Ageing Challenges

Ageing Challenges

Facts:  We are not created equal.  Life isn’t fair.  If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of my body and mind. Arguably; it’s about quality of life.

The question remains compelling:

• What is wisdom, and how does it play out in individual lives? Most psychologists agree that if you define wisdom as maintaining positive well-being and kindness in the face of challenges, it is one of the most important qualities one can possess to age successfully~ By PHYLLIS KORKKI

For those of you not familiar with my blog; I am expressing my perspective as I have learned from experience.  My purpose for writing (first and foremost, I enjoy it) is to give my readers food for thought.  I don’t believe in making all the mistakes myself, if I can learn from other’s mistakes, I will gladly do it.  I am an expert on my own life and experience, don’t profess to know everything about anything, where others are concerned.

With the ever increasing numbers of participants in the social media, there are many people sharing advice with regard to age and health that most of us should take with a grain of salt.  Something as basic and simple as how to prepare the tastiest peanut butter and jelly sandwich, has the potential of making someone deathly ill, could even prove to be fatal.  Not everyone should eat peanuts or peanut derivatives.  For some obscure reason, I don’t recall ever hearing of such thing growing up, but today we know that allergies to peanuts are a fact.

I often see postings on Facebook by younger people that are not yet afflicted by old age, basically make fun of the elderly, and their age afflictions.  Here is where we are not created equal comes in.  We are all raised different some lacking a formal education make their living by using their bodies (backs and knees) with time the tear and wear on the joints and back will cause disabilities that a person making a living professionally (formally trained as an attorney, or medical professional) will not experience.  On the plus side those back breaking jobs are disappearing quickly as mechanical equipment takes over more and more menial jobs.

Laying pipe (for irrigation, natural gas, telephone or cable etc.) used to be labor intensive, at present most ditch diggers are being replaced by mechanical digging equipment.  Once upon a time a young man or woman just starting in life might get side tracked from a formal education because of the seeming easy money provided by labor intensive jobs.  Today’s labor market offers hamburger flipping jobs to the young, but it shouldn’t side track any one away from college or vocational training.

Choices made when young (back breaking work) affects you in later years when even leisure things like gardening or walking for exercise will be a challenge.  Taking medication for back and joint pain can eventually have worst side effects than the back problems (from serious prescription addiction to kidney problems for excessive use of some over the counter pain meds.).  Again decisions made when young will came back to haunt us later in life.

We are not all predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease, but many of us are, and by the time we find out we are well on our way to it.  I have a favorite saying:  Everything we say and do will come back to us, positive, negative or indifferent, but it will come back to us.  This is where, “if I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of my mind and body,” comes in.  Such things as smoking, alcohol, drugs, not taking the time to prepare yourself for a career, not investing on your retirement, etc., etc. will get you in the end. I realize that as individuals we don’t always make a conscious choice, sometimes it’s a matter of playing the cards life has dealt us.

With regard to the social media posting, I try to be considerate, but once again consideration is in the eye of the beholder, I am sure that somewhere along the way, I have insulted or offended someone.  I promise to try even harder.  The best is yet to come…..

May - December Romance

May - December Romance

I was recently reading some articles on romances where the couples, whether married or not are at least separated by 10 years in age.  I did get the logic of calling any romance separated by 10 years or more “May –December.”  However, since we are using months to show the age of the individuals in the relationship and life expectancy in Washington State for males is 77.77, and 82 years for females, for the sake of easy calculation lets average the two to 80 years of age.

Having setup the formula first, now we can say that if the male is the older in the relationship and 80 is the life expectancy that would make December 31st, equal to 80 years of age. So the young female at the May month would be somewhere approximately in her mid-30’s, that would take the romance out of the May – December Romance moniker. A couple where the bride is 36 and the groom is between 73 and 80 sounds more like a nurse – patient relationship.  I hate to say it because I grew up reading Playboy for the articles (of course), but it sounds like a marriage that could only take place (regularly) at the Playboy Mansion.

