Pre-Trip Tune-Up

I'm getting ready for a trip.

When I was younger, a trip meant checking the air in the car tires, getting the oil changed, packing some clothes in a suitcase. These days, the car will tell me when it needs air or clean oil. But at my age, preparing for a trip always seems to involve a trip to my primary doctor so that I know I'm capable of making the trip. "Check my ears, Doc; make sure they aren't plugged up, because that's a big pain as I drive through the mountains. I'll need refills on these 6 prescriptions, and how do you suggest I deal with..."

After my checkup (instead of the car's checkup), then I have to pack. Clothes into this suitcase. Medicines are too numerous for the health & beauty case, so that's become another suitcase, and still has room for a book or two. Now the nighttime oxygen machine, the laptop, a few CDs for my listening pleasure...

And don't forget planning the route, including where to stop for the night, making sure I have the reservation information for when I actually get where I'm going, making sure I have (some) cash, so I don't have to dig out the credit card every time I want a drink along the way.

It's a lot of work! So, ... why do I do it?

It beats staying home.

Warren Buffet Says...

I vaguely remember a series of commercials about some suited men gathered for lunch, talking about business, the stock market and what not, and they ask one what he thinks. As the man opened his mouth to answer, the entire restaurant stopped what it was doing to listen. That man was supposed to be a particular stock broker, and the implication was that anything that stock broker said would be gold, something the others could take to the bank.

Since then, I have heard about Warren Buffet, but only because he lives in the same part of the country as I do, and his annual stock holder meetings bring some needed 'tourist' dollars to Nebraska. For a long time, all I really knew about him was that he was a very rich, self-made man. I could admire his abilities, even though I knew I did not have those abilities. And since I would never have $100,000 – or even $10,000 – to invest, I didn't think he had much to say to me.

Others, of course, listen to every word he ever utters about choosing stocks and investments, rather like that guy in the commercial I mentioned. Those guys probably already have more money to their name than I will make in my entire lifetime, but they want even more. Sometimes I wonder what they plan on doing with all that money. They can't take it with them, so it will probably get passed on to relatives.

I've heard more about Mr Buffet the last year or two. He is a rarity, with an astounding understanding of the working class. And even he says the rich class is fighting a war against the other classes.

But comments like that have nothing to do with making more money for the rich cats, so I doubt if they listen to those statements.

Put On Your Big Boy Pants

I knew there was a reason why I don't make a habit of watching the news. I caught a bit of it the other day, only to discover that the President and Congress were STILL fighting over the deficit. Hadn't made a single step of progress since I'd last heard about it, a couple weeks ago.

Now, as I remember my civics lessons from long, long ago, these people have to be 36 years old before they can be voted into these offices. It wasn't specifically said, during those civics classes, but I always figured the founding fathers felt that at that age, men had some bit of wisdom in their noggin, and yet, they still had some good years in them, and would not yet be in their dotage. (The average lifespan of a country and time is often skewed by a high infant- and child-mortality.)

It is so sad to see that our forefathers were wrong. Even though they are past that 'magic' age of 36, our elected representatives are spending their time making childish demands, digging in their heels and pouting.

HEY! Idiots! Put your big boy pants on and do the work that everybody ELSE in the world knows needs to be done!