...of Social Security and Medicare

I missed being a Baby Boomer by more than two decades, but those who were of the Woodstock era are now approaching retirement age, and most, if not all, will go on Medicare and Medicaid for their health insurance needs.

People are living longer due to medical advances.  These people have been paying into Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid for most of their lives.  They expect to get something back during their golden years.

I have been a fan of Senator Orin Hatch for many years.  Recently he sent some information out in an e-mail that was rather alarming.  (I have already expressed my concern with a 14 trillion dollar national debt.)  Senator Hatch recently gave a speech on the floor of the Senate where he indicated that money that funds Social Security for Disabilities will run out in 2018, and the overall Social Security fund will run out in 2036.  (He indicated that 2036 is a full year earlier than they had predicted last year.)

As for Medicare and Medicaid, by 2020 the fund will be insolvent.  Senator Hatch goes on to say that reform is needed in these two programs.  That states need to handle half the cost and that over the next 10 years the Federal Government will spend 4.6 trillion on it.

So it appears that by the time I retire, there is a very good chance that neither of these funds will exist to help me with my retirement, not to mention my kids and grand kids.

So what is the solution?  I have a good friend who spends a lot of time lobbying for quality math and other education in my local school district.  Due to his hard work and that of the people who work with him, myself included, my children are getting a first rate education.  This is one man working with one, localized problem.  Knowing the amount of time he is spending on this definitely shows his dedication.  If one man spends countless hours on a localized problem, what will it take to solve insurmountable problems like Social Security and Medicare?

I have another good friend who is an avid Glenn Beck fan.  He updates me about the tea party movement and the idea of voting out the career politicians, replacing them with new blood.  It happened in the State of Utah.  Senator Bob Bennett was denied re-election, being replaced by a younger Senator Lee.  I know that Senator Hatch is in full swing, look what I am doing, mode, since his current term runs out in 2012.

I am torn between the experience and seniority of a proven Senator like Orin Hatch and new blood like Senator Lee.  The masses seem to want the new blood, but I can't help but wonder what would be lost from a veteran who chairs some powerful committees and has been working to reduce the deficit, etc.  At the same time I have to wonder if any progress has been made to reduce/eliminate the national debt.  If our national leaders really wanted to eliminate the national debt, could they do it? 

I have a credit card.  I have asked myself these types of questions on a regular basis, only on a lot smaller scale.  Should I use credit to buy this, when I don't actually have the money for it?  I suspect the national government asks themselves this daily.  What would happen if the government stopped spending, or greatly reduced spending, put all new projects on hold, and attempted to not spend more than they bring in though taxes?  Could they actually spend less than they brought in and apply the savings to the national debt?

I have been listening closely to the budget and debit debates that congress has been having.  It seems when proposing to cut a government program, that program flies to Washington to defend itself.  Some still get cut, but many survive.  You can look at this from many angles, too many.  What it comes down to is that we need people in congress that will seriously look at reducing spending and reducing the debt.  If, somehow, the national debt could be paid off, then the country would have lots of money that we are currently paying in interest.  That interest money could be used to pay back what has been re-allocated from both Social Security and Medicare.  Or to boost up these two programs so they will be funded when my kids, grand kids, or even myself need it!

Till next time,
Bill 

Swirling Emotions

I, like most people are looking forward to a three-day weekend coming up with Memorial Day on Monday.  However, I am a bit somber since my Mom passed away last October.  Memorial day has an all-new meaning for me this year.  Previous years I would play on Memorial day.  But that's not what I want to talk about right now.  Also, my Dad has remarried a wonderful woman, who is currently recuperating from some rather challenging surgery.  But she is great!  All she does is joke about it, text her kids, and play on-line games with them.

My daughter is pretty good at soccer.  She started out playing city league when she was four, moved up through the 1As, 2As, and is now playing at premiere level for a nationally recognized club.  Before joining the club, she played independently achieving the quarter-finals at State Cup each year, winning tournaments, etc.  Since joining the club, she has a new coach with realistic philosophy.

