A week I wish I could forget

 This week was very expensive week. We had planned to get the house painted, and then the A/C system died. We knew the price of the painting, but did not expect the A/C expense. But in our retirement, we saved for days like that. But the next thing was not so planned.

But it wasn't just my week that hurt. It was what happened in Washington DC on Friday. The Supreme Court reversed a nearly 50 year old law about abortions. Roe vs. Wade/Casey was overturned because four justices who were put there by former president Trump, made their decision out of their own believes, and NOT by interrupting the law. And I don't think it will stop there.

After so many decades of women's rights being crushed, from voting rights, to workplace harassments, to  equal pay, to sports, and now the government saying what women can do with their bodies, is unbelievable. They have the right to say who they have sex with, the right to say if they want a child or not, they have the right to say I don't want anymore children. This is a private matter, like where to spend your money and where to work, or where to go out for dinner, or where to go on vacation, or when to sleep in. It's NOT the government's business. It is something that is decided between your mate, the family or yourself alone. NOT WASHINGTON!

Don't get me wrong, I would never want to kill another human being, but if a woman is raped and becomes pregnant, does she want that child?

I spent 26 years helping people, trying to save lives from themselves or others from heart attacks, to car wrecks, to gun shots, to house fires, to strokes. Dying so not pretty, but a undeveloped being in the earliest stage is not a human person yet. And if it not wanted, then it should be aborted. The point is where do you draw the line on the stage of pregnancy.

The five justices that swung the vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade/Casey stated during their house interviews/hearings, they were strictly Pro-life and they showed how they placed their personal feelings before the interruption of the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights, which was written for every US citizen.  No matter male, female, black, white, brown, yellow, red, straight, gay or lesbian, EVERYONE! You may disagree, and that is your believe, but personal beliefs SHOULD NOT be involved in the interpretation of a law.

What may happen next? A couple of the justices have already said (in writing) they do not think gay rights should be observed, that same sex marriages should not be approved and contraceptives should be regulated and/or restricted. WHAT!!!

The Supreme Court set the stage for other things, I believe, you will see in the headlines soon.

I am not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican. I call myself a fence rider, middle of the road guy. I have voted for both parties but I am sorry to say the Republican party is broken and the Democrats don't have a J.F.K., so I must support our president and NONE of the republicans I have seen running for the Presidency. But you are the only one who can tell your representatives what you want them to do. And only you can vote your heart. Believe me, your vote will be counted and is safe.

When I began my firefighting career, an old seasoned Captain told me, "The only thing in life that is permanent is change." And I believe the change swings from one side to the other according to the season.  Let me know your feelings. Take care and stay safe.

Things will never be the same

 Today is Father's day, and also Juneteenth. The Independence Day for not only former slaves, but for all Americans to be free and have rights to what all Americans should have. Which sometimes does not always work out that way. But as we all get older, we reflect back to the "Good old days" which we believe were the best years of our lives. But if you are old enough to remember some things from your youth, that may not be so good.

If you're about my age (75), you'll remember Air Raid warnings and the Civil Defense and the threat of Russia invading us. Kids would duck under the school desks or being briskly herded into a Fallout shelter. Or maybe you'll remember the assassinations of our president, his brother and a civil rights leader, or the spitting on Vietnam vets coming home and being called 'baby killers'.  Those were only SOME of the dark days in our history.

As children growing up, we probably did not recognize those events at the time. The 'good times' were playing outside until the sun sat behind the homes or trees on your street . Drink water out of your or neighbors garden hose, or going to the convenience store (like a Circle K or a Pony Keg in the midwest) and buying penny candy with your rowdy friends laughing and joking as you stuff as many pieces of bubble gum in your mouth and blowing the biggest bubble in the world. Maybe you'll remember swimming with your pals in a pond or a canal, or catching frogs, or sleeping under the stars under one of you mother's old quilts in someone's backyard and roaming the neighborhood way up into the night. Or maybe even playing stick ball or football in the street around parked cars until a car wanted to drive through. Riding your bike and delivering the morning newspaper to your neighbors. Going to a school dance to seek out that special girl or boy you have a crush on.

All memories (and times) that were good and bad. I like you reminisce through all I have seen, heard and done. But I realized that I can never relive those times ever again. Some people live in the past and try to relive those 'good old days' through their children. I believe that is wrong. Those children will have their own good times, along with some bad times, whether it is the loss of a mother or father, a good friend or someone they love dearly.

Time is always moving forward. It does not go into reverse. It does repeat itself. maybe sometimes it seems to repeat itself, but actually it is only similar. From the past we learn what NOT to do in the future. Historians write the history and will interpret it as they see it. We are our own historians of our past.

This may sound really philosophical and it probably is but I believe God and myself work on what happens to me in the future, and the past is already written somewhere, if not in our heads.

As the late Jim Croce sang, "IF I COULD ONLY PUT TIME IN A BOTTLE ...". Save those memories and let them be a lesson for the future. Take care.

Generations

I have been asked many times "How old are you?"  I also reply with my exact age (now 75). I never lie about my age, because it pretty evident by looking at my face, well most of the time. I probably puff out my chest when they say,"Wow, you don't seem that old."  Everyone likes those kind of compliments.

