View From Here

Working or Retired? I am often asked to state what my job is, or if I’m retired. I admit to the latter, but I am not idle. Indeed, I continue to do much the same work as I once did, only now it is volunteer, unpaid that is! You’d think this would be a good thing to the questioner, but mostly it is not. For example, insurers wish to know your work status. It is a predictor of commuting, driving a car more miles, and doing so in congested conditions. Many wish to know if you are gainfully employed because it improves the expectation that you will pay their invoices on time and in full. However, something gets lost in all of this. Yes, I’m retired. I get Social Security benefits. My career retirement benefits went to my wife due to divorce agreement. And my retirement investments went to my debtors to lessen the effect of my bankruptcy. So, Social Security it is and I’m doing just fine. Have to continually lessen the standard of living, but what is important costs little or nothing. So,...

Growing up, I discovered the daily newspaper. I read it. I saw the pictures of local events and persons of interest. I learned of community members passing away and read their obituaries. I gained a sense of long-term citizenship of these people in our town. I recognized their life stories as being just that and wondered how my story would develop over coming decades. My sense of all of that was elemental and shaky. But a coming of being was forming. I read stories of news happening in the county, the region, the state. I began reading items that were of a larger region surrounding our community, of several states that were nearby. We took Sunday drives to neighboring states easily. Distances were not far. That’s a key feature of New England. We lived in Massachusetts. Very near were Vermont, New York and Connecticut. A little farther away were New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. Each held more of a space in my brain as the years ticked away. World news usually anchored the fron...

It took many years to appreciate the significance of Memorial Day. We were told in school what it meant, but in later years we grew an understanding that Memorial Day was all about remembering and honoring those people who gave their lives so our nation would survive, prosper and be a beacon of freedom through democracy. That mission is more complicated than it looks. Young minds don’t grasp the meaning of that complex. With the loss of friends and loved ones – or people close to those lost – we begin to sense the meaning of death. Of loss. But then we grapple with the why they lost their lives, then how. Violence is the most common means. Usually violence through war. But death can come from many causes, not all violent. Just shortened life span. Sacrifice on the part of the honored one is another element to understand. They gave up freedoms we enjoy in order to preserve our way of life, our freedoms, our governance system. Yes, our creed, too. We believe free people make good cho...

We are a diverse society. Multiple talents, points of view and nationalities, and that’s likely to be in each family! We are blessed to be this way. Nothing boring about American life. So much is unexpected and constantly changing. So why do we often focus on difference? Why do we feel compelled to point out how one person is different from another? Do we also add tales about behavior of that person and suggest it is related to his/her background? Quite often that is the case. It may seem obvious to some, but who and what we individually come about from so many things. Gender is one, age is another, place of birth still another, nationality of birth and of heritage is a biggie, and yet there are more ‘things’ we latch onto as determinants of behavior. Really, very little exists to suggest any of this is true. Research in psychology, sociology and other disciplines have not found concrete determinants of behavior. That is because so many interacting differences exist with each of ...

The cost. Closings of popular chains. What used to be a spur of the moment decision to go out for a meal is becoming a researched moment. The cost is almost double for some restaurants; this is certainly true for the fast-food industry. Sit-down restaurants are not so bad, but their pricing is now mostly $20 or $25 dollars per person while before COVID it was 14 to 18 dollars. Dining out is becoming a serious choice to make, or not. As a retiree living on Social Security, the choice is mostly not. Fast food spots, yes. Breakfast diners are also a yes, but they are raising prices from $8 to $16 for a routine meal, breakfast at that! Increasingly, eating out is a treat and rare these days. I have always been a tipper of wait staff, and often have over tipped. I don’t know if the minimum wage increases of recent years has meant a large increase in wait-staff pay, but if it does, then my tips don’t matter as much as they once did. Still, I continue to tip. Dining out is a treat whe...

This past weekend I was free from work responsibilities, that is volunteer tasks! Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were free of obligations other than a visit to my son on Sunday. I had lots of time to do anything I wanted. But I didn’t. Well, I did figure out how to use several features of the new used car. I am now hands free for the telephone, can work the navigation system, know how to use the cruise control, and can now operate the garage door opener button on the rearview mirror. I can also use the headlights (not automatic) and the wipers (also not automatic) but still haven’t figured out how to turn on the rear hatch window wiper. I’ve loaded the CD changer with six CDs and have finally figured out the stereo balance (front to back, right to left) and the tone tuning. I think I am good to go for the most part. By the way, gas mileage is up to 36.5 mpg. Pretty pleased with that!! I wrote a few blogs, kept my internet work up-to-date, and began to catch up on corresponde...

American politics are at the center of today’s blog. Seems to me, the difference between feces and politics is stark: one is destructive, and the other has purpose. Guess which is which? I realize this language may be offensive to some people. The truth is that feces have a biological purpose that is primary to life. Ingest food and nutrients, the body processes what is good and necessary, then expels what is considered waste. The waste then becomes processed and fertilizer. It is a natural byproduct of life. Politics is not a byproduct. It is a process, a method of governance. It is used to determine which policies are germane to American governance. We elect representatives who enact legislation that creates and enables policy to form and operate. Those same people hire civil servants to manage the operations that give life to the policies. As such, politics is not a dirty word. What is dirty is the misrepresentation, manipulation and lying that besmirches the political system ...