This year they finished second in state during regular spring play.  Losing by 1 point to the state champion.  The team went to State Cup this last week.  They ended up losing to this same team, but won all their other games.  They went to the semi-finals and faced this team a second time.  They lost by a score of 3-1.  As I sat watching this semi-final State Cup game, a whirlwind of emotions banged around my head.  Two of my daughter's coaches were very vocal about the team stepping it up.  But it seemed the louder they yelled, the worse the team performed.  We scored the first goal in a brilliantly run play.  However the opposition scored right before the end of the first half to tie things up.  The other team scored two more unanswered goals later in the second half to seal the deal.

My daughter's coach has a resume that is a mile long.  She played club, high school, and college ball.  She even played on the USA National Womens Team.  She has the honor of the previous team she coached having all players get college scholarships.  But, she is big league.  She wants to win and will do what needs to happen to be successful.  Prior to my daughter joining this team, she was on an independent team without much turnover.  She had the opportunity to make many very good friends.  Now, playing club soccer, it is much like what I would envision high school soccer to be.

With Club tryouts coming next week, it will be interesting to see what happens.  I have talked to a few of the assistant coaches, and they confide in me that our coach has been on recruiting missions during this spring season.  New blood?  Hopefully - but wait, I can't bear to loose any of the great girls we have on the team.  Club level?  Premier league? Winning????  So enter the swirling emotions!

This morning at work my Manager, who has three boys playing competitive basketball and one daughter playing league soccer, put it all in perspective: I need to realize that my daughter is getting experience whether they win or loose.  I need to enjoy the soccer experience, realizing that I can benefit from the experience as much as my daughter.

I am sure you will see more in my blog about soccer in the future.

Till next time,
Bill

The End of the World?

I should have blogged this on Saturday, when the world was ending and people were being raptured into heaven.  Well actually, I was at the State Cup Soccer Tournament watching my daughters team and after their win, went to my sons Karate workout.
You would think Evangelist Harold Camping's calculation that Judgment Day would occur on Saturday, May 21, 2011, would cause a lot of repentance and soul searching (it did, check out Twitter for all the people who tweeted their most private sins!)  But what I wanted to show you, I found on epicponyz.  Apparently there were several people that were raptured into heaven, not unlike the 144,000 spoken of in Revelation in the New Testament (Bible).  The following pictures show the proof:

This lucky soul was cleaning his pool when the rapture occurred.

 This soul was hard at work when call to heaven.

Another hard working soul taken into paradise!

This is a picture of me (not really, but it should be) and the clothing remnants of my wife and kids!  Of course they are much better than me.  I would definitively be the one left behind.

Just trying to cross the street...

 

What a view!  Bet the view in Heaven is better!

Couldn't even finish their business!

Poor plants!  I hope it rains a lot!

Looks like this project won't get finished for a while!

Even extraterrestrials were not spared!

In conclusion, if you are like me and were not taken this time, take the time to prepare for the next time.

Till next time,
Bill

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

It's been a bit since I last wrote here.  I've been busy with work, but also with my kids activities.  Things like my daughter playing in State Cup Soccer and my son competing regionally in Karate.  I have to say that my son's Karate SWAT team took first place in Regionals!  That is quite an accomplishment.  He also took first in weapons individually!

My daughter has a bunny, a rabbit by any other name.  We have had this bunny for over a year.  I protested mightily about getting this bunny since I am horribly allergic to dogs and cats.  But, since rabbits seem to clean themselves, I have been OK so far.

Recently we decided to get our carpet cleaned.  We went all out and brought in the big guns.  They did a most excellent job!  So how does this tie into the bunny tail, read on to see.  Now our bunny has three homes, a dog-sized one in the basement where it spends the night, a smaller cage in the kitchen where it typically spends the days, and a hutch out back where it spends the afternoons on warm, nice days.