I am a 'Boomer', or a 'Baby Boomer' to be exact. Born during and after WWII, and the largest generation. of the seven.  As we all know when we were younger, we all thought our parents were a different generation and maybe slow on the uptake about our likes and dislikes, because they were. We liked different things like music, TV shows, cars, vacations and foods. Each generation have different Idiosyncrasies. I guess I always knew this, but did not really realize the differences until a read a report from a research group. Since I am sort of a history buff, and a people watcher, I wanted to learn more about the differences between the generations. But, I won't bore you will more charts and links to websites I looked at.

My belief is, the single most reason businesses can not get and keep employees is because of the 'generation gaps'. New young employees want different things in their work and workplace. Well, here is a chart showing it better than I can explain.

 Our daughter owns a medical practice and she had a young girl quit because she said the was not enough of 'phone time'. She meant cell phone time ... while she was getting paid to work? Come on!

Unlike the chart that only shows 4 generations, there actually 7. The years may vary according to the research groups, but you'll get it.

Here are the generations by years born. Great generation - 1901 to 1927, Silent generation - 1928 to 1945, Boomers - 1946 to mid 60s, Gen X - mid 60s to 1980, Millennials - 1981 to 1995, Gen Z - 1996 to 2012, Alpha - 2011 to 2025.

All of these generations differ greatly according to what society dictated at the time and the world events such as WWI and II, the 'Jim Crow' era and civil rights movement, televisions, Viet Nam, the 60s Free Love era, the computer era and the fast moving economy of today and so on. Politics also played a big part in shaping each generation. Presidents became more outgoing and outspoken, unlike the very dignified and proper image of a president of the 1910 until the Trump era. Some bent to the times and some refused, as did some generations. Change is everlasting.

As one of my elderly relative said, "I like movies that say 'The End' so I don't have to guess what's coming." And we don't know what is coming, so it's best (I guess) to just keep up with younger generation so we are not surprised by what comes next. So what Gen are you, and what are your experiences. I'd love to hear them. Take care.

Buckle-up buttercup!

 Everyone asks, "What's up with these prices?" I know, I do too. But actually I have seen this coming for a couple years. And I will tell you why. Believe it or not, it's not the President's fault. If you remember, he signed a bill that sent money out to just about everyone FOR FREE! It was called the "Stimulus Bill parts 1 & 2", trying the help out people in all incomes, except, people making over $150K a year. Even businesses got money if they filed for it. And NONE of this you had to pay it back. Well, my opinion, that helped somewhat, but hurt us too. Some people got use to laying back and getting paid, and then when that ran out, they thought they would just start their own business. So now no one wants to work, and there is a employee shortage. $15 a hour for entry jobs is good, except some think they should get more and still use their phones while they work and getting paid.

The state of the world (not just United States) does not boil down to one factor, there are many issues, and it is complicated. Let me list the different facets of our problems. And I am no economist but just things I have researched.

1 - It was a confluence of the World's stage pattern of energy choices. Shutting down oil production during Covid, and then trying to crank it back up while countries fought over oil. Our oil from Russia was only 8%, that meant nothing. And then Putin invaded Ukraine, which threw another wrench into an already screwed up oil fiasco.

2 - The cancelling of the Keystone XL pipeline by Biden had absolutely no effect on prices at all. Plus the way it was planned by some self-righteous politicians was sort of slipped and hidden by most. It really did not become a issue until the news media announced it was being put on hold.

3 - The previous administration thought it would be good to print off tons of new money to help the economy. The problem with that is our money is backed by REAL money which the federal government did not have. On top of that, the U.S. Treasurer Secretary misinterpreted the future economy of the U.S. and increased the federal lending percentage. So mortgage loans go up and every bit of money the feds loan to banks, such as car loans, student loans, business loans, etc. When large businesses want to build a store or make capital developments, they do not use their own money, they borrow the money from banks and pay it back as they go. Grocery chains, auto dealerships, even huge corporations practice this way. They use their money for payroll, share profiting and general expenses. And the increased costs of loans rolls down to us.

4 - During Covid, China shut down as tight as a drum. And so did most European countries, In some countries, you were arrested if you came out of your house/apartment for anything except to buy food. Everyone was forced to stay home, thus factories were shut down too, and manufacturing came to a stand still. If you notice, the U.S. gets a lot of items made in China. (Discussion for another time.) We in the U.S. trade heavily with many, many other countries, (Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Pacific Countries too) thus our supply chain was interrupted too.

5 - And there is the Ukrainian war. Many auto parts are made in Ukraine such as wiring, ball joints just to mention a couple. They also import oil and produce to much of Europe. If it hurt a lot of countries, it hurts us too. We are a big part of the world trade system. Unlike what previous presidents thought, we can NOT stand on just what we produce and live on. The world trade platform is huge! If one gets hurt, it affects us all.

As I said, it complicated. Sometimes too complicated for most to comprehend. I barely do.

What's the answer you ask? If I knew, I'd be hired to put it into action. But for now, the people in Washington, and in capitals around the world are doing what they can to make it better for everyone.

I will end this with one thought, "I like a movie that ends with 'THE END' so it doesn't leave you guessing what happens next"  I see a recession in our and the world's future. Take care and stay safe. This wasn't such a joyous blog, was it? Sorry.