Pinky Promise

• May-December relationships have at least an 11-year age span between the parties. The vast majority of May-December marriages take place between older men and younger women. According to the most recent U.S. census, 7.4 percent of husbands are 10 or more years older than their wives.
• But that trend is starting to change. A 2003 AARP report, “Lifestyles, Dating and Romance,” found that 8 percent of women older than 39 were dating men at least 10 years younger.
• Hollywood has long been a breeding ground for May-December romances. Charlie Chaplin famously wed Oona O’Neill when she was 18 and he was 54. Warren Beatty is 21 years older than his wife, Annette Bening. Harrison Ford, 70, is married to Calista Flockhart, 48. Clint Eastwood is 82; wife Dina Ruiz-Eastwood is 35 years younger (they’re getting a divorce).
• Why choose a partner from a vastly different age group? Research conducted at University of Gothenburg and Oxford University and published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology found that women wanted older men because of their solid financial resources and high social status. Men have always sought younger female partners.The study also found that the majority of women older than 60 were looking for younger men.
• While many May-December couples report they’ve found the love of their life, they’re likely to encounter certain challenges. They may grapple with an imbalance of power. When one party has more life experience, money and prestige, he or she may exert more authority over the other.
• Partners age at different rates. No matter how youthful the older person feels or acts, the calendar inevitably catches up. ~ BY LINDA LEWIS GRIFFITH 

I can tell you from my fairy tale romance (life), that the first time I saw my wife I was struck by her physical beauty, the fact that she was in college said volumes about her intelligence, and the minute she spoke I was amazed at her maturity beyond her obvious youth.  The chance meeting took place at my office where I was a college counselor (not the same college where she was enrolled).  She had dropped by to take her brother to lunch, and her brother was in a meeting with me in my office, he was a co-worker and also a counselor (to this day we are related and great friends).

To make a very long and loving story short, that beautiful woman that walked into my life unexpectedly on her 18^th birthday, and I married two weeks later.  We just celebrated our most recent anniversary last month (our youngest daughter is 30 years old and we have 3 other children together).  Today I am retired (early retirement), and she enjoys her career she plans to keep working a little longer.  Little did I know that I would go from being the more experience partner in the relationship to being a “kept man.”  I love my life and my present status and for the record I consider our romance a March – May Romance!  The best is yet to come……..

Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fool Me Twice…

Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fool Me Twice…

On my previous post: http://www.being50.com/2015/05/the-fight-of-century-as-usual-this-is.html I ended that post by saying that we were being scammed.  My second post on the subject: http://www.being50.com/2015/05/the-scam-fight-of-century.html I addressed factually about being scammed, but wait; there is more!

·        HBO analyst Max Kellerman thinks Mayweather-Pacquiao's failure to live up to the hype did more to hurt than help the sport in the eyes of the masses.

·        Jim Lampley  "Was it a plus because of all the mainstream media attention, a minus because it was a clinic rather than a war, or a mixed bag?"

·        Max Kellerman “A minus, obviously, because just when all of the attention of the world is focused on boxing -- 'look, this is the best we have to offer!' When that works out well, like Ali-Frazier or Hearns and Hagler, or some fight like that, it's amazing. Because casual fans and even non-sports fans, if it transcends sports, are drawn then to boxing.

