to the time of the year and who gave it the name. Many names are chosen by people just for the sound associated with the action. I think other names are chosen to confuse us or to distinguish us. Where did some of the biblical names come from like Zachariah and Ezekial? Why would you hang such a name on a poor baby? Now my name Bob is a simple name and has no hidden meaning - it's just easy to say and easy to write and easy to remember - so I can see why it was invented. I looked to the dictionary for some help finding out where April came from.

It turns out that many of the names of the months referred to gods and goddesses from Greek and Roman religions. April was named for the goddess Venus or Aphrodite, the fertility goddess. So any of you people named April better watch out. At least you have a loving name unlike March - named for the god of war Mars.

If you ever have some spare time with nothing better to do, look up some favorite words in the dictionary and find out where they came from and what they originally meant - it's interesting.

Wednesday April 1, 2009...Age and Beauty

Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.

I sat in a meeting the other day with some beautiful older women. I say older – I mean women the same age as me. None of us are the teenage heart throbs we once were, but we have all aged nicely and have survived. These lovely ladies were casting disparaging remarks about their age and beauty. They seem to have no idea of how beautiful they have become. It's true their bodies have matured and show some of the wear and tear that accompany age, but they have also gained the classic beauty that only comes from wisdom and self-assurance. If you observe the fashion magazines who are only interested in youth and temporary beauty, you would only associate the standards of beauty with those characteristics they promulgate. There is an inner beauty that only comes with time and experience that none of those icons of the magazines can emulate. These ladies in the meeting were self assured and knew who they were and what they wanted out of life. They knew what clothing they were most comfortable in and dressed appropriately. They knew how they preferred to wear their hair and makeup to please their own self image. I suppose that people who are comfortable with themselves are more natural and their personalities sparkle. The years have passed since these women were teenagers and yet they carry the spark of youth still. The total image that they produced was one of classic beauty.

I was the beholder at the meeting and I saw beauty all around me. It was great!

Tuesday March 31, 2009...Watch out for the worm

What's the matter with me?

I sit up and notice that days and days have gone by since last I posted my thoughts. It isn't that I've been devoid of thoughts - maybe it's just that I'm thoughtless?
Anyway, I know that all of you out there are just hanging on by a thread, waiting for my next thrilling installment of the adventures of Bob. Maybe "hanging on" isn't the proper thought - maybe barely surviving or patiently waiting, or hadn't even noticed?

In any event the days slip by faster now than they used to and I have been busy revising the video show I'm preparing for my high school reunion. I've had to overhaul it several times so that it would accept additional photos and let me install a menu, etc. Now that I have it ready to finalize they tell me that there is a WORM out there ready to destroy all the computers in the world, so I have to back up all data to sources that can't be corrupted.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it's really been great having younger members of the family around to help handle the heavy loads and such. By sharing the chores, it makes life easier for all of us. It's been a real pleasure sharing our home. The only thing I have to watch out for is to avoid being the parent. I'm the grand parent and don't have the responsibility for my grandson. It's my job to help spoil him whenever I get the chance and to leave all the upbringing to his parents. Sometimes it's hard to swallow your tongue and keep silent as they choose different methods than you might choose - but that is their right and responsibility. All those years of wisdom that you've accumulated aren't always appreciated, so you have to keep quiet and let people find their own way. I imagine my folks did much the same as I was stumbling my way through parenthood. Such is life. Other than that, I highly recommend the melding of generations withing one household. We can all learn and share with each other and make life much smoother.

Remember tomorrow is my day! I suppose I've always been an April Fool and probably always will be. Believe me when I say it's okay to be foolish every once in a while.

Sunday March 22, 2009...Runza weekend

It's been a Runza weekend.

I'm not sure if you know what a Runza is.

It is a sweet yeast dough bread pocket with a filling. I usually make a Kraut Runza which has steamed cabbage, onion and hamburger as a filling, along with worcestershire sauce and mustard. The Runzas are usually fried in vegetable oil and are very tasty. This weekend, I made a whole bunch of dough and made some Kraut Runzas and then decided that I would try some new things. The next thing I knew, I was making hot dog Runzas and then ham and cheese Runzas and runza dough donuts and runza dough cinnamon rolls. I went through the first batch of Runza dough and had to make another batch. Now I have to make more Kraut Runzas. My daughter suggested italian meatball runzas and hamburger/onion/pickle runzas. I guess there is no end to the list of Runzas that you can think of. Maybe a pepperoni and cheese Runza?

Anybody want a Runza?

Wednesday March 18, 2009...Nine year olds?

It's been a long time, a really long, long time, since I had small children around me much. My children were small about 35-40 years ago and have since grown up to be understanding, caring, loving, reasoning, logical adults.

Now I have my nine year old grandson living with me and I find that I need to adjust my thinking.

For one thing, you can't always rely on logic when attempting to communicate with a young man. You can't always count on being able to reason and understand their way of thinking. It seems to be more of a faith kind of thing. What makes perfect sense to a nine year old may not make any sense to a full fledged adult, but then they live in a completely different world. A nine year old isn't bound by complete knowledge and understanding of how the world is made up. His world may have a bit more magic and a bit more wonder in it.

Another thing is that nine year olds care deeply about immediate points of interest that fluctuate wildly by the moment. What may hold true now won't always hold true later. What is of primary interest or concern now won't necessarily be of any interest tomorrow. You have to be very flexible.

Nine year olds have uneven temperament. Their emotions vary like the flames of a fire. One moment they hold you in the highest regard and love you immensely, but the very next day you may be the object of disdain and ridicule. They need a emotional dial or a sensor that tells you where their thoughts and emotions are at the moment.

It's been a learning experience. Once I get older and wiser, I'm sure that I will come to completely understand the mind of a nine year old boy. Or maybe not. It may be a Mom thing, because his mother has no problem whatsoever completely understanding and dealing with him. I seem to be more like a third foot, not knowing when or where to step.

I love my grandson and can't wait till he grows up to be an understanding, caring, loving, reasoning, logical adult. For now, he's a wonderment.

Sunday March 1, 2009...Snow again

I guess Winter isn't over quite yet. Here in western Missouri, it's been a warm winter. Just this last week it got to 70 degrees. I saw people out in their tee shirts and shorts. It was just too nice. Yesterday it snowed about 4 inches and today it got down to 10 degrees. Later this week it's supposed to get back up in the 50s or 60s. It's hard to know just how to dress. I got out the snow blower yesterday, but couldn't get it started. It will probably start just fine once the weather turns nice. I really hadn't thought about shoveling snow again - thought maybe spring would come early. Oh well. At least Spring is just around the corner and daylight savings starts next week - whoopee!

Looking back over previous years notes, I see that I was so angry about the stupid war in Iraq. Now we find it must wind down over the next 18 months, but at least the end is in sight. I hope we don't have to maintain any kind of large force over there after we officially turn it over to the Iraqis. Now it sounds like Afghanistan is going to get the attention it should have been done with years ago. I know we need to get rid of the Al-Qaida, but I sure hate to waste any more lives than necessary in doing so. Think about Afghanistan - Russia tried to conquer that area and failed. What are our chances of taming the beast? I guess time will tell.

It's enough to just forget about the economy and the wars and just think about spring for right now. Except for the stupid snow!

Sunday February 23, 2009...Admiration

All of us appreciate admiration, although many of us have a hard time accepting it from others. I have always admired people who are mechanically inclined and can work on electronics and automobiles and such. They don't think anything about taking out an engine and repairing it. They think it is the most natural thing in the world to be able to analyze and repair automobiles. Or think about people who really know their sports statistics and all the trivia relating to sports, I can't hold a candle to those people. I have always admired people who can sit down and write novels – they invent a world and create a story that all of us can appreciate and enjoy. Artists conceive remarkable visions in their minds and somehow convey that in other media.

