Cranes at our ports and software in our cars are essential to run our economy.

Because of the current adversarial relationship between the two countries, the cranes and software are being replaced with American Made.

Are there other essential products that come from China?

Is China dependent on U.S. products as much?

I was born 3 months and 3 days before Pearl Harbor.

Now we drive Japanese-built cars.

Now Vietnam is building an auto plant in California.

The futility of war speaks volumes!

Can’t we all get along?

If not today, when?

Yep, I was a crewman on the 70′ racing yacht “Wind Dancer.”

It was the annual Muskegon MI to Milwaukee WI night yacht race.

I was 64 and the oldest guy on our boat.

Our biggest competitor was a 100′ racing yacht.

That night, there was a very strong wind from the north pushing us at top speed.

As I sat on the rail, I thought of my family all asleep while I was having the time of my life with a bunch of strangers.

We finished the 66 mile trip just at sunrise.

Even though the 100′ boat beat us to the entrance of Milwaukee harbor…

We beat them by less than a minute on corrected time.

Memories!

Twice a year, the sun doesn’t play favorites.

Everyone on Earth is seemingly on equal status – at least when it comes to the amount of light and dark that they get.

On Sunday, we enter our second and final equinox of 2024.

If you reside in the Northern Hemisphere, you know it as the fall equinox (or autumnal equinox).

For people south of the equator, this equinox actually heralds the coming of spring.

Technically, your location on the globe also determines the local time and even the date you experience the fall equinox.

The vast bulk of the world’s population will mark it this year on Sunday, September 22.

if your kids don’t stand for something, they’ll fall for anything.

This crazy world is becoming more difficult for parents and youngsters.

That’s why parents must provide guidelines to live by.

Don’t assume your kids know the values they should live by.

Tel them your values and why they should live by them too.

If not today, when?

In some corners of society, there appears to be a shift in the way people talk about kids.

There was the guy who proudly posed outside of an establishment that declared itself “dog friendly” and “child free,”

And there was the person who defended him by proclaiming that it was “fine and normal to dislike children.”

The implication (joking or otherwise) is that children are a nuisance and adults shouldn’t have to endure them if they don’t want to. (CNN)

There are two problems here:

Our society isn’t encouraging parents to teach their kids “RIGHT & WRONG.”

Most kids get too much praise and not enough discipline.

This gives us a spoiled bunch of kids unprepared for the “UPS” & “DOWNS” of life.

The other problem is that these kids are our future and should not be disliked as a group.

Our society is becoming less tolerant of everything.

Let’s give the next generation a break.

It is indispensable!

If not today, when?

 

 

A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.

Moderate amounts of caffeine intake — defined as about three cups of coffee or tea a day — were associated with a lower risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity, said the study’s lead author.

Cardiometabolic multimorbidity, or CM, is the coexistence of at least two cardiometabolic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Moderate caffeine consumers had a reduced risk of new onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

The risk was reduced by 48.1% if they had three cups a day, or 40.7% if they had 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine daily, compared with people who didn’t drink or drank less than one cup. (CNN)

It is not my intent to detract from the obvious value of the medical profession.

However, I don’t think we take as much responsibility as we should.

We know our daily happiness is closely related to the quality of our health or lack thereof.

So, what am I referring to?

FOOD-We must know by now which food groups sustain good health or diminish it. And choice of foods is completely under your control. I don’t believe in all or none, just reasonable.

EXERCISE-We’ve heard over and over again that walking is the best form of exercise. So, why don’t you walk regularly? Walking is good for muscles, heart and lungs. Get a partner to walk with you.

SLEEP-You can’t burn the candle at both ends. I saw a recent article suggesting that we should exercise just before going to bed. The best way to be tired is to be physically tired.

Good health to all!

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Natural disaster preparation is something that we should be investing our time and energy in. Extreme weather will be happening throughout the tail end of summer and continuing into the fall. (CNN)

Many of us haven’t experienced hurricanes, floods and widespread power outages.

But, that doesn’t mean we won’t.

There are many Natural Disaster Preparation kis to choose from.

I don’t have one, but I’m going to get one.

I hope you get one.

If not today, when?

Doesn’t it though!

Not for me and others who loved my brother, Joe.

I just can’t believe he is no longer a part of our world.

Being a Christian, I believe he has gone to a better place.

And that he will have eternal life.

Yet, his passing leaves a big HOLE.

Although his suffering lasted too long, at least he said goodbye to loved ones.

The only way to try to fill that hole is to LOVE those who remain with all our strength!

If not today, when?

“Engaging with arts and crafts is accessible and affordable.

Options such as knitting and drawing require very few tools and can be engaging and creatively fulfilling activities,” said Dr. Helen Keyes, cognitive psychologist and head of the school of psychology and sport science at Anglia Ruskin University.

Now, a new study by Keyes and fellow researchershas found that engaging in creative activities can significantly boost well-being by providing meaningful spaces for expression and achievement.

Although prior studies have shown that creating arts and crafting is therapeutic for people with mental health conditions, the general population has been understudied.

That’s why they sampled members of the general population without diagnosed illnesses to see how arts and crafts might contribute to well-being. 

Participants’ reported happiness, life satisfaction and a sense of lives being worthwhile were positively correlated to participating in arts and crafts. (CNN)