·        "But when it works out this way, just when all the focus is on the fight, and you get the most predictable and boring outcome -- like, heading into this fight, what were we thinking?  Just don't let Floyd win 9-3, 8-4, minimize exchanges, and afterwards have Pacquiao say I thought I won the fight, all he did was run. As long as that doesn't happen, we'll be OK!' And that's what happened." ~ The Fight Game with Jim Lampley: Max Kellerman (HBO Boxing)

I grew up with Gillette Cavalcade of sports (Friday Night Boxing), all the men in the family gathered in the living room to catch the fights (I only speak for my family), and we are talking about the boxing that would someday be considered the best of boxing.  Such names as: Cassius Clay, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, and Archie Moore to name a few.  Among significant boxers in lower weights, were middleweights Emile Griffith, Nino Benvenuti and Dick Tiger,

Here is an example of just one year of the exciting sport of boxing:

1962

• February 10- Young Cassius Clay, fighting in his tenth professional bout, recovers from his first knockdown, a first round fall, to beat Sonny Banks by knockout in round four, Madison Square Garden, New York.
• March 24- One of boxing's most famous tragedies happens when Emile Griffith knocks out Benny Kid Paret in round twelve, to claim the world's Welterweight title. Paret is taken to the hospital, where he subsequently dies.
• April 3- Benny Paret dies.
• April 21- Carlos Ortiz becomes world Lightweight champion with a fifteen round unanimous decision win over Joe Brown in Las Vegas.
• July 13- In his first fight since the Benny Paret tragedy, Emile Griffith retains the world Welterweight title with a fifteen round unanimous decision of future world Jr. Middleweight champion Ralph Dupas in Las Vegas.
• September 25- Sonny Liston becomes world Heavyweight champion, knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, at Chicago.
• October 10- Fighting Harada becomes world Flyweight champion, knocking out Pone Kingpetch in eleven rounds, Tokyo, Japan.
• October 23- Dick Tiger becomes world Middleweight champion, defeating Gene Fullmer by a fifteen round unanimous decision in San Francisco.
• November 15- Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) knocks out former world Light Heavyweight champion Archie Moore in five rounds at Los Angeles.
• December 20- Denny Moyer becomes the first world champion in history in the brand new Jr. Middleweight division, defeating Joey Giambra by a fifteen round decision for the vacant title, Portland. ~ Wikipedia

Fights were seen on color television for the first time, and one of the most famous tragedies, Benny Kid Paret's, was also shown live on TV.  I seriously could go on forever.

There is talk about Pacquiao’s undisclosed injury prior to the fight, and the possibility of a rematch next May (2016).  I say bring it on, but you better offer me a free pay per view, if you expect to reel me in, after all; Fool Me Twice Shame On Me!

The best is yet to come…..

For Better or Worst (A Society of Laws)

For Better or Worst (A Society of Laws)

Most recently the subject of governing laws (rules) came into my life once again.  Every so often the subject comes up unexpectedly, if for no other reason, because we are a society of laws.  As the best example I can think of very four year we have presidential elections and that is a big example of how we have, not only the right but more importantly the responsibility to take part in the process.  After all the Commander in Chief is the head of our government, and will actively or passively will affect what new laws are passed or focused on.  It seems that every president comes to the position of power with a preconceived agenda.  Most often it’s that agenda (campaign promises) that get them elected or not.

The party that the presidential candidate represents will have very strong influence on the president’s platform.  This blog is not about politics, and if I am not careful it will get away from me.  So I will now carefully get back to the main topic.  For better or worst.

Earlier in our lives the laws were not as all-encompassing as they are today.  The biggest reason for the basis of that statement is that our family heads (moms and dads) use to exercise more control and vigilance over our own immediate families and responsibilities. As an example I don’t remember the local policeman ever brining me home because of curfew violation.  I knew what time I was supposed to be home, and I arrived with plenty of time.

I was also aware that if I misbehaved in school my teacher would have a conversation with my mom and or dad or both, and I would have to pay the price (punishment doled out by my parents).  I attended Catholic School and the teachers (nuns) exercised corporal punishment (the board of education was made out of real wood).  Believe you me, if I ever got a swat or two or three swats at school I knew better than to go home and complain, because I may just get seconds at home.