I have enjoyed admiration lately from people who appreciate the video and photographic endeavors that I have taken on for our reunion. It isn't work, it's fun for me and it doesn't feel as though it's anything special to me. I look for the challenge of presenting photos and music in an interesting way and it's fun when it works. It's hard for me to consider that it's not anything that anyone else could have done with just a little effort. I suppose I'm just like the mechanics and artists that I admire just for having the ability to do something that not all people can do. I've been dabbling with computers since the 1970's trying to find out what I can make this machine do. It's such a useful tool and with the increasing capabilities of the modern personal computer, it's hard to keep up with all the things it can now do. But it is fun to try. And it is fun to be appreciated. Thanks.

Saturday February 7, 2009...Check out the player

I just added the music player at the top of this site. It's pretty cool. Of course, I loaded about 150 songs from the 1950s, so it won't suit everyone, but I like the music. I found the gadget at playlist.com which allows you to make your list of music and add the player to your blog. There seems to be millions of songs available on this site, so check it out and listen to the tunes.

Sunday February 1, 2009...A whole nother month

It's February already! I wasn't finished with January yet. This last month disappeared quickly. Maybe it was the Changing of the guard, or the changing of the weather or my changing of household, but it really did pass through my fingers quickly.

My daughter, son-in-law and grandson are firmly ensconced in their new home here with me, along with numerous pets and many boxes. Zachary is enrolled in school and Chuck has found a job and they now have everything unloaded from storage. We have been becoming used to each other's schedule and all seems to be well. Maybe time flies by faster when you are sharing life with more people?

The economy really stinks right now and I'm afraid that it will get worse before it starts to turn around - but there isn't a lot that we can do individually except keep a positive outlook for the eventual future. The country has been through panics and recessions and depressions before and, in time, this one will also pass. At least the politicians are not ignoring the data and some are even considering the plight of the common man (for a change). It gives one some hope.

Every once in while the whole world becomes so complacent with the status quo and a bit of a rough time may wake up people to the fact that we all have to pull together as one people in order to pull our society up from the hole we have sunk into. Greed has to be overcome and sensibility and responsibility has to come to the forefront.

So many people have gambled their future by over-extending their debt assuming that the future will always be rosy and just like the present. Many haven't been through hard times before and don't realize that life isn't always fair and stable. You need to save a bit from the good years to carry you through the lean times. Droughts do occur occasionally and you must be prepared. Unfortunately, many people have not saved and have no cushion to help now. I'm afraid that many will lose their jobs and their homes in a very short time and that means they will have to start all over again just like when they first started. It's a hard way to learn, but we've seen it before. My parents came through the depression of the 1930's and that may be comparable to what is developing right now. Attitudes will have to change and people will have to adapt and hopefully we won't need another war to pull us out of the mess we are going to find ourselves in.

But that's enough bleakness for now. It's February and just 2 months away from spring. I've got family to share with and life holds much promise. The future may be memorable and will certainly be interesting.

Friday January 9, 2009...Family again

I am a family once again.

For several years now I have been solo in this big house. Ever since my father died, I have been enjoying the single life here, but have missed the personal interaction of having someone else around to converse with and share the duties and joy of living together.

Now my daughter, her husband and my grandson have moved in to share this house and make it a family home. It won't be so deathly quiet any longer, but it will be filled with joy and conversation. They were living out in the country in central Wyoming – a windy, sandy, cold and fairly lonely area of the country. Limited resources up there to share and few people to interact with. A dearth of available jobs, medical facilities, schooling opportunities, etc were a challenge to overcome there in Wyoming. I believe that the opposite is here in Missouri. We have our share of weather, but not the extremes of Wyoming. We definitely have more opportunity for jobs, medical and education. And here we have other members of our family to share time with.

We have a period of adjustment to go through, but as a family we will work it all out. Right now, they are going through a time of discovery. This is an area where I grew up, so I know and accept where everything is. They have to discover all that is available and how to get from here to there. It will take time, but it will be a fun learning experience.

This house now feels more and more like the home it was always destined to be.

Sunday December 28, 2008...Delinquent

I don't know if I'm A delinquent, but I am delinquent. It isn't that I haven't had thoughts to express, it's just that I got caught up in Christmas.

Christmas has come and gone and we now enter the quiet time between Christmas and New Years. All the furor and hubbub of Christmas has passed and we can now sit and vegetate and think about all the Christmas goodies we've consumed. Some of us feel guilty about all the cookies and candies, but they were really really good. Of course, we all still probably have left-overs still to devour and we can put off feeling real remorse until after the New Years when we will all promise ourselves to do better.

I dislike the commercialization of Christmas, but I like to give gifts and I like to visit family, so I compromise and give useful and practical gifts and shower as much love as I can on my family.

Looking forward beyond New Years, we all worry about the weather and about the condition of our economy and about the upcoming change in political policies, but we can worry about that later. Right now it's awfully nice to just sit back and relax with a hot cup of coffee or tea and to watch the lights on the Christmas tree blink.

Peace and quiet is good!

Monday December 8, 2008...A Friend died today

Today we lost a bit of the light in this world.
A friend died today. Richard Copaken was his name.
He was a long lost friend from my teenage years that I had just rediscovered.
And now he's gone. He's gone before I had a chance to revisit our past.
He's gone before I had a chance to renew our friendship from many years ago.
He's gone and although I haven't seen him in years, he was part of my life and I will miss him.

He was always a joy to be with and an inspiration to look up to.
He was someone to emulate and appreciate.
I was so happy to have found him after all these years and looked forward to our next visit.
He was taken in just a matter of weeks since I found him again and I'm so sorry that I missed the opportunity to share memories with him.

I shall miss my friend.

Monday December 1, 2008...He's right

He's right, you know.

If you continue to hate your former enemies, they will never become your friends and allies. Over the centuries, we have seen former hated enemy states eventually become trusted allies. It's just a matter of allowing the past to remain in the past. President Obama is, by his actions, allowing his former opponents to join him in dealing with the problems that face all of us. It's not just a case of forgiveness – it's all about positive thinking and practicality. You can't continue to let the past determine your future. You need to forgive and forget and look forward.

In our own private lives, we need to carry this same positive attitude forward. Don't dwell of what might have been – look to what might yet be.

Saturday November 29, 2008...Busy times

Okay, so it's been a very busy season up till now. With birthdays and Thanksgiving and working on a video for our class reunion and getting ready for members of my family to share our home, it's been very busy. Right now, I've done my Christmas shopping (holding down on the expenditures this year) and the bird has been eaten or frozen and the birthday parties are finished for a while and the reunion committee is resting over the holidays – so it's time to put on the Christmas music and get out the decorations and get in the proper mood.

I really enjoy Christmas, mainly because I enjoy my family and I enjoy doing for others. At Christmas you have the perfect excuse to do for others without causing any repercussions. I have a really great family and love each and every one of them very much. We are very close and we support each other. Even when some of us are away, we stay in weekly contact and try to visit whenever possible. Christmas is our time of the year to share our love and be happy for each other.

Since I've been working on this reunion video, I have been remembering friends and events from long ago and how important many of those people were to me back then. It's a shame we lost each other for all these years. I envy one particular group of women from our class who have maintained their friendship over all these years and are still the best of friends. They have love and support within their group wherever they happen to be. It must be very comforting – much like family.

My personal family will be growing when my youngest daughter, my son-in-law and grandson come to share our home. The upcoming and developing financial crises may affect many people but we will be fine working together as a family unit. My daughter and her family might as well have been stranded out in the middle of Wyoming because of the dearth of opportunities and friends. Back here in Kansas City, there will be much more opportunity and better health care and more friends and family. It should be a win-win situation. I have a home that is much larger than what one person needs – it should be just right for the 4 of us plus their pets. I have never been a great pet person, and they have 2 dogs and 3 cats and a bird and a lizard of some type, so the household will be in for some changes. Over the years, plants and pets have usually died on me, so maybe with their care I will get a chance to appreciate the joys of pet ownership vicariously. (just so they clean up any messes).

Life will be interesting, but that's what makes life fun.

By the way, Be sure to check out my recipes. I just made some sourdough bread for thanksgiving and some pumpkin bread AND IT WAS GREAT.

