Today is National Investing Day, a day to remind Americans to wisely invest so that they will have a strong financial future.  While there are no guarantees when it comes to financing, there is one certainty:  failure to plan is a plan to fail. “On May 1, 1975, Congress enacted the Securities Acts Amendments of… Read More »

“When George Washington was six years old, he received a hatchet as a gift and damaged his father’s cherry tree with it. When his father discovered what George had done, he became angry. Young George bravely said, “I cannot tell a lie…I did cut it with my hatchet.” Washington’s father embraced him and declared that… Read More »

Most likely, you are wearing something that has a feature that originated in the 19th century.  At first, it was known as the Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure, developed by Elias Howe in 1851.  Then in 1893, Whitcomb Judson took Howe’s invention, made some adaptations, and called it the Clasp Locker.  On this day in 1913,… Read More »

Some of you are going to adamantly disagree with a statement I’m about to make.  Others will agree wholeheartedly.  Here’s goes:  I do not like poetry!  Never did.  Doubt that I ever will.  The closest thing to poetry that I enjoy is Dr. Seuss. Here is a poem in the style of Dr. Seuss that… Read More »

The pinnacle of comedic pratfalls used to be the person slipping on a banana peel.  During the Silent Film era, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton performed the falls while live orchestras in the theater provided appropriate sound effects.  As films added sound, we were introduced to The Three Stooges.  Slapstick comedy never stopped… Read More »

Don’t you just love to walk into a shopping center or mall and catch the whiff of Aunt Annie’s Pretzels?  It’s impossible for me to describe that scent but it is a smell that both excites and warms my wife.  She loves soft pretzels!  Even better is a trip to Shipshewana and Ben’s Pretzels.  If… Read More »

Yesterday was National Arbor Day.  The beginnings of the day are rather interesting, and it takes us back to the days of the pioneers who were moving from the east to the west.  The east had many trees and forests.  This is something the west isn’t especially known for, especially Nebraska, and the pioneers wanted… Read More »

Are you a bibliophile?  If you’ve never heard the term, it refers to someone who loves to read.  You know who you are!  You go everywhere with a book, just in case you have the opportunity to read.  You make opportunities to read!  Discount bookstores are your toy store or candy shop.  You’ve never met… Read More »

John “Doc” Pemberton is a name we probably don’t recognize.  However, we’ve all imbibed of his concoction, a “miracle elixir” that would “soothe your stomach, rid you of your headache, and calm your nerves.” He also claimed that you could live between 120 and 150 years by taking his new elixir.”1  Developed in 1885, the… Read More »

Yesterday was a national celebration that I cannot allow to pass by without acknowledging.  The fourth Tuesday of April is designated National Bus Driver Appreciation Day, It was loosely established in 1981 but not officially recognized until 2009 when the California State Assembly passed the appropriate legislation.  Since then, other states have either adopted the… Read More »