Less rules (laws) were needed back then because in the 50’s and even up until the 70’s most homes were made up of one working parent, and the other parent got to stay home and manage the family.  I know that today it sounds weird, but believe me, it makes a big difference whether the children are being raised by a parent or a daycare.  Unfortunately, with the high cost of everything in our economic challenging times, unless a couple wins the lotto they will never experience the pleasure and benefits of having one of two parents staying home to manage the family.  It’s not unusual in today’s economy to have a $200 plus cell phone or TV/cable bill. Those level of services are not necessary but for the most part they are a reality.

The average transaction price for a new vehicle set a record of $31,252 in August, according to TrueCar.com.  My parents bought a brand new 4 door Ford Custom, as loaded as it came, right off of the showroom floor for under $3,000.00.  The payments were around $28 per month. We’ve come a long way baby.

The rules that inspired this post have to do with managing our neighborhood development.  We are at a crossroad (after 20 plus years) where maintenance costs are almost prohibitive.  So the question is; do we, individually as home owners, increase the membership dues to cover the cost (we are talking about tripling the annual fees) or dissolve the association, and fend for ourselves.  Sounds easy enough but consider the issues recently handled by the association board; Neighbors (most likely tenants not owners) trying to raise goats and chickens (in their backyards), abandoned cars on the streets, vandalism, lawns not maintained, disputes between neighbors, etc.,, etc..  I say quadruple the fees and build up a reserve.  Just sometimes rules are necessary.  The next post will deal with the cost of oil prices.  The best is yet to come….

The Boom of the 1950s

Baby Boom of the 1950s

The 1950s was a time when our men and women in uniform had just returned triumphantly from World War II.  We had every reason to believe and were justified in the feeling and attitude that we were staring a wonderful future full of promise.  We were staring at a time of peace and prosperity without foreseeable end in sight.

What Seat Belts

 

Never had so many great things come together to make our future so bright.  It seems that from this point on, almost everything 50s was labeled “BOOM.”

·       The Postwar Booms: Historians use the word “boom” to describe a lot of things about the 1950s: the booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called “baby boom.”

·       This boom began in 1946, when a record number of babies–3.4 million–were born in the United States. About 4 million babies were born each year during the 1950s. In all, by the time the boom finally tapered off in 1964, there were almost 77 million “baby boomers.” ~HISTORY.COM

During the 1950s the United States was the world’s strongest military power, it’s economy was the best in the world and booming, and the benefits of the prosperity were, new cars, new houses, and a never ending amount of consumer goods were available to people more than ever before.

Shopping Boom

Many developers correctly read the opportunity to buy property available on the outskirts of town and started mass producing modest inexpensive tract houses.  The end of the war brought about the G.I. Bill to subsidize low-cost mortgages for our returning heroes from the war.  The low cost mortgages were often cheaper than the rent on an apartment in the city.

·       The Cold War: The tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, known as the Cold War, was another defining element of the 1950s. After World War II, Western leaders began to worry that the USSR had what one American diplomat called “expansive tendencies”; moreover, they believed that the spread of communism anywhere threatened democracy and capitalism everywhere. As a result, communism needed to be “contained”–by diplomacy, by threats or by force. This idea shaped American foreign policy for decades. ~HISTORY.Com

Talk about history repeating itself.  We are now (2014) in some sort of stand-off with the Russians in a new case of Cold War.

 All the history of the 1950s is much more involved than the above information, but now you know the condensed version of it.  The best is yet to come….

Sports Influence

Sports Influence

My life’s foundation includes a generous mix of scholastic sports participation.  If you break life down to the basics, you will find that life is a competition, whether you want to admit or not.   In the beginning level of life (at birth) if you are a twin, you will start competing from day one.  Whether it be for the next feeding, diaper change, or just mom and dad’s attention.  In my generation, my parents expected me to excel in everything from school work to sports to chores around the farm.