Friday October 31, 2008...Reunion

Reunion: the state of being united again; a gathering of relatives, friends, or associates at regular intervals or after separation. Synonym: homecoming, reuniting

And so, as I face the reunion of my former high school classmates, I look forward to a homecoming, a reuniting of friends and family who shared years together – long ago. We were like a close knit family, sharing our youth and experiencing adventures and learning and maturing together. The memories of those years stay with us our whole life, the good ones and the bad ones. We learned from both and carried that knowledge with us in the following years. Those years were formative years. We were shaped and molded by our teachers, our friends and our own experiences.

The years have passed and many of those friends and classmates haven't been a part of our life since then, but I suspect that when we reunite the years of separation will fade away and our youthful memories will bring back our friendships and help establish new ones.

A reunion is a time to cast away former grudges and disappointments and to congratulate our mutual survival and discover who we have all become. This is a special time that ties our past to our present and brings us a new focus on life. We set out in life years ago and here we are now each with their own successes and failures, joys and disappointments to share with our friends who were there when we started. There may never be another reunion like this one, but this one will be special.

Monday October 13, 2008...Steadiness

I was just watching a video that I made of my Father's life. It seems that, except for a few years of unattached youth when he was acquiring his values and education, his primary goal in life was to watch out for his mate and his children. Once he had made the commitment to marriage and fatherhood, he devoted his life to that effort. He always took his family's interest into any decision he had to make and continued to care about each individual throughout his life. He was a great example to set before us.

I don't remember a selfish decision he ever made for himself alone. He always catered to his wife and her desires and to his children and their needs. He made life comfortable and stable for all of us without ever complaining.

I see many marriages today shattered and broken and the men cannot provide the stable background for their children like my father could. I see many men who don't carry the same values that my father had and make many selfish decisions without considering their families. It's a shame. I know that I was cast aside by divorce and couldn't continue my role in the lives of my family, but I still tried to provide a feeling of continuity and stableness to my children and to let them know that I was always there for them. We remain “family” today even though separated by miles and circumstances.

What bit of stableness and steadiness I could provide to my children is a result of my father's steady hand example. He did well by me and my brother and sisters and subsequently our children.

One man can make a difference. My dad did.

Monday September 22, 2008...On the other hand

On the other hand, It's now the beginning of Fall. We've passed the equinox and we're headed for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone's back in school and cool evenings are back. The harvest is just around the corner and the days of heat and dry are ending. These are days of the year that we've worked towards all year long. Now is the time for a bit of reflection and memory of earlier autumns. The beautiful colored leaves shimmer in the sunshine before drifting slowly to the ground. The smells of autumn in the woods are pleasant and cool. The squirrels are harvesting the acorns and the animals are preparing for the coming winter. It's a time of bountiful harvest. It's a bit quieter and not quite so hectic and people seem to smile a bit more.

I like Fall.

Monday September 22, 2008...Remember eight years ago?

Remember eight years ago when we were, as a nation, spending less than we were taking in and talking about saving the surplus to apply towards social security as it was originally intended. We were in the process of actually operating somewhat fiscally responsibly. Those days didn't last long. George said that we had enough to balance the budget and cut taxes primarily on the wealthy. George and Dick met behind closed doors with their friends in the energy business to develop an energy policy. We were on the precipice back then and didn't even know it.

Since then things have pretty much ended up in the proverbial handbasket and we're another day older and deeper in debt. I hope we are going to wake up from this nightmare and start to set things back on track. It's been a growing nightmare for the last eight years and we've spent our resources with little to show for it. We can only hope that the future will be brighter and that our next leader will be more interested in the people of our nation.

This last week, it feels like we're rushing to spend all of anything left to spend before the election. The next presidency will be left with the mop up after the mess. It will take years to figure a way out of the financial situation we are in. Those years may be tough, but if we're trying our best to help each other then we'll at least have some hope. If we keep ignoring and putting off solutions and concentrating the wealth in fewer and fewer pockets, then hope will be hard to come by.

I just hope that we don't start a war before next January and find ourselves digging deeper.

Eight years ago, I was much happier. We'll see what the next four years bring.

Tuesday September 9, 2008...Pet People

I was talking with my daughter the other day and she stressed the point that she and her family were “pet people”. I thought about why I have never had pets.

As a boy, we tried to have dogs, but they always died of distemper. We had a canary (not much fun) and we were adopted by an alley cat, but the cat would come and go for weeks at a time. I guess I never really got attached to any animal.

Once you adopt an animal, you are completely in charge of their care and feeding. You can't leave them behind, untended, while you go off to the mountains or to travel around. You need to make arrangements for them if you're going to be out of town for any time at all. That makes it pretty hard to take vacations.

When I was a boy, I remember only taking two family vacations. When I was married, we took several vacations but didn't have any pets at the time. Since I've been independent, I have made many trips and taken many vacations, but I never had a pet to worry about. I notice that my daughters and their families have many pets, but they don't take many vacation trips.

I guess you have to make up your mind which is most important to you. I've always wanted the freedom to go where I wanted and when I wanted and felt that it wouldn't be fair to have a pet locked away while I roamed.

If you have a pet, it's like having a child. You are responsible to take care of that pet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's a major decision, if you're going to do it right.

I admire you “pet people”, but I really enjoy my freedom.

Wednesday August 27, 2008...Time for change

The Republicans invaded two sovereign countries on the pretext of saving the world from terrorism while never vanquishing those responsible for true acts of terrorism in our own country. The Republicans defeated and occupied those sovereign countries and still haven't brought to justice those responsible for the 9-11 acts of terrorism. The Republicans are now pointing fingers at Iran and preparing to war against them and still aren't finding and containing Al-Quaida, those guilty of assaulting our country. Seven years without justice. Seven years of invasion. Seven years of occupation. Seven years of unrequited terror. Thousands of lives lost because of invisible weapons of mass destruction. Billions of dollars lost because of misguided military missions. And still the responsible terrorist remain free. We point fingers at others while letting the real terrorist make videos and taunt us.

We need a change of leadership. We have wasted years and lives and dollars and invaded other homes while never finding the true criminals. We have destroyed other homes and lives and countries in the process. We have to stop and reconsider. We have to direct our forces responsibly. We need to work with the rest of the world to find the true criminals instead of invading and crushing bystanders.

The Democrats offer another way to deal with the problem. The Republicans weren't able to solve the problem and John McCain says he will continue in the same manner. More of the same is not the answer. Let's try something else. Maybe we can save some lives. Maybe we can save some dollars. Maybe we can salvage our reputation. Maybe we can redirect our efforts and help ourselves.

It is definitely time for change.

Friday August 22, 2008...Adult Delinquent

You've heard of Juvenile Delinquents? Well, I guess you would call me an Adult Delinquent. I've been so tied up in the Olympics that I've neglected many of my other activities. Watching all the various sports at all hours of the day and night was great fun for a while, but it eventually wore me down. Now I'm trying to recover from sporting saturation. My mind has been bombarded with so many facts and trivia about the various sports and their participants that there isn't any more room. I'm now in a vegatative mode just watching pictures and listening to music. I'm sure that once my mind recovers, I'll be able to think again and participate in worldly activities.

Hooray for Phelps and beach volleyball and women gymnasts and chinese divers and opening ceremonies. It was fun while it lasted. I'm glad it comes only every four
years.

Saturday July 26, 2008...Live this moment

Get ready. Here it comes!

Now it's here!

Now it's gone.

That was a moment in your life, now gone forever.

Think of life as a road trip.

If you focus on the destination only and ignore the scenery along the way, you'll miss a lot. You will pass through life without seeing the beauty that surrounds you. You'll miss all the moments.

How often have we focused on the end of the day or end of the week or maybe next year and let time slip away unnoticed? Sometimes we wish our lives away. Those are precious moments of your life that will never be again.

You must live in this moment, it's the only time you have to control. The past is fixed and the future uncertain – you have only the now to act in.

If you don't live this moment, you will lose it to join all the other forgotten moments.

Monday July 7, 2008...Your Choice

Each day you choose what you will do.