In the basement and kitchen cages we place padding and wood chips to make it easy to cleanup after the bunny.  When we move the bunny from one home to another, some of these pieces fall off the bunny and get on the carpet.  Also, when we clean out the basement cage, fluff and other stuff gets all over the carpet, which in turn gets tracked all over the house!


I have asked my kids to clean this up after moving the bunny or cleaning the different cages out, but they always seem to forget.  So, after having all the carpet cleaned in our home, I placed a LAW into effect that if I saw any bunny fluff, padding, hay, wood chips, poop, etc. on the carpet, the bunny would go!

What do you think the results of this were?  My daughter crying that I was going to get rid of the bunny and my other kids accusing me of being some kind of extra-terrestrial war criminal!

I took some time to think about this.  Are the small things like a little bunny hair, fluff, etc. on the carpet worth an all out production and death warrant?  Absolutely not.  I have discovered if I gently remind my kids to clean up after the bunny, most of the time they will remember, but like kids, sometimes they forget.  Is it worth getting your kids all mad at you over these kinds of things?

My kids are growing up so fast, it seems like the years pass by like the spinning dials on a 'Vegas slot machine.  I need to treasure every moment with my kids.  As they get older, they tend to spend more time with friends, going to parties, etc.  If I waste time with them cursing the small "infractions" that they do, I waste this valuable time.

If you read my blog about the emotional bank account parable, you will realize that you may run out of withdrawals in these accounts for your kids if you continually nit pic them.  Kindness is the way and the route to happiness and solid families.

My youngest loves to sass myself and my wife on a regular basis.  If we were to blow up each time he does this, his emotional bank account would be overdrawn long ago.  We discipline him with love and remind him to talk to us with respect and dignity -- like he interacts with his Karate instructors.  One time, recently, when he was speaking rather harsh to me, I suggested that I hire one of his Karate teachers to come over to the house for a few evenings and even sleep on the floor in his room with him.  His first reaction was, "Dad, would you really do that?"  His second reaction was to ask me for an apology.

So, in conclusion, since this weekend is a big neighborhood camping trip, my youngest has looked forward to this for a long time.  He called and asked if we were going, and I told him we were not since I am sick.  When I get home from work today, I will have a chance to take my own advice!

Till Next Time,
Bill

Emotional Bank Account

Ah, a beautiful sky with a few clouds.  The sun streaming over the clouds in silvery motion.  What the life!

 

I wish it was that easy.  I wish that when I wake up in the morning my kids would be all smiles and happy, always, did I say always?, yes always, happy, smiling.

I better jump back down to earth now.  I recall my teenage years.  The challenges, both the good and the bad.  I recall my interaction with my Parents.  Lots of highs and quite a few lows.  My Parents were good in setting a standard with me.  If I intentionally broke that standard, then there was always a pre-ordained consequence.  During my dating years, I was probably the most car-less person in the world!  But I love my Parents and respected the way they raised me.

Now, several years later, I have my own family.  I am attempting to raise my kids in the same flavor my Parents raised me.  I was talking with a friend the other day.  He put a name on a life situation that I had been dealing with.  He called it an Emotional Bank Account.  Basically, when you have kids, as they are young and you do things with them, help them, love them, etc., you deposit items in their Emotional Bank Account.

The idea being that when a child becomes a teenager and believes that they know everything, you can withdraw items out of the Emotional Bank Account to work with the child.  I can think of several items that would be deposited in a child's Emotional Bank Account:

• Love
• Safety
• Being there for you
• Love
• Activities with the child
• Did I say Love?
• etc.

If your relationship with a child during the early years of their life has been good.  If you have spent a lot of time with the child, and show true love for the child, then when you need to withdraw from the account, things will, for the most part, be good.

If you have a teenage child, you know that they are a full of energy, with hormones racing through their bodies.  They think they know everything and that their Parents know nothing.  However, if you have a full Emotional Bank Account, you will be able to talk to and discuss with this child in a respectful and dignified way.  An better yet, the child will love you and respect you.