Even friendly family competitions were played to win never to lose or draw.  When I entered school sports in high school, I was expected to minimally letter in the sport.  My parents felt like they were spending money on insurance, and sports equipment. Not to mention giving up my time after school when I could have been performing chores on the farm, so they wanted to hear that I was amongst the best performers if not MVP.

Well I grew up with a very competitive spirit and I passed it on to my children growing up.  To this day you should see how rowdy our board game nights get when the family gathers around the dining room table to spend quality time together.

I remember occasions when I visited my relatives in California and my uncle Frank would take me to Dodger baseball games or my father would take me to championship boxing matches also in Los Angeles.   At the time I couldn’t understand their enthusiasm for Baseball and boxing.  Being from the Pacific Northwest myself, I didn’t have the exposure to professional sports that southern Californians have always had.  However, it wasn’t long after my exposure to boxing in southern California that a young fighter entered the competition (Cassius Clay) and I became a fanatic.  All of a sudden the fights were not boring, here was a fighter that would call the round he was going to knock out the opponent, and actually did it.  I started attending Close Circuit Television viewings in select venues around the northwest with my step-father and step-brothers. I can honestly say that those were exciting times.

 

In 1976 I was very fortunate to get on the fan wagon of my favorite team ever.  The Seattle Seahawks arrived and I have been a fan ever since.  In 2005 the Seahawks made it all the way to the Super Bowl, and were able to compete with the opposing team, but were not prepared to take on the officiating team also.  I already gave full disclosure, I have been a fan from Day One.  This coming Sunday my team, the Seattle Seahawks will once again be competing in the Super Bowl.  This time our team is going against the recognized best quarterback in the NFL.  I only agree to the title because he probably is, considering his accomplishments, and secondly because when my team beats his team, I expect my quarterback to inherit the title.

While my team is well prepared in all aspects of the sport, we are going against the best possible team that we could compete with.  It’s unfortunate that after Sunday, no one will care who came in second place over all.  Having said that, I will admit that, that is the way I was raised, and that is the way I like it.  The second place team will begin the rebuilding process the very next day (Monday), and that is the way it should be.  Like in everything, especially in sports, there needs to be winners and losers.  It’s just how we keep score, and it builds character.  GO SEAHAWKS!!!  The best is yet to come…..

State of the Nation

State of the Nation

Never want to upstage someone as important as the leader of the free world.  I only mean that in the sense of posting my perspective of where the Nation is at, ahead of his State of the Union speech.

Every once in a while aging does come with benefits:  knowing from experience what to expect with regard to a pep talk (which a State of the Union speech is meant to be).  When you hear enough of this speeches and then live through the period of time that follows you learn to read between the lines.  I would be the last person to say that a politician lies but they do embellish, and you have to give them credit, they are optimistic about how they can improve things with their plans for us.

If you want to get a real feeling for how the nation is doing you should consider that not everyone is affected in the same exact way at the same exact time by prevailing conditions, political or otherwise.  I’ve always measure improvements by getting it down to the lowest common denominator.  First of all, how am I (my home) doing since the last State of the Union speech?  The next level might be to assess the status of your job or business.  The next most important measure to an individual should be, the family.  How are your children doing?  How are your brothers and sisters doing?  How about your parents:  the ones that can least afford a negative condition in the state of the nation.  Before you counter; some of our elderly that have had a nice life may actually be in better shape economically to withstand a temporary downturn in the economy.  However, generally speaking elderly population with a fixed incomes have limited ability to withstand even temporary downturns.

Now for the tools to measure how we are doing.  Take a look at the property tax statement for your home, if you are one of the fortunate people to own or to be buying your home.  You can usually see a comparison from your past property valuation to your next increase or decrease in valuation, and taxes due.  Take a look at your bank account are your savings stable or has it been declining?  Check your credit card balances are your credit card balances down or up?  Certain things affect us all equally, as an example the unusually cold weather we are experiencing in parts of the nation.  According to some news reports utility bills are doubling in some areas because of the extreme and prolonged cold weather.  If your personal situation is stable, you should be able to withstand the fluctuation in your utility bills, but if you are not doing well, it could be the difference between buying groceries and keeping warm.