You choose whether to bound out of bed or to lie there and groan.
You choose whether to face the day with a smile or a frown.
You choose whether to make it to work on time or to be late.
You choose what you will accomplish.
You choose whether to work hard or slide through the day.
You choose whether to be friendly or to be a grouch.
You choose whether to make this day a memory or one to forget.

This day may be one of your last days, spend it well or throw it away.
You choose.

Friday July 4, 2008...Back from the West

I just returned from two weeks in central Wyoming. It's high plains desert country. The elevation was about 6,000 feet above sea level and there were very few trees. The low growing shrubs were best suited to sandy arid soil. The few cattle that you could see were widely scattered because there was not much food or water. It looked like 1 to 10 acres for each cow. The wind blows out there with nothing to stop it. There are few ranches and when there is one, it is usually rather large. I was surprised that it was indeed cool in the shade because of the dryness of the air. The native Wyoming people were complaining about the heat while I was quite comfortable. I guess I'm so conditioned to the humidity back home that my body cools off easily when the air is dry. Once you get acclimated to the elevation and the lack of people, the whole state opens up it's beauty to you. There are mountains off on the far horizon and you are fairly secluded from humanity. It's just you and the sky and the earth. If you were born and raised in that country, any sizable town would seem crowded. The largest city in Wyoming only has 53,000 people and there are only 500,000 people in the whole state. If you want to get away from it, then Wyoming is the place to go.

Fortunately, where my daughter lives is near the wind river and there are irrigation ditches criss-crossing the county. With irrigation, the sandy soil will grow many things. But Wyoming is far off the beaten path and transportation is costly. I grew up in Kansas City where many interstates, railroads and airways intersect, so I am used to larger metropolitan areas with many amenities taken for granted. Wyoming folks have to be a lot more self-reliant and competent.

I enjoyed the difference and the serenity, but it's always good to get back home. Here, everything is within reach and available. It's comforting. I guess I'm spoiled.

Tuesday June 10, 2008...McBush Economics

Yep, we can see the Republican strategy once more stated.

Lower taxes on corporations. Keep capital gains tax low. Maintain the lowered tax on the rich. Keep financing the war industry (this war is winding down – let's start a new one). Sprinkle in a little frosting by saying we want lower taxes for the middle income and we will “phase” out the alternative minimum tax (which took too much tax from the rich anyway). Top it all off with a promise to revise the tax system to a “fairer and simpler” system.

Promises are good!
Remember George saying we can give back the taxes to the rich and still balance the budget?

It still looks like a duck and quacks like a duck - a very rich duck that wants to keep everything it has and make the other ducks pay. Maybe it thinks it's a goose with a golden egg.

Meanwhile, we are borrowing the future from our children and grandchildren in order to finance misbegotten plans and helping the rich keep their money while accumulating more. The welfare of the common man has been forgotten by most and misplaced by others. Now it's “every man for himself” and “grab what you can while you can”. We end up with the rich getting richer and the rest slipping into financial slavery.

Of course, McBush said he wasn't very good on economics. So he's just passing along the word from his handlers.

We definitely need change and fresh ideas and some care for the “common man”.

Thursday June 5, 2008...Angry and Ashamed

I'm angry and ashamed.

I watched the program on Frontline: “Bush's War”. I didn't see it when it first aired, but did watch it on the internet. Putting all the facts out there together with the interviews of the people involved was very informative. It's hard to believe that 3 people, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld could run roughshod over all the other responsible people in Washington and bring this unnecessary war into being. These 3, along with their coordinated yes-men, distorted the facts to support the conclusion that they had already reached and took it upon themselves to ignore the rest of the world in order to bring Saddam down. They had no plan for the ultimate occupation and insurrection that would follow. They were so focused on this one plan to bring Saddam down, that they ignored the facts and distorted the truth because they thought they already knew the answer.

There is no doubt that Saddam was an evil man, but our leaders did an evil thing too. Their actions killed and maimed thousands of our own boys and thousands of civilians who might have been otherwise spared. They never admitted their mistake and never felt remorse for their actions. They should have. Maybe they will, someday. But that won't bring happiness to the thousands of families deeply affected by this tragedy.

What happened to our system of checks and balances? Why couldn't the truth be discovered before we took such extreme actions? I hate to say it, but the French were right in what they said and did. We were wrong. And we reelected the same group, how dumb can a nation be?

I'm ashamed that we, as a nation, invaded another sovereign nation peremptorily, without just cause. I thought people like Hitler or Tojo did things like that, not us. I guess we're no different.

Friday May 30, 2008...Reunion

Any young people out there who happen to be reading this can't imagine how fast the years slip away. I'm still the same young man inside that I was many years ago. The body has changed with the years, but the mind is still young and inquisitive. It seems only yesterday that I was a young man of 18 graduating from high school and starting out in life. The years between then and now are filled with experiences, bad and good, that have molded me into the man that I am today. But, the years seemed to fly by in just moments and I am still that same young man, with just a lifetime of memories thrown into the mix. I have lived and loved and worked and played and enjoyed life fully over the years and now that I've reached retirement, I look back with satisfaction on where I've been and what I've done and who I have become. I may not have followed the path I set out to follow or accomplished the goals that I originally set, but life brings adjustments and acceptance and here I am today as I have become.

We are discussing our 50th anniversary of high school graduation. It can't be 50 years! It was only just the other day when I and my friends graduated. We were so glad to be through with high school and ready to set out upon our next adventure. We were top dogs of our times and ready for anything. I'm really looking forward to seeing many of my friends that I haven't seen since then. I'm curious if they are still the same or if life has changed them. I don't mean externally, we have obviously all grown older and our bodies have altered - I mean internally whether these friends still have the same outlook on life and the same exuberance that they had then. I'm sure that some of our friends have passed on and we will miss them, but we will celebrate the fact that the rest of us have endured and survived and have returned one more time to be together. We can share in the joy of some of our successes and accomplishments. We can commiserate with those of us who have faced and survived tragedy. We can laugh together over our foibles and smile together when we speak of our families and our adventures.

Hopefully, the years will fade away and the friendships that we once had will rekindle, if only for a moment. It will be bittersweet and heartwarming.

Sunday May 25, 2008...Control of election

28% of Americans approve of the way Bush is running this country. That's a low percentage, but if it is an organized and active percentage, they still have a chance of controlling the election. Let's say that we only have a 50% turnout for the election because people are disgruntled and have given up. In that case, if the 28% all turn out, they will win the election.

We need to make sure that the 72% who disapprove of the way the country is being run all turn out to vote for the candidate of their choice and keep the election a fair and honest forum.

In Kansas City, over the years, we have seen organized factions who make sure that their voters are escorted to the polls often win elections when there is a poor turnout. The same thing for years was the rule in the rural south where minorities were discouraged from voting and the voting was controlled by organized blocks of white voters. Let's hope that the same scenario doesn't hold for this next national election.

As long as there is a sizeable turnout and the election is a fair sampling of what the majority really wants, then it will be acceptable.

Thursday May 15, 2008....Green is good

I've been away for awhile. Down in the desert Southwest. It was sunny and dry, but cool to moderate temperatures. New Mexico is mostly high desert with mountains scattered about. It took awhile to adjust to the higher elevation. Rio Rancho, on the northern side of Albuquerque is about 6,000 feet above sea level. It's a growing community along the Rio Grande between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. A very nice community, if you like sun and dry. I grew up in Missouri where it's moist and green and lush this time of the year. Since I got back, I've had to mow the grass several times and it still keeps growing. We've had a lot of rain so far this year. Down in Rio Rancho, they had rain in February and a few sprinkles since. Nobody has grass, it's mostly desert plants and landscaping of rocks and bushes. Those kinds of yards take very little maintenance and no mowing. But everything down there is brown and dry except for trees and bushes. It's not lush and moist like Missouri. I guess you have to adjust to the different climates. In the desert they don't get much snow in the winter and most of the days are sunny, but when the winds come, there is little to stop them and they can really blow down there. We have tornadoes here in Missouri, but they are seldom and scattered. In New Mexico they have high winds and dust across wid fronts that will blow over trucks and close the interstates. I guess you have to adjust to the climate. We lowlanders who live at 800 feet have a hard time adjusting to the higher elevations. It takes awhile for your internal system to adapt to the thinner dryer air.