Till next time,
Bill

What It Would Be Like To Be In A Tornado!

A friend sent me this article from a Randy Robbins, who is a student at University of Alabama.  I share it with you because of the power and emotion of the experience.  Randy, if you have the need for me to remove this, let me know and I will post haste.

This is one student’s experience last Wednesday.

This is my experience during the tornado that swept through Alberta and Tuscaloosa in as much detail as I can muster with the medication I am on. I need to put this down for therapeutic reasons and for others to read because I can't keep re-telling this story. If you are to take anything away from this story it is two things: 1)God saved so many people that day including me and 2)disasters bring out the absolute best in some people...and the absolute worst in others. I am going to write down the events exactly as I remember them while I still can. I will add details that I have gathered from accounts by my neighbor and judging from materials stuck inside my body. I would also like to point out that any person I don't reference by name (such as neighbor) I had not really met before. Here goes: 

At roughly 4pm on April 27, 2011, I was sitting in FI 414 class listening to presentation on industries and the severe weather alarms went off and the University cancelled classes for the rest of the day. I considered staying on campus, but I saw everyone else leaving and decided I would be fine going to my apartment. This is probably my biggest regret of my life purely for the fact that I let the actions of others sway my opinion and nearly kill me. I walked to my truck that was parked roughly a mile away near the Coliseum. I knew we were in for a storm when the wind knocked my backpack off my shoulder halfway there. I made it to my truck and drove to my apartment that was located at the intersection of University Blvd. and 25th Avenue East in Alberta City, AL. During my drive, I received several texts from both my older and younger sisters warning me that some severe storms were heading to my area. Naturally, I discounted them as hysteria and paranoia and continued on my merry way. I got to my apartment at roughly 4:30pm and popped a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. I turned on my computer and pulled up my assignments for the night. As I began working through my homework, I got some more texts from friends warning me of the weather. I assured them all that I would be perfectly safe in my sturdy apartment. The timer for the pizza went off so I got it out of the oven and took two slices to my room. I hadn't eaten much for lunch so I was ravenous. I ate nearly the entire pizza. This small detail probably saved my life. More on that later.  

The power in my apartment went out at roughly 5pm and so I opened the shades on my window to read and look outside. I noticed the trees behind my apartment swaying at a steep angle. Then I decided I should probably close all windows and doors. I did so. Just then my buddy Sean Philips texted me that I should find cover. I was coming up with a clever retort about how paranoid he is being when my ears popped really hard and I heard what sounded like a train outside my window. I had watched enough news to know this meant a tornado. I jumped into my closet and slammed the door shut. I felt the whole building shaking so I grabbed the door knob and held it shut with all my strength. Then I heard tearing and ripping noises which had to be my back wall tearing away. At this point, I wanna point out that if any of these events had occurred slightly differently or in a different order, I would have been buried. Anyway, the back wall tore away from the building and the door to my closet began shaking open and I kept pulling it back closed. After a couple seconds of this struggle, the door and I were sucked out of the closet and through the back wall. I never rose more than a couple feet off the ground but, judging from memories of where things were, I flew about 40 feet total. The winds flung me from the back wall into the chain link fence 10-15 feet behind my apartment with enough force to leave bruises of the chain links in my side. It then flung me back into some piles of rubble where I was then rolled around on the ground for about 15 seconds before it subsided slightly. I looked up from my prone position and I was lying on tile floor and I could see my neighbor lying on top of her baby trying to shield her. I also heard myself screaming and realized I had been screaming the entire time but hadn't noticed. 