Another area to measure is the security issues that have been prevalent in the news.  Are you more concerned about privacy with regards to electronic communications?  Are you experiencing problems with your health coverage (have you recently been dropped?)?  Has your health coverage costs increased significantly?  Most of us can withstand the flu or a cold, maybe even a sprained ankle without insurance.  However, a major surgery event in the family can bankrupt you, if you can even get medical care without insurance.

It turns out that I am not reporting the State of the Nation, instead I am giving you some ideas on how to evaluate on your own.  Having read the State of the Nation post, how are you and yours doing?  The best is yet to come……

Where Does Time Go

NASA Space Program

I can’t tell you how many times my wife or some other family member will talk to me about something that happened in the past and I will be surprised at how much time has gone by.  Some things are more memorable than others, and that’s when time seems to slip by the fastest.  A most common passage of time is when we run into someone we haven’t seen for a while, and we asked them about their little one, only to find out that their youngest is graduating from high school or college and the older ones already have kids of their own.

Consider the following article from “Today In History,” from our local newspaper:

• In 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference to be carried live on radio and television. 
• In 1971, Charles Manson and three women were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven, including actress Sharon Tate, who once lived in Richland, WA.  Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Obote in a military coup.
• In 1981, the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States. 
• In 1994, maintaining his innocence, singer Michael Jackson settled a child molestation lawsuit against him; terms were confidential, although the monetary figure was reportedly $22 million.  /the United States launched Clementine, an unmanned spacecraft that was to study the moon before it was lost and “gone forever.” 
• Ten years ago NASA’s Opportunity rover zipped its first pictures of Mars to Earth, showing a surface smooth and dark red in some places, and strewn with fragmented slabs of light bedrock in others.

 

In today’s digital world, a presidential news conference is no longer special news, and usually doesn’t even get coverage from all the available networks.  Charles Manson still makes the news every year as he goes before the board of parole, and gets denied.  Iran is still making news as terrorist country.  Michael Jackson is no longer with us.  NASA and the Space program is for all intents and purposes on hold for budget reasons we are flying missions to the international Space Station by hitching a ride with the Soviet Union’s Space program. Many of the friends that we don’t see on a regular bases grow older faster than we do (I hate to think what they think of our aging process.  The best is yet to come…..

It’s The Actuary’s Fault

It’s The Actuary’s Fault

My children (and I have seven of them) have often wondered why everyone and everything seems to be falling apart all around me and I stand strong in midst of turmoil.  I’d be willing to bet that a large number of people don’t even know what an Actuary is or how they affect our everyday life.

An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms.

Actuaries mathematically evaluate the probability of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimize the impacts of financial losses associated with uncertain undesirable events. Since many events, such as death, cannot be avoided, it is helpful to take measures to minimize their financial impact when they occur. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet, and require asset management, liability management, and valuation skills. Analytical skills, business knowledge and understanding of human behavior and the vagaries of information systems are required to design and manage programs that control risk

I’ve taken the time to explain to my children the risks that are involved in just doing the simple things that we do every day. Here once more is the key to the “how I avoid or minimize the turmoil that surrounds all of us in everyday life. Actuaries mathematically evaluate the probability of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimize the impacts of financial losses associated with uncertain undesirable events.

 A very simple and practical example is the following:  When I used to go to work every day (as normal people do), I would come home at the end of the day, park my car and either relax or perform some chores (tasks) around the house.  In all likelihood, unless my wife and I had plans, we wouldn’t touch the cars again until the next day.  With regard to my children, they may drive to work from school or go hang out with friends at the mall, or just go driving around visiting friends.  Even when they came home at the end of the day, they may decide at 9:30 pm that they forgot to buy something they needed the next day for school. 

