O-Dark-Thirty

Land of the Free. Home of the Brave. Not Land of the Oppressed. Home of the Slaves. We are free to choose. Not choose which laws to obey, but choose which lawmakers reflect our wishes. That's democracy, a foundation of our country. We are brave. Bravery is not inciting violence and mayhem. Bravery is not committing acts of pillage and plunder against our countrymen, violating their rights. Bravery is doing the right thing, regardless of the tears streaming down our faces at injustice, corruption and evil.  Violence does not do that. Did we learn nothing from Martin Luther King? Did we learn nothing from Gandhi? Did we learn nothing from Nelson Mandela? Did we learn nothing from Jesus Christ? Bravery is acting with boldness when elections come and voting for people who will do the right thing. To truly be the Land of the Free we must Free the Land. Violence does not do that. Votes do.

For weeks we've all been inundated with Covid-19 virus news. The world is a different place than it was in 2019. No, I don't think this is the Apocalypse - and I believe the Bible. There is a plague in the Apocalypse, but it will wipe out a third of the life on Earth. That will be bad. Maybe this is a preview. We all feel the impact. We cannot socialize with friends face to face. We feel confined to our homes. The mental impact is bad. The financial world is insane.  If you had stocks, you've been on a roller-coaster ride that just makes you want to throw up. If you had some cash, now was an okay time to buy, but you're just jumping on a roller coaster. Stock market advice? The gurus are worthless. Just don't sell yet. It should all come back. In the USA our government is flooding the country with newly printed money to help everyone in need. To some that might make sense. What that really does is pave the road for a devaluation of the dollar. That...

In 2016 I published a piece called Why I cancelled the Bauman Letter . Over the ensuing years, I received more responses to that post than to any other. It's timeless, of course, since it concerns your finances and investments. Yesterday an unknown commented  Its now March 2020 and whole world is crashing down! Well, yes, it seems so. The enemy is not a virus. The enemy is panic. Let's talk about your investments. The US Market crashed. Hard. Bauman - and EVERYONE else (myself included) predicted this would happen. Why? Because it was inevitable. But why has the market crashed? CNN health posted this morning : At least  112 people have died  since the first US case of the coronavirus was reported in January and the virus has spread to all states, the District of Columbia and some territories. Yet we hear little of the flu deaths in the US. CNN again provides us with some statistics (admittedly a month old): So far, the  CDC has estimated  (...

 Traditional business plans use some combination of these sections. Executive summary. Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. ... Company description. ... Market analysis. ... Organization and management. ... Service or product line. ... Marketing and sales. ... Funding request. ... Financial projections.

Tomorrow morning will begin both a new day and a new year. May God grant you a blessed New Year. I know there are troubles ahead. I know that sometimes life seems hard and confusing. Surround yourself with loved ones. Be vigilant and careful of your spending. Spend money as needed. Spend time lavishly on those dear to you. If at any time you feel you need prayer, leave me a note or send me a message. Not only will I pray, but I'll let Darling know and we will both pray. For in this world, that is what we are called to do: help bear one another's burdens. Thanks for reading.

In my Traveling Grouch blog , I recount our moving adventure from our home in Texas to our new lake home in Michigan, so I won't tell that story here. But there is one thing... This is my personal blog, where I tell stories related to my feelings. 6702 Kevincrest Drive in Pearland We pulled away from Kevincrest for the last time on November 20. Darling drove, so I looked out the passenger window as we pulled away. A lump formed in my throat and tears sprang to my eyes. Memories overwhelmed me. I just finished my kindergarten graduation in Florida and Dad got new orders. I saw my familiar yard disappear. My little brother was a baby and I didn't really know what was going on, but I was sad. Again, we were moving. Snow drifted down as Dad pulled away from our house in Rhode Island. I sat in the back seat and tears started to stream from my eyes. Dad heard me snuffle and growled at me. "Boys don't cry," he said. I covered my face with my scarf as the ...

A year ago, Sagemont pastor Dr. Freeman Tomlin and his wife lost their son. As a parent, I cannot even fathom the pain. In a Sunday sermon last week, Freeman gave the most fabulous two minutes and forty-seven seconds  of preaching I ever heard. So powerful that I had to share it. If you would like to hear the entire sermon, here's a link to the page at Sagemont .