I guess it's all in what you get used to. If you were born and raised on the plains of Kansas, like my dad, you miss the wide open spaces. I like the green forests and luch green lawns of Missouri and the changing of the seasons. I'm glad that people like where they are, that way we don't all end up bunched together in one spot. Rio Rancho is a nice place to visit. Missouri is a nice place to live.

Wednesday April 9, 2008...It's a different world

DO UNTO OTHERS, AND DO IT FIRST.

We used to call pre-emptive strikes “SNEAK ATTACKS”, like Pearl Harbor and the Blitzkrieg. We used to hate the people who started wars like Hitler and Japan.

I guess those days are over. Maybe we aren't concerned with being the “good guys” anymore. Let's destroy their twin towers before they have a chance to destroy ours. The presumption of innocense no longer applies. Threats speak louder than words or deeds.

Republican Sen. John McCain refused Wednesday to rule out a pre-emptive war against another country, although he said one would be very unlikely.

The likely Republican presidential nominee was asked Wednesday at a town-hall style meeting if he would reject "the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war," a reference to Bush's decision to invade Iraq without it having attacked the United States.

"I don't think you could make a blanket statement about pre-emptive war, because obviously, it depends on the threat that the United States of America faces," McCain told his audience at Bridgewater Associates Inc., a global investment firm.

"If someone is about to launch a weapon that would devastate America, or have the capability to do so, obviously, you would have to act immediately in defense of this nation's national security interests."

McCain said he would consult more closely and more carefully "not with every member of Congress, but certainly the leaders of Congress."

If they are guilty of thinking bad thoughts then they are likely to do bad things.
This doesn't sound like the America I grew up in.

Tuesday April 8, 2008...Be a good sport

One of the beauties of living in Kansas City is that you are surrounded by colleges and universities. There are a plethera of sport teams to follow and to be loyal to. One of the hazards of Kansas City is crossing paths of fanatical loyal fans of only one of those teams. Being close to Lawrence, Kansas means there are a lot of Kansas University fans. Being close to Columbia, Missouri means there are a lot of Missouri University fans. Being close to Manhattan, Kansas means there are a lot of Kansas State University fans. And there are the local universities with their fans – UMKC, Baker, Avila, Park, Central Missouri, William Jewell – all with teams of their own.

This week, the Kansas University basketball team won the NCAA basketball tournament, which makes them the national champions of basketball for this year. I am happy that a local team did so well and you would think that all Kansans and others in the area would be happy too, but there seems to be a lot of envy and downright hateful talk among those loyal to other teams. You would think that good sports would congratulate a team on their good fortune and celebrate with them, but all I hear from Missouri fans and Kansas State fans is grumbling about how they really feel bad that Kansas won.

That's a shame, because such honors don't come often and they don't come easy and everyone should be happy that a local team did so well. I mean, it's easy to hate those stupid teams from out on the west coast – they think they are so special. And it's not easy to put up with those snobs from the east coast who think we are hicks from the sticks out here in the midwest. But a good midwestern team winning is a good thing and we should all be good sportsmen and celebrate together.

Let's not be envious of jealous of our local boys, only those on the coasts who deserve it.

Sunday April 6, 2008...Just in case you were worried

In case you were worried about George after he leaves office, don't plan on inviting him to your home for dinner unless you have lots of cash.

Mr. Bush has been vague about his post-presidential plans. He mentioned having “a nice place in Dallas” and setting up a Freedom Institute. Otherwise, he told Mr. Draper, “I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch.”

A new book out last week reported that President Bush wants to hop on the lecture circuit when he leaves office in 2009 — “replenish the ol’ coffers,” as he put it in Robert Draper’s account of his presidency, “Dead Certain.”

“I don’t know what my dad gets,” the president told Mr. Draper. “But it’s more than 50, 75” thousand dollars a speech. He added, “Clinton’s making a lot of money.”

In the book, Mr. Bush did not really explain his interest in more money. His assets are estimated at between $8 million and $20 million (and his daughters are out of college). Moreover, since the 1950s, when it was clear that Harry Truman could not afford even an office staff, the federal government has taken care of former presidents. Mr. Bush will receive an annual pension of $186,000, travel funds, mailing privileges, Secret Service protection, office space, staff, stationery and transition expenses.

It appears that retired presidents after Harry discovered that they could make a lot of money talking to people about anything they want to for cash. Apparently, Bill is doing quite well that way and George wants to get on the bandwagon.

Just in case you were worried about George's ability to support himself.

Tuesday March 25, 2008...I'm tired

I'm tired, very tired -- maybe even sick and tired.

I'm tired of bad news. I'm tired of this stinking war. I'm tired of murders and robberies. I'm tired of rising gas prices and rising food costs and rising insurance and rising property taxes and rising medical costs. I'm tired of politicians pointing fingers and blaming everyone else. I'm tired of companies outsourcing their manufacturing and laying off people. I'm tired of poverty. I'm tired of pollution. I'm tired of lobbyists.

I guess that's enough to wear everyone out and leave us all tired of the same things we've all been tired of for decades.

It doesn't go away.

We never seem to solve the old problems as we're stirring up new ones. I bet if I went to sleep for 20 years, like Rip Van Winkle, I would wake up to find us still facing all the same problems as now. Where is the GOOD news? Why can't we tackle the problems one at a time and solve at least one problem? We shuffle and sidestep, but never face the problems head on and get them solved. President Johnson declared War On Poverty – nothing solved after 40 years. We declared a War On Drugs – nothing solved after decades. We have often declared War On Crime, but seem to have more and more. We have filled up the jails and built more, but we have never conquered the root problem. We declared War on Iraq, then changed it to War on terrorism, but never solved the problem. It could go on for years and years.

I've noticed that Switzerland never declared war on anyone or anything and seems to have been existing peacefully for centuries. Have we overlooked something there? Maybe if we let everyone else solve their own problems and concentrated at home on solving our own problems then we might stand a chance of solving at least one.
No more wars – not a bad idea.
No more poverty – not a bad idea.
No more uninsured people – not a bad idea.
Jobs for everyone – not a bad idea.

But then, that's just a thought from my tired old brain. Maybe a 20 year nap will solve everything.

Thursday March 20, 2008...It sprung!

It's official, at 5:48 this morning Spring sprung forth is all its glory and now all of us Spring nuts can be turned loose upon the world. Let's try to keep the yelling and screaming to a minimum. Now we can fly kites and run happily through the meadow without being deemed idiots. It's been a long cold winter, but now it's over. Celebrate! Celebrate!

Of course, the basketball nuts already knew it was time to go nuts because of March madness with the NCAA. Now all the rest of us can go nuts as well.

It's almost time to start the spring cleaning and to air out the house (maybe it needs to get just a tad warmer). Now it's time to put away all the reds and blacks and bring out the pastels. Time for blue skies and sunshine with an occasional spring shower. Time for the grass to turn green and the trees to start budding.

I love Spring!

Let's go fly a kite!

Monday March 17, 2008...I think it's time to worry

Just in case you haven't kept up with the latest weekend news while wearing of the green on this day of shamrocks, here is some testy news which should worry all of us:

"It seems as if Bernanke & Co. are pulling out all the stops to avoid a serious financial market meltdown," Richard Yamarone, an economist at Argus Research, said Sunday evening.

Urgently moving to contain a deepening credit crisis, the Federal Reserve is trying to restore confidence in panicked financial markets by becoming a lender of last resort for Wall Street investment houses that on Monday can begin securing short-term emergency loans.

The central bank, in an extraordinarily rare weekend move, took the bold action Sunday in an attempt to calm the markets. It also approved a cut in its emergency lending rate to financial institutions to 3.25 percent from 3.50 percent, effective immediately.