I don’t know if you are seeing the pattern here: the more they drive, the more exposure they have.  Many times more likely to get a parking or speeding ticket, more likely to get into a car accident, more likely to run out of gas, more likely that their car will breakdown, etc.

If I visit a Casino twice a year, and you visit a Casino three times a week; you are more likely to end up with a gambling addiction, maybe even with your house under foreclosure, or your car repossessed, etc.  You are actually increasing the chances that something negative will happen to you through the process of exposure (repetition).

If you get up and go to the gym (fitness center) at midnight or 4 am to work out in peace (away from the crowded center):  you are running the risk of your car breaking down at a time when you are all alone in the dark empty streets, and worst yet get assaulted, robbed, raped (if you think I’m making reference to women, think again men also get raped).  You also run the risk of having your car vandalized in the empty parking lot. 

I’m not being a spoil sport or doomsayer; have you ever heard anyone you know say, “I didn’t think that could happen to me, or in my neighborhood.”  One of the most common crimes are the crimes of opportunity.  That is the long way to explain why, even when turmoil is all around me, I remain safe to date.  I do play the odds, but I play them to my advantage.  Stay safe.  The best is yet to come…..

September 11, 2001

September 11, 2001

The day our lives changed forever.  On that day my wife and I were getting ready for work (Pacific NW time).  My wife called me, alarmed that a jet liner had just crashed into a building in New York.  My initial reaction and comment to my wife was that the airliner must have lost its instrumentation and was flying without adequate navigational controls.  We were intently watching the television report when the second jetliner crashed into the second tower.  At that instant I became aware that the crashes were intentional, and that our country was under attack.

One of my son’s was vacationing in Hawaii, and I called him at his hotel.  Due to the Time Zone difference he wasn’t awake yet and thus unaware.  We told him to turn on his television so he could see what was happening on the East Coast.  Because of the “National No Fly Restrictions” imposed immediately my son was stranded in Hawaii, and unable to return home as planned.  He eventually made his way home after no fly restrictions were lifted.

Many innocent people died on that day changing the course of the lives of their loved ones forever.  Not one individual in the USA has gone unaffected.  Some of us lost someone on that day others of us have lost someone in the military through the years since then.  The way we travel has changed drastically.  Perhaps some of us see a stranger, and immediately react with suspicion, certainly more aware of our surroundings.  The cost of gasoline has certainly affected all of us, in a personal as well as in a business way.

Our country has rallied to the cause of self-preservation.  Patriotism has once again become a point of focus for our country.  The attacks while devastating on many levels served to unite us as US citizens.  The attack aftermath has served to rid the world of a large number of evil people (perpetrators), unfortunately we have lost many heroes along the way.  We, however, had no choice but to respond as we did, and continue to stay on guard.

The fact that we are a mighty and strong force in the world, doesn’t prevent ignorant and misguided terrorists from taking a shot at us.  The following are facts about the September 11, 2001 attacks:

• The September 11 attacks resulted in 2,996 immediate (attack time) deaths: 2,977 victims and the 19 hijackers. A total of 372 foreign nationals (excluding the 19 perpetrators) perished in the attacks, representing just over 12% of the total. The immediate deaths include 246 victims on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the World Trade Center and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. ^~Wikipedia
• 11:30: Before sleeping, President Bush enters into his journal: "The Pearl Harbor of the 21st century took place today...We think it's Osama bin Laden." ^~Wikipedia

We have survived this cowardly attack, and will continue to prevail because we are a resilient people.  The best is yet to come…..

