Tornadoes.  Dorothy & Toto must have had a profound effect on me.  But growing up we had many times scurrying down the basement with flashlights and transistor radio to wait out the tornado warnings.

I always thought he was not too bright whenever I saw him interviewed.  His actions confirm my assessment.   I find that his actions have really turned me off to his movies.

As a trader, I need quicker coverage of Breaking News and impacts on the market.  Although I have issues with CNBC - I find Fox Business is caught up in too many and too lengthy personal interest stories that have left me blind to what is happening NOW this second in the market.  I have been impressed with Liz’s knowledge - but I can’t handle all of the touchy feely personal interest stories - save that for a one hour show after the markets have closed.  Until Fox Business does this - I have no alternative but to watch CNBC and Bloomberg News.

We always get money back from Federal taxes and always have to pay additional money to State & City taxes.

People living in cold climats seem to be heavier than the willowy ones living closer to the equator.  This approach seems counter to nature.  But I support any approach that will safely help people obtain normal healthy weiight levels.

I think Liz has really good advise- to forget what you once were and look at where you are now and move forward from there.  The past whether it be dreams, accomplishments, looks, friends, material goods can hold you back from seeing the new opportunities if you are clinging to recreating what you once were.  Life is a journey and new paths call for new approaches and perceptions of what we are and what we are capable of doing with our talents.

I have worked hard and nonstop since I was 12.  I used to envy the summer months the teachers had off and the years they could take as a leave and still have their job waiting for them.  Now I am unemployed and the time is filled with effort and anxiety and no freedom or enjoyment in spending.  Oh to have time to regroup, find yourself, rest, explore.  I think it takes a certain kind of person who can take time off like this — or maybe you have to be independantly wealthy.  Having had to "earn it myself" sense I was 12 has created the mindset of a workaholic - yet my idea of heaven has been more than once to just be able to take a year off.

Bella Mia, your note is excellent.  My husband is beside himself with anger over the direction this country is going - to the point where I have to keep as much news of government intrusion away from him as possible.  He cannot believe how people are standing idly by letting our freedom and future be taken from us - says just like Germany in 1933.  I saw a documentary on Jim Jones cult - where they promised to take care of everyone’s needs if - and they did- turned over their  property to   Jim Jones.  We all know how that turned out - and Jim Jone’s group did take care of their needs with great nursing homes etc.  U.S. people need to wake up and look at history.  This cannot turn out well - it never has in all of humanities past.  Note- I am a democrat and I wanted national health-care insurance—-but I did not want to give up our rights and freedom. 

Thanks Frannie & Joan,  WOW-  I am shocked and it sure doesn’t seem real to me especially when I hear the layoff numbers from the big corporations.  But if that is what they claim - guess I should accept it as true.   I accept readily the entrepreneur aspect of small businesses and maybe the patents- but there is also nothing to assess the utility and quality of the patents vs the patents from high tech large corporations.  Sorry I am such a skeptic.  Let’s see, doctors/offices would be small business and they make big bucks, movie stars would be considered a small business and they make big bucks, sports stars and their endorsements = big bucks, ex-politician turned consultants and speech makers are a small business and make big bucks -  I am becoming a believer.  Before the small businesses I knew were cottage industries and restaurants where their survival rate was horrendously low with minimum wage and or part time help.   Heck I know several dentists who will not hire dental hygienists full time in order to avoid having to pay health care & vacation benefits so they have a bunch of part time hygienist’s who have to piece together a 40 hour full time work week and still receiving no pension, health-care or vacation.   That has been my small business experience.

Frannie, The U.S. is no longer an exporter nation as it was in the 1930’s when protectionism hurt us.  We are an importer nation.  In fact we import not only IT and engineering work, we now import legal services and I also heard we ship our x-rays to India to be read by Indian radiologists because it is cheaper.  Our college educated professionals providing services are being outsourced along with manufacturing.  The future is bleak if this isn’t stopped.  And as an importer nation - protectionism does have the same impact threat to us that it did in the 1930s.  Without some protectionism for U.S. jobs we are really going to be in trouble.  I see the worry college grads have when it comes to no jobs and a bleak future for their generation.  A college grad who has been out of school now for 2 years applied for a waitress job and was told they would add it to the 160 other applications they have on hand. 

I still have a hard time believing small businesses provide more than a half of the U.S. jobs.  Doesn’t make sense when you hear of the large corporations laying off 40,000 people at a pop multiple times per year.  And then if small businesses provide jobs- what do they pay - 6 figures like the large corporations pay their people?  I doubt it.  I hear these unsupportedstatements that  small business provides 70% of U.S. jobs. I don’t buy it- see no evidence it is true and no info on whether you can live on the salary paid by a small business owner.

I have to read this.  I realize how afraid I am of my future- and I have never been afraid before.  I used to be credited with being so brave- and now I do feel stuck, my life choices are over and I am scared.  

My all time luxury- coffee in bed in the morning

Georgia, thank you for asking, but I started painting long before digital cameras and the internet and I never got around to photographing them and developing a website.  The last decade or so my art work was replaced by extended hours being a corporate purchasing executive so there is nothing recent to show anyway.    My prize paintings are two giant portraits of each of my kids when they were babies. 

James, you are right about Grennfield Village (and The Henry Ford Museum)  MUST sees for anyone who hasn’t been there!  We had a pass for a couple of years to Greenfield Village and loved being able to just go for a couple of hours whenever we wanted.  Used to sit on a hill and watch their 1800’s baseball teams and the band that played during the game.  Loved the victorian costumed people walking around or playing hoop games on the square  or listen to the singers from that period that were staged at different locations.  Not to mention the historic homes of Thomas Edison, Webster, 1600 stone farm, 1800’s Firestone farm  etc etc etc, 

 

I have never been to Isle Royal either- it is supposed to be more untouched than anywhere else.  I was on the Snake River in Wyoming  and the guide told all of us if we wanted to see real wilderness you should go to the U.P.  of Michigan.