The new lending facility — described as a cousin to the Fed's emergency lending "discount window" for banks — is geared to give major investment houses a source of short-term cash on a regular basis — if they need it.

That's important because those big investment houses have key roles in the financial system and if one fails or is having difficulty it could put the whole financial system in jeopardy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. These big investment houses have complex relationships with many players in the system, including hedge funds, commercial banks and others.

The lending facility will be in place for at least six months and "may be extended as conditions warrant," the Fed said. The interest rate will be 3.25 percent and a range of collateral — including investment-grade mortgage backed securities — will be accepted to back the overnight loans.

AND THIS IS HUGE:

The Fed on Sunday also approved the financing arrangement through which JPMorgan will acquire Bear Stearns for $236.2 million in a deal that represents a stunning collapse for one of the world's largest and most venerable investment houses. JPMorgan said the Fed will provide special financing for the deal. The central bank has agreed to fund up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets, according to JPMorgan. (This was a financial investment firm with hundreds of billions of dollars passing through it's hands)

The Fed's actions are the latest in a recent string of innovative steps to deal with a worsening credit crisis that has unhinged Wall Street.

The action comes just two days before the central bank's scheduled meeting on Tuesday, where another big cut to a key interest rate that affects millions of people and businesses is expected to be ordered. That key rate is now at 3 percent and is expected to be cut by at least three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday.

Yet anxiety persisted. On world financial markets, Asian stocks plunged Monday after the JPMorgan and Fed announcements. Markets in Australia and New Zealand were also off and European stocks fell in early trading. The Bank of England moved Monday to inject an extra $10.1 billion into its financial system to provide relief.

Oil prices hit a record in Asian trading as the value of the dollar continued its free fall and U.S. stock index futures were down sharply, suggesting Wall Street would open lower after sinking Friday.

MEANWHILE AT THE FRONT:

Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain vowed in meetings with Iraq's prime minister Monday that the U.S. would maintain a long-term military presence in Iraq until al-Qaida is defeated there.

Please note that al-Qaida wasn't in Iraq until we invaded it.

Saturday March 15, 2008...Springtime and mountains

Springtime weather brings me thoughts of other springtimes in the rockies.

My attempt at Haiku poetry:

Deep in the forest
High in the rocky mountains:
Breathe deep and relax.

The memories of
Colorado draw you back-
To another time.

Silent peaks with snow
Rushing streams with speckled rocks:
Mountain flowers grow.


Peace in the mountains lets your mind dispel worries about the travails of men.
It's nice to think about spring and mountains and forests and streams.

Friday March 14, 2007...Who's worried?

GREY FRIDAY?
Friday March 14, 2008

For all of 2007, consumer inflation jumped by 4.1 percent, the biggest increase in 17 years. That big increase has raised concerns about stagflation, the malady that beset the economy in the 1970s when economic growth stagnated at the same time that inflationary pressures increased.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that he does not believe the country is at risk of another bout of stagflation.

Another stunner from Wall Street on Friday sent the dollar to a record low as a major U.S. banker, Bear Stearns Cos., acknowledged it was in dire financial straits.

The U.S. government and JPMorgan Chase & Co. bailed out Bear Stearns Cos. Friday, a last-ditch effort to save the investment bank after a week of denials that it was in trouble.

Bear Stearns lost half of its value within 30 minutes of the market open.

Bear Stearns has assets of 395 billion and liabilities of 383 billion dollars.

This week the dollar has repeatedly hit record lows against the euro, dropped below 100 yen for the first time in 12 years, and on Friday, the dollar fell below the Swiss franc for the first time ever.

The dollar is currently valued at 0.9996 francs on the Zurich exchange. In 1971, the U.S. dollar was worth four francs.

The dollar has been weighed down by worries about the outlook for the U.S. economy, which in turn have fed expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to lower interest rates.

Lower interest rates can jump-start a nation's economy, but can also weigh on its currency as traders transfer funds to countries where they can earn higher returns.
speculation that the world's major central banks will mount coordinated intervention to stabilize the rout of the dollar.

The global financial-services sector may end up writing down the fair value of such exposures by $285 billion, mainly from residential mortgage-backed securities and more complex vehicles known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), S&P estimated.

Earlier this week the Federal Reserve said it would inject $200 billion into the troubled mortgage securities market.

"It is clear that the ultimate credit losses on the more than $1.2 trillion of subprime loans originally granted in the U.S. from 2005 to 2007 will be substantial," S&P said.

Gold futures soared to a record high of $1,009 an ounce Friday, as investors sought a safe haven following news of a bailout of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns.

Monday March 10, 2008...Miscalculation?

The Cost of War: Iraq Death Toll

Lives Lost in Iraq: at least 135,527


3,975 US Military, 175 British Military, 133 Other Country Coalition Forces

March 20, 2003 to March 9, 2008
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May 1, 2003
President George Bush declares "Mission Accomplished"
138 US Military deaths at this point.

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original anticipated cost of war in Iraq - $50 Billion dollars

Total direct cost of war in Iraq to date - $500 Billion dollars

In October 2007, the Congressional Budget Office projected that additional war costs for the next 10 years could range from $570 billion if troop levels fell to 30,000 by 2010, or $1.1 trillion if troop levels fell to 75,000 by about 2013. Under these scenarios, CBO projects that funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and the GWOT could reach from about $1.2 trillion to about $1.7 trillion for FY2001-FY2017.

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What more can you say?

How much longer will this mistake go on?

Saturday March 8, 2008...It's almost later than you think

This time tomorrow won't be this time at all. It will be THAT time.

Yes, it's that time again when we nonsensically try to fool ourselves into believing that it's sooner rather than later. Later in this same year, we will try to fool ourselves again into believing that it really isn't sooner but indeed later. Now in Oklahoma, they always knew that it was sooner. Here in Missouri, you have to show me that it's really sooner and that's pretty hard to do. Sooner or later, time will catch up to us all, if we wait long enough and quit trying to fool ourselves.

I wonder if the rest of the world goes along with this foolishness or if they know the real time all along.

Anyway, tomorrow will come sooner than you think. So, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.

Friday March 7, 2008...Political contributors

After watching a race car driver in an advertisement on television, dressed in his race suit with all the sponsor patches sewn on from head to toe, I thought that we should carry this idea into our politics.

What if politicians wore patches showing who paid for their campaigns? We could limit the patches to only those who paid over $100,000. Maybe the size of the patch would indicate the size of the contribution. We could tell then which politicians owe which contributors and how that influences their votes. We could even put decals on their cars so that as they drive around you could tell who is sponsoring your candidate. It would be truth in advertising and politics for a change.

What would especially be interesting to see the same patches on politicians from both parties showing the strength of some special interests. Maybe any correspondence from the various politicians should have their major contributors listed on the back so everyone would know who they owe special favors. Nobody seems to mind that race cars carry all those decals and that drivers suits and hats carry all that free advertising from the various sponsors and I'm sure that the public wouldn't mind seeing our politicians doing the same thing. Why hide the truth in smoke filled back rooms? Let's be honest and show who really controls our elected officials.

I'll bet that George's suit would have a lot of energy companies as main sponsors.
I'd like to know McCain's and Obama's and Hilary's sponsors too.

Wednesday March 5, 2008...Spring isn't sprung quite yet

On occasion, it looks like spring with blue skies and sunshine. But spring isn't sprung quite yet. At least the snow is melting soon after falling. And the breeze isn't quite as chilling as it was. I even hear birds peeping while they're shivering. It won't be long now till the birds nest in the gutters and the squirrels dig up the yard looking for buried treasures. And soon the weeds will turn green and try to take over the world. Dandelions will raise their little yellow heads and raise their stalks as high as possible. The crab grass will creep ever so slowly over the yard. The frozen earth will turn to mud and spring will arrive with wind gusts and days of warmth hinting at summer days to follow. It makes you want to clean up the mower and wash the winter crud off the car.

But mother nature often springs forth with an ice storm or a nice wet snow about this time of the year, just when you didn't expect it. We'll see.