The winds were beginning to pick up again so I ran over to my neighbor and threw myself on top of them to try and shield them. Somewhere along the way I stepped on a piece of wood with enough force to shove a 3-inch piece through the bottom of my foot. Please take note, this was not an act of heroism, but desparation. As far as my concussed mind could think, I truly believed during that split second that we three were the only beings left in a world that had dissolved around us. I acted to try and preserve the only other people left in this Hell so I wouldn't be alone if I survived. I laid on top of her and immediately the winds picked up again. I was bombarded with (judging from wounds and what is still imbedded in my back at the time of this writing) glass, roofing shingles, pieces of wood, and a Bic pen. LOL. I know this for sure because I pulled it out of my side when I stood up. The storm finally dissipated after roughly 10-20 seconds and slowly stood up. Due to adrenaline and shock, I did not notice any of the injuries I suffered. However, I did notice that I could barely hear anything and my ears were bleeding from the pressure of the storm (the earlier popping that alerted me of the tornado). Everyone's ears were. The poor baby's ears were pouring blood. At this point, I surveyed my body. My jeans, watch, glasses, and shirt had been ripped from my body.Somehow, I was still holding my iPhone in my right hand. Just then a call came through. It was my older sister, Christina. I could only stare at it in disbelief before answering. I don't remember our conversation, but she later relayed it to me. Here it is as she remembers it:

Christy: Randy??? Randy???

Me: Kiki! My apartment; it's gone. The baby is bleeding. I lost my glasses. My foot is bleeding bad. There are people stuck. I have to go. 

I then hung up the phone because people were screaming from within piles of rubble. I limped over to the nearest pile where one of my neighbor's head was sticking out from beneath a section of roof. I pulled off a couple small pieces of wood before collapsing. I think I blacked out for a couple seconds. Next thing I remember, he is digging himself out. He comes to check on me and almost slips in the puddle of blood and water at my feet. He tears off his shirt and ties it around my foot (I had no shoes or socks on before it hit). He helps me stand and we look around at the damage. I see my childhood friend Austin and his girlfriend Mary and their dog that live six doors down from me. They are standing in their bathroom. I yell to them and then begin trying to crawl out. At some point I believe a neighbor (maybe Mary) throws me a woman's loafer which I put on my left foot to protect it. It was a left shoe that was about 2 sizes too small but I barely noticed. I can't walk because of my foot so i throw some sections of my couch across the short wall of sharp debri between me and what's left of the parking lot and begin crawling on my hands and knees across. Due to the composition and layout of the debris, I am forced to crawl on my belly under my truck to get out (it was then parked in my living room and totalled). 

I finally reach the parking lot covered in blood, dirt, oil, and sheetrock dust. I lend a neighbor my phone and then I spot my friend and neighbor, Brandon and hobble to him to check him out. Amazingly, he is unhurt. We both hear someone yelling that another storm is about to touch down in the area so we immediately take off to find shelter. I lose track of everyone else. Austin and Mary help dig out some neighbors. Brandon lends me his shoulder and we begin walking (me hopping) to the Piggly Wiggly down the street. We hear that they are not letting people in so we detour to the local Save-A-Lot and ask the manager if he is letting people in. He lets us in. I sit on the nearest checkout station while Brandon runs to find first aid supplies. He finds peroxide, paper towels, and scotch tape. I use what little Spanish I know to try to cheer up a small hispanic child that was crying near me. I begin to feel very faint from blood loss so I start chugging as much Gatorade as possible to keep blood sugar up so I don't pass out. The pizza I ate earlier also probably kept me awake and alive. Brandon begins cleaning and wrapping my foot. We then see that there is still wood sticking out. We wrap paper towels and tape over it to try to stop the blood loss. 

I then begin to feel a slight itchy, burning sensation on my back so I asked him to take a look. He says that I have a few cuts on my back. I'm glad he didn't tell me the extent to which it was messed up. We stay in the store and wait for the next tornado to touch down. I sit on a rolling cart so that Brandon could quickly wheel me to the back if it came. We were all getting ready to run to the back and lock ourselves inside the freezer. I tell Brandon to gather some food and water in case we are trapped inside the store. I feel prepared, so I try to slow breathing and heart rate to slow blood flow. Some time later (I began losing track of time and events) we see people run into the bank to steal money and cops arrest them. This pissess us all off for obvious reasons. Brandon and I walk (and hop) up to the Texaco because we hear they have set up a triage center there. We get there and they turn us away so we go back to the store. I am exhausted from blood loss and hopping everywhere. I should point out that I am hopping down the street wearing only my silver cross necklace and boxers and the homemade bandages on my foot. It's funny now, not so much then. 

