After 57 very happy years of living with the love of my life, I have a few suggestions.

DON’T bring up some problem from the past. The past belongs in the past.

DO approach your marriage as a true partnership in which each person contributes.

DON’T, however, keep a count of who has done what.

DO say PLEASE and THANK YOU! Good manners should not just be extended to strangers.

DO Thank God that your partner is spending his/her life with you and your various shortcomings.

DON’T disagree in public. Disagreements should be addressed in private.

DO give compliments. Your partner can’t read your mind. Tell him/her when they’ve done something praiseworthy.

DO remain faithful. You made a promise.

DO agree on the values you will teach and expect from your children.

DO remember that wonderful, true saying, “A happy wife means a happy life!”

DON’T criticize your partner. You’re not perfect either.

DO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE THROUGHOUT YOUR MARRIAGE!

A shooting in the area of Marlowe and Midland streets in Detroit left one man dead and two injured after a confrontation turned deadly Thursday. 

The shooting occurred around 7:50 p.m. Detroit police said two men, 25 and 32, confronted another man, 37, for allegedly assaulting their sister. 

The confrontation turned into a shootout, and all three men were shot, according to a police news release. Police said the 32-year-old man died at the scene. (Detroit Free Press)

The parents of the allegedly assaulted daughter now also have a dead 32 year old son and a 25 year old son lying critically wounded in the hospital.

This is not the first time we’ve heard about “street justice.”

And it won’t be the last..

The results of this incident are catastrophic for that family.

We must be a society of laws and adherence to those laws.

If not today, when?

As we know, parenting is not as easy as a walk in the park.

Hardly!

One of those difficult events is when our kids decide to live elsewhere.

Our first impulse is to think of ourselves and how we will miss them.

It begs the question, “Why did we want children?”

Was it for our gratification or was it to realize the ultimate manifestation of our love for one another?

And once a child is born of that love, does the child live for us or do we live for the child?

Since we and God brought this child into the world, I think it is the latter.

As they begin making adult decisions, we must set them free to decide their future.

Kahlil Gibran: “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”

A good parent is a GIVER not a TAKER!

When they move away, we will give them unqualified support!

If not today, when?

Billionaire couple Dan and Jennifer Gilbert are committing $500 million over the next decade into neighborhoods across Detroit — starting with $15 million to eliminate property tax debt for as many as 20,000 Detroit homeowners.

Housing experts say the $15 million, called the Detroit Tax Relief Fund, will make a big dent in preventing homes from going into foreclosure. Tax foreclosure has long been a driver of blight throughout the city, a problem exacerbated by inflated tax assessments and a lack of awareness of the city’s property tax exemption.

Gilbert on Thursday described the problems of blight and back tax debt as “massive and contagious.” 

“But it’s not the properties we were most concerned about. It’s the people who live in them.” (freep.com)

Gilbert is the owner of Rocket Mortgage, The Cleveland Cavaliers and hundreds of other businesses.

This is a terrific story of a powerful, rich couple reaching out to the poorest in the City of Detroit to help them keep their modest homes.

Are you wealthy?

Take this great example shown here and reach out to the “Least of my Brethren!”

If not today, WHEN?

Two Definitions:

A group of one or more parents and their children living together.

Family means the love or common interests that bind people together.

The first definition is the traditional one.

The second allows for the fact that we may be members of other families too.

The necessary ingredient in both is love and caring for one another.

Sometimes, unfortunately, although traditional family members are related, there may not be much love.

If we use the second definition, there are many possibilities: Your church group, your soccer team, your co-workers, the soldiers in your unit or the fellow crew members on a racing yacht.

Many times, families are formed not from common interests, but common suffering.

I’m tired of hearing how divided we are as Americans!

Every day I experience kindness from total strangers, whether its road courtesy while driving or just holding a door open.

You and I are MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN FAMILY!!!!

LET’S ACT LIKE IT!!!!

If not today, when?

Definition: A state of mental and emotional balance and calm, free of worries, fears or stress.

These instances are not as rare as you might think.

How can I get peace of mind? (lifehack.org)

1. Listen to music
2. Deep breathing
3. Go for a walk.
4. Enjoy nature.
5. Play with a pet.
6. Declutter.
7. Practice acceptance.
8. Practice Mindfulness.
9. Self love
10. Be true to you.
11. Have a sense of humor.
12. Love unconditionally
13. Worry less.
14. Be assertive
15. Have regular health checkups.
16. Take stock of your life.
17. Live in the moment.
18. Have goals.
19. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
20. Let it go

Officer Eric Talley was 51 and the father of seven children.

Talley, 51, had been a member of the force since 2010, according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold.

“Didn’t surprise me he was the first one there,” Talley’s father, Homer Talley, told CNN affiliate KUSA.

He is survived by his wife and seven children, the oldest of whom is 20, according to his father.

“He loved his family more than anything,” Homer Talley said.

He described his son as a prankster with a “great sense of humor.”

In 2013, Talley was among a small group of Boulder officers who made headlines after a duckling rescue from a drainage ditch.

The officer had “waded into the calf-deep water to try to round up the ducks” and save them, the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder had reported. (CNN)

People like Officer Eric Talley STAND ON THE WALL between GOOD and EVIL, between a CIVIL SOCIETY and CHAOS every day!

He put himself in HARMS WAY to protect YOU and ME!

Freedom is not free! Pray for his family!

If not today, when?

Yes, you have 18 years to raise your children before they step out of high school and into the world.

What system of values will they have been exposed to in your home?

And which of those values will they absorb and practice in their lives as adults?

Of course, we must also ask which of your strongly felt values will they choose to ignore?

This is the dilemma faced by all parents.

Unfortunately, it’s also possible that they may duplicate some of your shortcomings.

So, how well equipped will they be to cope with the world as it exists in 2021?

You may not know until it’s too late.

They will have already flown the coop.

Every parent must compete with peer pressure when forming their kids values.

Regardless of what you have stressed, the big question is, “What do they believe?”

I think for all the reasons just stated, you must stay close to your kids while they’re growing up so you can maintain a healthy dialogue with them.

If not today, when?

One of our family members is facing a recurrence of cancer.

The first bout with the disease was all new to her.

So, she didn’t know what to expect.

This time, however, it has come back with a vengeance and she is all too familiar with what lies ahead.

We love and admire her greatly!

Many people deal with afflictions all their lives and still try every day in every way to cope and make the best of it.

I also must put in a word about their caretakers.

In this case, her husband is extremely supportive and is on top of of all the medical details and her schedule of appointments.

He is a life saver.

And how about all those doctors and nurses who rise each morning to care for complete strangers?

With Covid-19 everywhere, let’s not overlook their bravery either!

If not today, when?

Many wise people say that true joy is found by those who participate in a cause greater than themselves.

Senator John McCain was a Navy pilot shot down over Hanoi, North Vietnam. He was badly injured and spent many years in a prison camp.

He said, “Patriotism is another way of saying service to a cause greater than self-interest. If you find faults with our country, make it a better one.”

Have you ever felt the passion working for a worthwhile cause of which you are just a small part?

It is usually the high point of one’s life.

I’m sure you have some strong opinions about various issues.

How about putting those strong opinions into action?

It doesn’t take long to look around and find some wrongs that need righting!

More than ever before, a huge percentage of our fellow citizens are in need.

Think about getting into something greater.

If not today, when?