Thursday, February 28, 2008....Our leader know best

President Bush said Thursday, February 28, 2007, that the country is NOT headed into a recession and, despite expressing concern about slowing economic growth, rejected for now any additional stimulus efforts. "We've acted robustly," he said.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH, IN THE REAL WORLD.

The economy skidded to a near halt in the final quarter of last year, clobbered by dual slumps in housing and credit that caused people and businesses to spend and invest more sparingly.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the gross domestic product increased at a scant 0.6 percent pace in the October-to-December quarter. The reading — unchanged from an initial estimate a month ago — underscored just how much momentum the economy has lost. In the prior quarter, the economy clocked in at a brisk 4.9 percent pace. Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States and is the best barometer of the country's economic health.

"The economy just kept its head above water," said Nigel Gault, economist at Global Insight.

The housing picture looked even more bleak in the new report. Builders slashed spending on housing projects by a whopping 25.2 percent on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, the biggest cut in 26 years.And, even though economic growth slowed, inflation picked up — an ominous mix that could spell further trouble for the economy.

As if the newly confirmed fourth-quarter GDP figure of 0.6 percent wasn't chilling enough, the Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for unemployment insurance benefits rose by 19,000 to 373,000 last week, more evidence that the general economic sluggishness is spilling over into the job market.

Fears have grown that the country is heading for a recession or is already in one. With inflation rising as the economy slows, fears are increasing that the country may be headed for a bout of stagflation. That's a scenario the country hasn't experienced since the 1970s.

WHAT, ME WORRY?

NEWS OF THE DAY FEBRUARY 26, 2008

Inflation at the wholesale level soared in January, pushed higher by rising costs for food, energy and medicine. The monthly increase carried the annual inflation rate to its fastest jump in a quarter century.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that wholesale prices rose 1 percent last month, more than double the 0.4 percent increase that economists had been expecting.
The January surge left wholesale prices rising by 7.5 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest pace in more than 26 years, since prices had risen at a 7.5 percent pace in the 12 months ending in October 1981.
The number of homes facing foreclosure jumped 57 percent in January compared to a year ago, with lenders increasingly forced to take possession of homes they couldn't unload at auctions, a mortgage research firm said Monday.
Nationwide, some 233,001 homes received at least one notice from lenders last month related to overdue payments, compared with 148,425 a year earlier, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. Nearly half of the total involved first-time default notices.
The worsening situation came despite ongoing efforts by lenders to help borrowers manage their payments by modifying loan terms, working out long-term repayment plans and other actions
U.S. home prices lost 8.9 percent in the final quarter of 2007, Standard & Poor's said Tuesday, marking a full year of declining values and the steepest drop in the 20-year history of its housing index.
"We reached a somber year-end for the housing market in 2007," said one of the index's creators Robert Shiller. "Home prices across the nation and in most metro areas are significantly lower than where they were a year ago. Wherever you look things look bleak."
The S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices, which include a quarterly index, a 20-city index and a 10-city index, reflect year-over-year declines in 17 metropolitan areas with double-digit declines in eight of them.
By 2017, total health care spending will double to more than $4 trillion a year, accounting for one of every $5 the nation spends, the federal government projects.
The 6.7 percent annual increase in spending — nearly three times the rate of inflation_ will be largely driven by higher prices and an increased demand for care, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Monday. Other factors in the mix include a growing and aging population. The first wave of baby boomers become eligible for Medicare beginning in 2011.
With the aging population, the federal government will be picking up the tab for a growing share of the nation's medical expenses. Overall, federal and state governments accounted for about 46 percent of health expenditures in 2006. That percentage will increase to 49 percent over the next decade.
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Racing between OPEC meetings in Vienna, Saudi Arabia's powerful oil minister Ali Al-Naimi told a reporter that the cartel was "determined" to keep the price of oil at around $25 a barrel, rather than risk a slump in the market by boosting its production.

Wait a minute. $25? Al-Naimi said that in April 2003 — less than five years ago — when a barrel of oil cost one-quarter of this week's whopping $100, and when prices were regarded as high enough to keep oil-rich countries happy. Which begs the question: How long will the price of oil remain sky-high?
Judging by the analysts' predictions, it could be several years. "Prices are going to be significantly higher," says John V. Mitchell, an OPEC expert and associate fellow at Chatham House in London. That realization deepened this week when OPEC president, Algeria's Oil Minister Chakib Khelil, rebuffed President Bush's appeal for OPEC to boost production, and so help avert a U.S. recession by easing oil prices on the world market. Instead Khelil said that production quotas for its 13 members — who supply about 40% of the world's oil — will "either decrease or be stable" when OPEC oil ministers next meet in Vienna on March 5. Adding to the jitters over the world's oil supplies was an explosion on Monday at a refinery in Big Spring, Texas, which halted its 67,000-barrel-a-day output, and could shut the facilty for two months. And even before then a bitter wrangle between Venezuela's oil officials and ExxonMobil over a rich oil field, as well as rebel action in the Niger Delta, had raised fears that oil supplies could be seriously interrupted.
But analysts say that the problems date back years, and could take several more years to fix. When oil prices were low during the 1980s and 1990s, big oil companies and governments decided it was not worth investing in new oil fields or in building thousands more oil refineries — projects which cost billions of dollars, and can take about seven years of work before any new oil is sold. That decision turned out to be a bad miscalculation, say analysts. It ignored the biggest factor which has sent the world's oil demand soaring — the economic boom in China, and to a lesser extent India. "No one saw this coming down the line 10 years ago," says Harry Tchilinguirian, senior oil market analyst for BNP Paribas in London. "You have to look at where demand growth is. Everyone looks West of the Suez Canal. But in fact all the action is happening East of that."
The price may also be affected by something a little more volatile: the action on Wall Street, where investors have poured money into the New York Mercantile Exchange, trading oil contracts — what analysts call "paper barrels" — in search of quick profits. "People are looking at oil as a hedge against inflation," says David Kirsch, an analyst for PFC Energy in Washington. He believes that with so many factors in play, "it's a fool's errand to calculate how much that's affecting the price of oil."
U.S. officials and the Paris-based International Energy Agency predict that oil demand will ease off this year with weaker economies in the United States and Europe. But while Americans and Europeans wince these days while filling their tanks, people in China and many other countries buy gas at heavily subsidized prices, says John Waterlow, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, a business analysis firm headquartered in Edinburgh. "It is not being sold at market rates," he says. Meanwhile, with the high prices in the United States — still the world's biggest consumer of energy — oil companies are finally scrambling to lock in exploration contracts in key growth areas like the Caspian Sea, Canada and the West coast of Africa.
That new oil could take years to start flowing. And so oil prices are likely to remain high for years, and "could go higher, at least temporarily," says Waterlow. He says that if prices continue rising OPEC ministers will need to calculate whether to increase production and help avoid a deep U.S. recession — one lasting enough to ripple across the world, and hit its new oil-hungry customers in Asia. Until then, investors are likely to keep speculating on high-priced oil, and Al-Naimi, Khelil and others will hold the line, no matter the appeals from Washington.
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A key measure of consumer confidence dropped significantly in February, to the lowest level in more than 14 years, amid mounting concerns about jobs and slowing business activity.