We stay in the store for a while. A woman who was in the store earlier comes running back and leads a cop to where I'm lying. I owe her and Brandon both my life. I would have bled out within a couple hours if that cop hadn't found me. He calls in a truck and I jump in the back and they drive me to the hospital. I ask for pen in the bed of the truck so I can write my name and medical info and mom's phone number on my body in case I pass out again and can't talk to nurses. We get to the hospital and I am assigned a radomized name for legal reasons (Raja Ed Downtime). I ask over and over again for them to call my mom to check on Jessica because she is home alone in Homewood and I heard a storm passed by there.

I will never forget the nurse who helped me, Nurse Jackie. She checked up on me throughout my X-Rays and CT scans and stitches over the next 6-8 hours. I felt like I was her only patient although she likely had scores of them at this time. I plan on thanking her personally as soon as I can travel. 

This is where the story ends. I am just one person among hundreds, possibly thousands of people hurt in a city where neighbors and strangers alike risked their own lives to save each other. I tried to help who I could any way I could and I owe my life to many others. Thank you, Nurse Jackie for consoling me while I was alone for those many hours. Thank you, Brandon for lending me a friendly shoulder and thinking only of others. Thank you, Lady from Save-A-Lot for finding me a ride to the hospital. Thank you, Mom for forcing Delta airlines to let you off of a plane preparing to take off. Thank you, Jimmy and Jessica for looking throughout hospital (and morgue) for me for hours before finding me. Thank you to the men and women of the National Guard, fire departments, and police departments around the state. Many of us wouldn't have made it without yall. And, of course, thank you, GOD. Even as the clothes and material possessions were ripped from my body, your symbol stayed fimly around my neck and in my heart.

It is long, but I can already feel a massive weight lifted from my chest. This note has done its job. If you are reading this, you are my friend and share the honor of calling me "pal". ;)

Randy Robbins, a Univ of AL student

Till next time,

Bill

      

...And They Have A Photographic Memeory To Boot !

I have a brother in law that was blessed with the ability to never forget anything he studies, sees, reads, etc.  He is of the type that was doing serious software programming when he was in Junior High School.  He was doing advanced language research in High School.  He would entertain himself by reading Calculus books, etc.  He did so well in college that he rode the Homecoming float instead of a beautiful royalty!  He has held lead developer and project lead positions for several companies.  He continues to play an important architect role for a large software developer today.  The only downside, like with so many smart geniuses, is that he has no personality.  He has a very difficult time interacting in social situations.

Yes, I am very jealous of my brother in law.  I, too, am a programmer, but I have earned (through blood, sweat, and lots tears) everything that I have.  I have and continue to work for good companies, but getting to those companies has been difficult.

I recall being a part of a group of interviewers at one company and having a friend put an extremely complex piece of code on the white board.  The gentleman that was interviewing had to then tell the group what the code did and how it worked.  Now this code was not realistic programming, just designed to work out, well stress out the interviewee.

So I sat as a part of the interview, and when I came my turn, asked the gentleman a few basic questions and moved on.  I felt bad for the gentleman when pushed into a corner to dissect my co-worker's code.  However, I have been in interviews just as bad where they want you to code a solution before a group, or design a full-out database-driven solution.  Needless to say, interviews are lots of fun!