Extended Holiday Weekend 2

Extended Holiday Weekend 2

• Excerpt from Blog Post, dated 5/24/2013: Extended Holiday Weekend. There is so much to be said for youth, we were all there once.  Some of us are still there but it’s not the same; young at heart and in mind is not the same as young actually.  The things we value, the things that drive us, for the most part it’s the material things, and the instant gratification.  I was impulsive once upon a time, I like many others, and somehow felt that youth would stick around forever.  What a wonderful thing to have progressed out of it while I was still young, and could make amends.
• The extended holiday weekend reminds me of the olden days when I too would have the car packed and ready to go for the 1500 mile trip from California to Washington State to visit family and friends for the three day weekend.  The only difference between then and now was the amount of the payments of the muscle car I was driving, and the cost per gallon of gasoline.  My car payments were right around $50.00 and the cost of a gallon of gasoline was .29 cents.  Compare the cost of gasoline at $3.79 today.  Not to mention the cost of a New Camaro or Charger, right around $49K to $64K plus financing. 
• This is  a typical scenario leading up to the extended weekend; Thursday night like most every other week night I would stay up until around midnight, I would wake up by 5 am to show up to work by 7 am (5 hours sleep maximum).  On Friday I would arrive from work at around 5:45 pm, and hit the road immediately headed north.  The drive as soon as the holiday traffic cleared up and we were past the Bay Area traffic would be a constant 85 to 90 miles per hour until we arrived home the next day near noon.  The visit while fun and exciting, was short lived.  In order to return in time for my job we had to leave no later than 1:30 pm on Monday so I could report to my mid-management position by 7 am on Tuesday. 

 WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This Labor Day, millions of cars will hit the road as Americans celebrate summer with family and friends. As with all of the summer holidays, many people celebrate the end of summer by driving to a location that is more than 50 miles away from their home. The National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) is reminding all motorists to drive carefully when they travel this weekend.  

In 2012, more than 6,270 red-light violations occurred over the Labor Day holiday.* this year is likely to be just as dangerous.

 

Travel club AAA is projecting that 34.1 million Americans will travel over the holiday, with 85 percent expected to drive to their destinations. This prediction represents an increase of 4.3 percent when comparing the numbers to last year's drivers.  Due to this expected rise in the number of road travelers, the National Safety Council predicts that 394 traffic deaths will occur over the Labor Day travel period, an increase of nearly 6 percent over 2012 numbers. In addition, the safety organization estimates that another 42,200 people will require medical treatment for traffic-related injuries.

 

"With a significant influx of cars on our roadways, all drivers must be careful over the holiday weekend, especially in and around intersections," says Melissa Wandall, President of NCSR. "We encourage everyone to slow down and take extra care to stop at red lights."

Friday, August 30 is expected to be the busiest travel day of 2013. AAA predicts that 46 percent of Americans will depart for the holiday weekend on Friday and 43 percent will return on Monday, September 2.

 

My family and I plan to stay home, and entertain our family members that drop by for some delicious BBQ, and home style family cooking.  We can always travel when everyone else returns to school and work.  I wish travelers a safe and happy extended weekend!  The best is yet to come.....

 

State of the Union

 

                                                                  State of the Union

As a citizen I am very involved in the political process/system. However, I am not a political animal to the degree of being involved in demonstrations or other such things. I decided to give a few facts about a time then and a time now. You can individually see what has transpired over 50 years.

This was then:

U.S. Statistics 1963

President: John F. Kennedy
Vice President: Lyndon B. Johnson
Population: 189,241,798
Life expectancy: 69.9 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 21.8
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 20.1
Homicide Rate (per 100,000): 4.9
US Unemployment Rate 1963: 5.7



This is now:

U.S. Statistics

President: Barack Obama
Vice President: Joe Biden
Population: 313.8 million
Life expectancy: 78.49 years years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 22.5
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 29.4
Homicide Rate (per 100,000): 4.7
US Unemployment Rate 2013: 7.9


I thought that looking back whould be a better way to look at where we were versus where we are going.  When people forcast outcomes they always seem to look at whatever will make them look better even if they fall short later.

When dealing with statistics always remember: Figures don't lie but liars figure.

What do you think?  Are you where you want to be?  Once again I remind you the best is yet to come...