Consumers claiming business conditions are "bad" rose to 21.8% from 20%, while those claiming business conditions are "good" decreased to 18.5% from 20.7%.
"With so few consumers expecting conditions to turnaround in the months ahead, the outlook for the economy continues to worsen and the risk of a recession continues to increase," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a statement.
The group's Expectations Index declined to 57.9 from 69.6, the lowest measure in more than 17 years.
Interest rates: The new conundrum
The news cams after a government report showed wholesale prices, measured by the Producer Price Index (PPI), increased more than expected on rising food, energy, and drug prices. Retailers including Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) also released weak earnings reports earlier in the day.
"Prices are extremely strong from rising PPI numbers, consumers are shopping for discounts, and gasoline prices are rising," said Anika Khan, economist with Wachovia. "There have been lots of signs of economic uncertainty that have led to lower consumer confidence."
The Present Situation Index registered 100.6, down from 114.3, according to the Conference Board.
"The weakening in consumers' assessment of current conditions, fueled by a combination of less favorable business conditions and a sharp rise in the number of consumers saying jobs are hard to get, suggests that the pace of growth in early 2008 has slowed even further," said Franco.
Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months increased to 21.4% from 16.3%, while those anticipating business conditions to improve decreased to 9.5% from 11.6%.
The percent of consumers expecting fewer jobs in the months ahead rose to 27.9% from 21.5%, while those anticipating more jobs declined to 9% from 10.5%.
The percentage of consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 23.8% from 20.6%, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" fell to 20.6% from 23.8% in December.
"With the credit crunch and the housing market in turmoil, consumers are very worried about a weaker job market right now," said Khan.
Consumer confidence, which constitutes nearly three-quarters of all U.S. economic activity, has been closely watched by investors hoping to determine what direction the economy is headed.
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The government is pulling out the stops to avert a recession this year. But there are signs that a protracted slowdown may be unavoidable - and that efforts to goose the economy may make matters worse.
It's clear that with food and energy prices rising sharply, many people are having trouble making ends meet - which is why government officials are acting decisively.
The rush to action suggests time is of the essence. But even with quick action to boost the amount of money floating around the economy, it's far from clear that the government's initiatives can overcome the growth-slowing effects of an overburdened consumer and a capital-impaired banking system.
Howard Simons, a strategist at Bianco Research in Chicago, warns that while the rate-cutting and stimulus plans are well intentioned, they are unlikely to result in a recovery any time soon. He says a look at currency markets suggests the U.S. economy is on the path to repeating Japan's so-called lost decade - the years of economic stagnation that followed the 1989 peak in stock and property prices. The problem, he says, is the weakening dollar.
And that's why the government's attempt to save the economy could actually be damaging it. Lower rates and more government spending tend to undermine the value of the dollar, which has already fallen sharply in recent years. By reducing interest rates even further, the Fed's rate-cutting policy invites hedge funds and other investors to participate in the so-called dollar carry trade - the practice of borrowing money at low U.S. rates for the sake of investing the proceeds in countries with higher interest rates, and pocketing the difference.
The dollar carry trade hurts the United States in two ways. First, it adds to pressure on the value of the dollar, because carry traders borrow in dollars and then sell the dollars to invest the proceeds in other, higher-yielding currencies. A weaker dollar reduces Americans' purchasing power. Second, dollars borrowed to invest in euros or Canadian loonies aren't available to be invested in U.S. enterprises. This deprives the economy of needed capital in the same way that overseas ownership of U.S. assets tends to enrich foreigners rather than U.S. citizens.
"The implications of this are very negative," says Simons. He says that by repeatedly cutting rates in the face of negative economic data, the Fed "is trying to do the right thing," but the "cumulative effect will end up being hideously negative." He warns that rate cuts and stimulus don't feed real economic growth. Meanwhile, inflation is on the rise - and keeping rates low is likely to leave the United States "in a seriously inflationary mode."
Of course, deciding just what course the Fed should be steering now isn't easy. Thanks to the massive global economic imbalances of recent years,developing nations such as China have been effectively subsidizing U.S. overconsumption, Brownstein notes. He says getting the U.S. economy back on its feet will take years of painful work -- starting with Americans admitting their mistakes and trying to live within their means. But no one should expect that process to be easy or pain-free, Brownstein adds.
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You might expect Jim Rogers to be gloating a little bit. After all, the famed investor has been predicting a recession in the U.S. economy for months and shorting the shares of now-tanking Wall Street investment banks for even longer. And with fears of a recession sparking both a worldwide market sell-off and emergency action from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Rogers again looks prescient - just as he has over the past few years as the China-driven commodities boom he predicted almost a decade ago began kicked into high gear. But when I reached him by phone in Singapore the other day there was little hint of celebration in his voice. Instead, he took a serious tone.
"I'm extremely worried," he says. "I have been for a while, but I just see things getting much worse this time around than I expected." To Rogers, a longtime Fed critic, Bernanke's decision to ride to the market's rescue with a 75-basis-point cut in the Fed's benchmark rate only a week before its scheduled meeting (at which time they cut it another 50 basis points) is the latest sign that the central bank isn't willing to provide the fiscal discipline that he thinks the economy desperately needs.
"Conceivably we could have just had recession, hard times, sliding dollar, inflation, etc., but I'm afraid it's going to be much worse," he says. "Bernanke is printing huge amounts of money. He's out of control and the Fed is out of control. We are probably going to have one of the worst recessions we've had since the Second World War. It's not a good scene."
Rogers looks at the Fed's willingness to add liquidity to an already inflationary environment and sees the history of the 1970s repeating itself. Does that mean stagflation? "It is a real danger and, in fact, a probability."
Where he expects the pain to be most intense is on Wall Street. He says he hasn't covered his short positions on the investment banks or Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and won't for a while. "Those things are going to go way, way, way down," says Rogers. "The investment banks are down now because of the problems in the credit market. Wait until the effects of the bear market come along. If you just go back and look at other bear markets, investment bank stocks have gone down enormously. We haven't gotten to that stage yet. It's going to bring their balance sheets under duress. This is going to get much worse. But that's where there have been excesses for the past decade or so. And whenever you have a bear market come along the great excesses of the previous period are the ones that get cleaned out the most."
He'll be watching - from Singapore.
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Indeed, currency analysts at Merrill Lynch wrote this week that they expect the dollar to fall further if the Fed continues to cut rates. The analysts write that they see dollar negatives in the "the erosion of the [dollar] as a safe haven, the lack of private sector buying, central bank flows and a widening interest rate differential." The worries about the strength of the dollar point to the Achilles heel of the U.S. economy: the fact that U.S. consumers have been financing their consumption by borrowing cheaply overseas.
At some point, observers warn, foreigners will stop wanting to send their money, which will drive up interest rates and hurt economic growth. "The ability of the financial authorities to stimulate the economy is constrained by the unwillingness of the rest of the world to accumulate additional dollar reserves," financier George Soros wrote this week in the Financial Times. "If federal funds were lowered beyond a certain point, the dollar would come under renewed pressure and long-term bonds would actually go up in yield. Where that point is, is impossible to determine. When it is reached, the ability of the Fed to stimulate the economy comes to an end." That's a worrisome thought indeed.
Meanwhile, Hamilton says that even with real estate prices poised to keep falling for some time, inflation worries can't be deferred forever. He says the Fed "may have to wrestle with that beast" down the road and warns that even if it's possible for the Fed to cut interest rates further, Bernanke and his colleagues should be careful about heading down the road toward 1 percent rates. "Anything below 2.5 percent would have me worried," he says. Cutting rates more sharply runs the risks of "sowing the seeds for the next problem" in the economy, Hamilton adds - very much as the Fed's low-rate policy during the recovery of 2003 and 2004 fed the housing bubble that is now deflating.
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The decline in residential real estate accelerated though the end of 2007, and home prices in 20 key markets plunged 9.1% for the year, according to a survey released Tuesday.
The S&P Case/Shiller Home Price index showed its largest annual drop in its 20-year history. By comparison, during the 1990-91 recession, home prices fell 2.8%.
Prices dropped faster throughout 2007 with the index recording a 9.1% year-over-year drop in December.
"We reached a somber year-end for the housing market in 2007," said Robert Shiller, Chief Economist at MacroMarkets LLC and co-founder of the index, in a statement. "Home prices across the nation and in most metro areas are significantly lower than where they were a year ago."
All metro areas are now reporting at least four consecutive monthly declines.
Case/Shiller's 10-city index fell even more sharply and finished down 9.8%.
The Case/Shiller indexes compare same-home sale prices. The industry considers them to be among the most accurate snapshots of housing prices.
Of the 20 metro areas examined, all but three posted declines for the year. Miami homes lost 17.5% in value - more than any other metro area - and Las Vegas and Phoenix both had 15.3% declines.