I have actually dreamed what it would be like to have a photographic memory -- to remember the faces of everyone you met with their names.  I have known some very public figures that had this ability.  My Father did it the hard way.  He taught for a big-name university for many years.  Each semester he would bring a photographer in to each of his classes and have them photograph each student holding a name card.  He would memorize each face/name.  Then, during the semester, he was able to call on students by name.  I have to believe he had some sort of photographic memory to memorize that many students names.  However, it did pay off for him.  He won Teacher of the Year for over ten years in a row.  The university eventually gave him a prized teacher award and made him ineligible to receive the Teacher of the Year award anymore.

Sometimes, well a lot of times, I feel quite stupid since I can't remember everything about a particular subject.  The Internet is a great thing for refreshing a person's mind.  If you were not blessed with a photographic mind, the Internet can most definitely provide a viable backup.

So, yes, I admit I am jealous of my brother in law.  I wish I could remember all things.  I wish I could read a book on Perl programming and remember everything in that book, having it be recalled before my very eyes.  But alas, it doesn't work that way for me.  I am more like RAM that needs to be continually refreshed -- I have to re-study concepts that I learned many years ago or even months ago.  Somehow, I suspect that most of you are like me.  So, go out and make the best of you life!

Till next time,
Bill

What People Are Really Thinking Inside

I had an opportunity to chat with a friend the other day.  He is typically out of town for the better part of each week, being home on the weekends.  He told me that while on the road last week his accountant called him up and informed him that he owed some serious money on his taxes.  So, while this pressure was heavily on his mind, he gets a call from a friend who tells him that his son has knocked out  his front teeth in a school event.  (The son had just had his braces removed the week before.)  With all these things weighing heavily on my friend, he wakes up the next morning not feeling quite right.  He goes to a hospital where they diagnose him with an irregular heart beat and admit him.  He joked with me that it took electric shock to get his life back in order.  Now before any of you accuse me, my friend has had challenges with his heart beat before, however, the medical professionals are always able to get it taken care of.

I remember an old Star Trek episode where the aliens they encounter can read each others, and the humans minds.

 You can image the kind of chaos the ensued by being able to read each others minds.  Now, for a second, think about if you could read minds.  You would know what you best friend was thinking as you talked with her.  Maybe she is saying something like, "Your shirt is very classy, where did you buy it?" when in fact she was thinking, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that shirt!

My neighbor has a very nice trampoline.  He actually gave it to me, since his youngest son was on a humanitarian mission and his older kids were married.  When his son returned from Africa, he asked about the trampoline.  His father, my neighbor, came over and asked for it back.  No problem, he said that my kids could continue to use it.

However, my neighbor doesn't take care of his trampoline very well.  He has had to repair it a few times.  Recently the wind blew quite hard and turned his trampoline into a twisted pile of metal.  He came over to my house the other day to chat.  All I could think of was why didn't you turn your trampoline over for the winter to protect it from the wind?  Now if he could read my mind, oh boy!  Btw, my neighbor is great!  The Best!  But what if I could read his mind when he came over, and I caught him thinking, "Your yard looks like a garbage dump!  Why don't you ever clean it up!"

I dwell on the idea of a society that could read minds, share information without talking.  What attributes would this society have?  The city of Enoch was taken into heaven apparently because they were so good that they didn't need to stay on this earth.  I am thinking that a society that could read minds would have to have no dirty laundry to hide.  You wouldn't be able to have any hidden (mean) feelings toward anyone, because they would know.  I kind of think that a society like this would be great!  Everyone would love everyone!  They would have to.  In this kind of society, there would not be any anger, hate, violence, etc.  If someone was hiding any of the aforementioned feelings, everyone would know.  I suspect that a person in this Utopian society would eventually, well quite quickly, become very pure -- meaning very like-able because they would give off love, warmth, passion, etc.  And it would be TRUE to the person!

Alas, I must put my feet back on the earth.  I, too, have problems judging other people.  If I could look at other peoples weaknesses with love and compassion rather than with hate and anger, I would be a much better person.  I would also be a much happier person to live with.

Till next time,
Bill