Car Swap: Latest news on this front. Last weekend I worked with a Toyota dealer. They offered a great trade-in value and had a used, 2008 Toyota Prius that would work for me. Mileage was a tad more than my trade-in, both in the high 90,000’s. However, the Prius has the premium features I wanted, all of those worked perfectly. Better yet, with one rear seat folded flat, my large walker-rollator would slip in just fine. The price was fair as well. A modest short term auto loan was arranged and I drove the car home. So now, I can drive anywhere without worrying about a breakdown. The brakes are new. The power steering works like a dream, and I have no oil leaks whatsoever. Meanwhile, the car is a hybrid electric vehicle that so far has got me 34.5 miles to the gallon on regular gas. The trade-in got barely 15 miles per gallon and that was premium gas frequently costing well over $5 per gallon. The ride is stiff and sometimes uncomfortable, but the benefits outweigh that issue. I am a ha...

Giving voice to an idea to whomever and wherever is an act of courage and free speech. Allowing that speech is a construct of governance, creed, philosophy and value. All of the latter are manmade. Yet sharing any part of them is not automatic. It is made possible by people, however. Not liking the voice or the content of the message is not the matter at issue. What is at issue is whether the voice and message is allowed to sound. That’s where political manipulation enters the picture. Throughout America’s history, free speech has been a central fixture. And yet it has almost always been in dispute based solely on content being disagreeable to someone. Manipulation is the sole arbiter of this nonsense. Content is the message and needs to be heard and read, it needs to be thought over. It needs weighing. Only then can it be accepted or rejected. Either is not possible without the hearing and thinking. So, what’s the problem? Controlling what others can hear matters to those who wi...

  1.        Classical music - Intimate meanings I was raised in a sea of classical music. There were detours from time to time, but in the main, I knew mostly Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Wagner, Rachmaninoff, and so forth. Listening to such material became a primary intellectual pursuit. Even during childhood, understanding the music, its message and emotion, was the reward to concentrating on this artform.  In my dotage I appreciate and re-appreciate it. Watching artists perform classical music absorbs my attention. Emotions soar. Heartbeat slows or advances according to the music’s demand. Artistry of the performer creates the fresh context of hearing, seeing, and feeling the music. They are always different and evolving depending on the who and where of the reproduction. Amazing, really. Think of it: a pianist shuts out the audience and world to engage only the notes. This is the composer’s message within, and the pianist interprets it solely fr...

What Hamas did in Israel is horrid. 1200 deaths. Hundreds of abductions. What Israel did in response was horrid. Many thousands have died. Many more thousands are homeless, without proper medical care, little food, and families torn apart by death and injury.   Talking about the discrepancies in the first paragraph is about discussion, protesting, advocating and governance. The conversation, whether a wordy, academic discussion, or a thwarty foreign relations gambit, or a protest, is still a needed exchange of ideas. It is speech. It needs to be offered freely and heard as such. The format alone of the speech does not control the content.    We all need to understand the messaging being shared. Hamas is wrong. The circumstances of the Palestinians are wrong. The attacks and threats in Israel is wrong. Israel’s management of the issues before and present, are wrong and often the cause of unsettled moments like the current situation. Both parties – Israel and Hamas – c...

The COVID pandemic created a soaring value in used cars. Accordingly, I bought out my auto lease early (contractual purchase value in lease) and sold the vehicle within two weeks for a much higher price. I took that profit of $10,000 and bought a used car outright. That car was 16 years old at the time, had high mileage of 90,000, and was a body type capable of handling the walkers and wheel chairs then common in our lifestyle. All these choices were good at the time. Now, however, several working systems of the car are failing and expensive to maintain. The car is a favorite of mine, a 2006 Mercedes R 500. A station wagon SUV, it is all wheel drive, air suspension, powerful, heavy and safe. It is reliable, too, but in old age more maintenance is required. At my age and income, I cannot afford to do this. Currently the brakes need major attention. Suspension and power steering problems beckon more expense. So, I have concluded that I need to find a newer, smaller, cheaper vehicle. ...

Do you fix or replace? Renovate or remodel? Buy new or used? Many options. Choices to explore. What tips the decision to replace or buy new rather than fixing up or buying used? Or maybe there is another question? New has an expected longevity longer than used. New suggests later technology and better features than old. Attractiveness may be a factor, the new sporting style and design elements that press us into the future and away from the worn out past. But repair promises continued utility based on known routines. And perhaps a hardier constitution that will remain in operation longer than the new? They don’t make them like they used too. You recognize that old phrase. The old is better. The new flimsier. Knowing the pros and cons of both old and new makes us more aware of the features with more value. Keeping the old and adding newer features may be the best solution in the long run. And efficiency? What of that ‘feature’? Efficiency may produce more output and value than...

Writing a blog consistently has its challenges. Topics come and go. Some are hot one day and cold as an ice cube the next. Political issues are always an available topic, but many readers dislike being confronted by a never-ending onslaught of opinions. And opinions they mainly are. Personal issues are readily available but who is interested? Is there a risk of alienating readers? Is the author’s experience informative or noteworthy? Hard to tell. But at least the writer has the immediate source to tap. Him or herself. One such topic I have mentioned from time to time, but ached to go into more detail, is the issue of homosexuality. Being gay in America or anywhere else, is a challenge. Getting better for the current generation, but still a problem to manage. Complicated because the issue deals with a central core of a person's identity. Some would challenge that point of view. They would say my gender or sexual practice does not define me. That is mostly true, but just try d...