Tag: General Musings

Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Happy Valley, there lived a good and honest sharecropper and his four capable sons, who were actually two sets of mirror-image twins. One set of twins was particularly sturdy and strong. They could stand up to anything. These brothers were so connected to one another that… Continue reading The Parable of the Farmer and His Four Sons

(Photo credit: Sean MacEntee) For those of us afflicted with a progressive, incurable disease, time is not on our side. The younger the patient, the more likely he or she will eventually benefit from life-changing advances in medical technology. But I am fast approaching that age and that level of disability where my own prospects… Continue reading The Future- Mine and Yours

I defy you to name a more amiable and lovely 18-year-old than Libby, my niece. She is simply a joy to be around. Libby and her parents recently paid us a visit, and she introduced me to her Kindle, an e-reader sold by Amazon.com. I was aware of its existence, but I’d never seen one… Continue reading Kindle

Why is it that two particular types of retailers treat consumers as if we are complete idiots? Yes, I’m referring to auto dealerships and discount furniture stores, and their inane commercials. Although they annoy me to no end, I have been known to purchase items from these establishments if they have a great deal. I… Continue reading Power Bob

I was unsure how my disability income would be taxed, so I erred on the safe side and had Kim withhold more money from her paycheck than any reasonable person would. As a result, we received a rather large tax refund. We’ve since adjusted Kim’s withholding, so that we should have only a small refund… Continue reading Spending Decisions

(Photo credit: circulating) How many times have you wished for a crystal ball? It’s human nature. We long to know what the future holds. But what if you already understood that your prospects were bleak? Would you want to know precisely how bleak, or would that serve no useful purpose? Unfortunately, I’m not given a… Continue reading My Crystal Ball

I wrote two posts earlier, here and here, about the five houses that Kim and I have owned so far. With the last three houses, MS has been or at least should have been a factor in what type of home we purchased. Now, here we go again. MS is once more the impetus for… Continue reading The Walkability Index, and Why I’m a Big Fan of It

I’m fascinated by quotations. It’s one thing to make your point in a paragraph, a chapter, or a book. But it’s quite another thing to thoroughly articulate a philosophy in only a sentence or two. Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities. – Aldous… Continue reading Ten Thought-Provoking Quotes