Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

Although 2011 was not a very good year for planet earth, at least for the humans living there, if I am going to be truthful, it was an average year for me personally. Except for climbing stairs, or even walking uphill, I do not think my physical condition is much worse than it was a year ago. (Of course, it's definitely not any better.) But I have been warm and well fed, and the fun times have outnumbered the other kind many times over. But as with most old accountants, in order to keep from losing my balance I need to formally close the books on the old year, and set things up for the new. Literally! We keep reasonably accurate financial records throughout the year, and I like to use them to get some idea what to expect in the new year. For example, the Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) amounts to 3.6%. That's not bad, although considering there has not been an increase since 2009, it's not really a world-beater. The government said inflation was not a fa...

Meaning (m ë ‛ ning), n. what is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated. (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary). At this season a large number of letter-writers to the editor of any newspaper express concern over the use of the term “Happy Holidays” instead of the traditional “Merry Christmas.” The writers feel that the holiday is somehow demeaned by the former greeting. The meaning of any expression is what the speaker intends it to be – nothing more, nothing less. If the listener takes some other meaning from the expression for any reason, e.g, the speaker has expressed it badly, the listener did not hear it correctly, or even if he disagrees with the speaker, it has no effect on the meaning. For this reason, the speaker should be careful to say exactly what he means. If he is a Christian, and Christmas has its usual deep meaning for him, he should say “Merry Christmas.” In return, if the listener truly intends for the speaker to celebrate the holid...

     I came across an item on Today which stated that Saturday, May 14th was World Naked Gardening Day . Thinking it was some kind of a gag, I did a little research, and it not only was not a gag – I discovered a couple of other nude holidays: June 11th is Naked Bike Riding Day and June 21st is Nude Hiking Day . Who knew?      Although I know some gardeners, I am pretty sure that none of them celebrated WNGD. I can't blame them because the weather was rather cold and damp, although that probably had nothing to do with their non-celebration of this great event.      I also know some bikers and hikers, and while the weather will probably be more agreeable in June, I doubt that anyone I know will be celebrating these little-known holidays. But I'll keep my eyes open, just in case.      During my research, I discovered that there are many unusual holidays; in fact, every day of the year has two or three. I h...

This morning the grass was covered in white – the first snowfall of the season. Actually it started as a rain/snow mixture late yesterday afternoon, and accumulated only an inch or two on the non-paved areas. Not too bad – it eases us gradually into winter. You may have guessed that I am not a big fan of cold weather. It may seem strange, but the first thing I think of when I see new-fallen snow is the Claude Thornhill recording of his theme , "Snowfall."Although I like his version, the Manhattan Transfer version is my favorite. I don’t know why, but for some reason, perhaps it’s the harmony, I tend to puddle up when I hear it. Somehow it brings back, not particular memories, but emotions of days long, long, lonnnggg ago. After the emotions, the memories flood in: sledding on the hill northwest of the farm where I lived with my grandparents, followed by putting my cold feet up on the warm part of the old coal stove; my first and only venture onto skis; the Christmas ev...

Today is Thanksgiving Day, a day during which we show our appreciation for the many benefits we enjoy. And many there are, both personally and as Americans. Personal thanks, at least for me are, first and foremost, for Barbara, who has enabled me to live a happy and generally prosperous life. We are living quite happily at Luther Acres Retirement Community, where we have made some good friends, and are close to her family, which treats me as one of them. We should all be thankful for the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, who presented us with a Constitution guaranteeing us freedom in spite of what the political far right says. Their foresight has made possible all those things for which we are personally thankful. While contemplating this day, I started thinking about other holidays we celebrate. I have sorted them into de facto categories. Let me clarify: I have assigned these holidays to categories which, in my opinion, illustrate the way we actually celebrate them. In some ca...