Blog draft April 13 26

Bits & Pieces

Taxes: April belongs to the IRS. Federal taxes are due on April 15th, and so too state taxes. Same day. How convenient. We are reminded annually of the cost of being a citizen in the free-est nation on earth. It isn’t free, but then rarely is anything. We get a lot for our taxes: schools, universities, national defense, police and fire protection services, streets, water, sewers and a host of other common infrastructures that we take for granted. Don’t forget subsidies that often make arts and culture an enriched surround to our lives. Yes, taxes cover much of what we have come to expect. Still, we have the opportunity and duty to do the rest of what life calls us to do. I wonder if we know what those are and if enough of us respond? This is a two-way street. We give and get but then we give and get in other ways, too.

War: The threat alone may be its greatest value. But then hostilities may become real and the threat is alive for all to see. The current fisticuffs with Iran are serious. And expensive. Lives are lost. Infrastructure is lost. Defense/offense weaponry is lost. Time, expectations and dreams are lost. So are tax dollars. A billion or more dollars per day. Huh! That may hurt, but my life remains.

Still, was/is the war needed. That is a question for all of us to answer. Just remember, peace costs nearly a trillion dollars a year in America. Huh!

Weather: Again. The weather. It’s a daily thing of course, but it is one of the variables we deal with all the time with or without an accurate forecast. Remember the times you watched the weather report so you knew if you had to take an umbrella on your commute? Well, you don’t have to do that anymore. Umbrellas can be small enough to fold into the smallest of places. I carried one in my attache case daily. Always prepared. But snow and boots? Well, that was solved by wearing seasonal shoes that were up to whatever weather came our way. Finally, coats and sturdy warm clothing for the coldest of days, we looked like urban guerillas, but we were prepared. The bosses didn’t always like our outfits, but then we were at work and productive, not absent or tardy. Today, we have adapted to whatever happens. Well, I suppose we can’t carry a boat with us in wet weather, but then, we can always work from home!

April 13, 2026

Remember the Epstein Files

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more