January 2013 Blog Posts (23)

That what an Hispanic mother was yelling at her five kids yesterday as I was shopping at my local grocery store. They were scattered throughout the aisles, as she was hauling a overloaded grocery cart towards the register.  I live in south-central Florida where the white-painted converted school buses bring the families of the orange pickers to…

There have been some significant NASA events' commemorations recently going back to the start of the American Space Age. And among the great and brave men and women being noted there is a lack of the note of America's first astronaut, well, not a man or a woman but a monkey, a chimpanzee, named Ham, to be more correct.

January 31, 1961(yes, 52 years ago), Ham…

My local Walmart has just installed about 10 self-checkout registers. Now I live in the Florida county that has the second oldest population of any county in America. Further, this Walmart is located among a half dozen retirement communities, which after citrus farming is the number two industry in the area.…

Women may now be used in combat according to new military rules. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/01/women-combat-process/ Accordingly, there is no job that a woman cannot do in the military as long as she passes the same tests as…

I drove over to the golf course and played a round yesterday, as I do twice a week. I paid my green fee and enjoyed about 4 hours of bright sunshine, conversation and competition with my fellow retirees. I thank God for the days I have left to play golf and try to enjoy my life. But while I was doing that, the news was filled with the complaints…

(This is a letter to the editor of a local paper that I just had published. I'd written it in response to another letter claiming liberals were exploiting the tragedy of Sandy Hook. Although I used some of the arguments in the original letter, I think mine is self-explanatory enough to be posted here.)



I read Mr. Niggemeyer's letter entitled "Liberals are exploiting this tragedy" with astonishment. Mr. Niggemeyer tells us in his letter what he believes. I have no doubt that he…

I have engaged in the process for about three quarters of a century. When I was a child I mostly took, as my parents gave me what I needed. But I soon learned the art of giving. I served mass as an alter-attendant in my early school days, then served the community as a scout for a number of years. I took some public education money, as I attended…

In the recent debate about gun control, I am leaning in the direction of the President.  Although pretty conservative economically and socially for the most part, I have no problem with some forms of gun control.  The right to own a handgun and a hunting rifle are rights that I can accept as part of a true democracy.  Owning assault weapons is another story.  The conservative right seems to be countering gun control legislation with a lot of ideological arguments rather than practical…

I saw the Fold-A-Day paper airplane kit as I was touring the mall last week. It was on sale for half price, at $7.50. There is a paper airplane to fold for everyday of the year. I purchased the kit and thought I would try to accomplish the daily folding as a relaxation activity.…

 I am not the author----- I'  m posting this because recently I have been mocked and laughed at for things beyond my control I CARE...I have one of these illnesses as does others in my family.... Not one of my face book friends will copy and paste (but I am counting on a true family member or friend to do it). If you would be there for me no ...matter what then copy and paste this. I'm doing this to prove a friend wrong…

In the past year numerous polls have shown that between about 73% of the country believes the federal government should cut back on spending. …

There was a day back in the late 1950s, when as a teenager I had use of the family car and discontinued going to the Sunday 8:00 AM Catholic Mass with my parents.  I was a college kid home for the summer and was given a bit of latitude to engage is some of those bad habits I had picked up at college.  My parents were both non-smokers but accepted me puffing on a…