"Women are A Luxury Few Men Can Afford" ~ LMS

Recently visiting a man in the country selling sailboat hulls, (we were thinking of buying) long story, not the point, he told of his troubles in his life.  Needless to say, currently without a woman in in his life he has taken to the internet to have "girlfriends" in Spain, Beijing, etc.  He is sending money for one to go to school, he is sending money for another one to help her out financially because in that culture she is older and has no opportunities... OK.  His American wives did not work out...one divorce, a Russian girl embezzled a truckload of money out of his company, another divorced, he married too young, he has reasons for every wife and girlfriend not working out and now he admits, "He is lonely."  He says, he does not have much money at this stage in his life  (He is 60 something) and "You know women have to have money or they don't want you."

Another man I know in Poughkeepsie, a pharmacy tech told me in another more uplifting conversation, that women like men with money. No money, no woman.  A friend's son is going through a divorce and the wife is getting everything.  His lawyer told him, "Why you are nothing but a wallet and sperm bank to her."

My father told me when I was a teenager, "Men don't need houses, that is a woman's idea.  A man can pitch a tent down by the river and provide all he needs... it is a woman who wants everything else. Only rich men can really make a woman happy.  Women are a luxury few men can afford."

Yes, I have heard and seen story after story of women wanting money, money to spend, money to get nose jobs, breast implants, buy houses, buy furniture, buy timeshares, buy, buy, buy, and the man is supposed to provide the money.  Where did women get this idea?

Maybe it came from generations of women not being able to vote, or have a personal credit card till 1970s in the USA, or own property or even have a right to her children in the case of divorce.  Maybe it comes from the fact women still on the average get paid less than men although they do the same job.  Maybe it comes from the vulnerability a woman has to bear when she gives birth and takes care of a newborn for the first year at least, if she has a husband that can shoulder the financial obligations by himself, it makes this easier.

Why do you think men think all women want is money?

Tim Ferriss, Finds Comfort in Stoicism for Bipolar

Stoicism was practiced by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams according to Tim Ferris in a Ted Talk on " Why you should define your fears instead of your goals."  He found stoicism as a refuge and guidepost for staying focused.  My husband is as five senses oriented as any person alive.  Spiritual things are not his forte. Science he gets. My Sweetheart likes stoicism.

I say science and spiritual are not separate.  Stoicism brings the two together.  Probably the greatest lesson to learn from stoicism is:

"Things I can control and things I cannot control." ~Epictetus

Three kinds of business according to Byron Katie, the work.com

1) God's business

2) Other people's business

3) Your business

Makes sense, 'You/I can control our business only, so stay focused there.  More precisely, we can only control our perspective, our thoughts.  And from this we move into action.

This Country Has a Long Way To Go But We Will Get there

Author Gordon-Reed of The Hemingses of Monticello gives insight into a founding father thoughts about establishing a country like no other before with individual rights and freedom.

The phrases that follow — odd punctuation and all — ring with passion as Jefferson defined the impact of that long-ago choice.

“may it be to the world what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all) the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains, under which Monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings & security of self-government. The form which we have substituted restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion.

“All eyes are opened, or opening to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth that the mass of mankind has not been born, with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of god. These are grounds of hope for others, for ourselves let the annual return of this day, forever refresh our recollections of these rights and an undiminished devotion to them.”

It may seem naive today, Gordon-Reed said, but Jefferson had faith that every generation would be a little better than the one before. He and his peers had put their lives on the line to make the big break with the past, and what they started would not be stopped.

“He was born into a world that accepted monarchy and all that went along with it — social hierarchy, wars brought on by disputes between royals, established churches that ran everyday people’s lives. He thought he and the American Revolutionaries had created something ‘new under the sun’,” she said.

While the more famous letter speaks to Jefferson’s faith in “the enduring value of the American experiment with democracy,” J. J. Looney (another author The Papers Of TJ) wrote in announcing the discovery, the later note speaks to something else: “the private Jefferson who to the last could not deny himself imported luxury goods for which he could not pay.”

The very last — of which only a copy in someone else’s hand survives — was coordinating delivery of a shipment of wine from France.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Seems like Thomas had a spending habit like so many Americans today…he too could not curb. If only he could have lived to know Gary Vaynerchuk, he could have had the best wine in the world for a price his pocketbook could afford!

USA is the Land of OPPORTUNITY for EVERYONE Proclaims an Immigrant

Gary Vaynerchuk. This guy is becoming one of my favorite speakers. He not only speaks well with information good to hear no matter what you are doing in life, he has learned many life lessons in his life since coming to America. When I hear immigrants that come here thinking we have roads paved with gold and life is easy here, I wonder where they got their information.

Gary's folks came here for the OPPORTUNITY to live life free and prosper. His Dad saw to make it anywhere one has to work, work, work, save, save, save, and invest in ownership of his own business. For some reason Americans born and raised here seem to think everything should be given to us...for what being born? We act like spoiled rich kids and miss the opportunity given us right here in the USA.

Kids born into financially wealthy families are given every opportunity without working to get it and in time find things are so easily achieved for them, (i.e. Parents can buy them diplomas if need be and can hook them up with the right people to do or sell whatever the kid invents or makes, in other words these rich kids do not have to sweat, save, and use critical thinking skills to break into a market,) Dad or Mom have all the connections. Rich kids say, "Easy come, easy go." (Abusing people is easy, people like things are disposable.) "If something or someone does not serve my purpose, I can get rid of them."

There are morally corrupt rich people that file lawsuit after lawsuit to put the competition out of business because the competition does not have enough money to run their business and pay lawyers to keep doing the legal work to fight. There is such a thing happening right here in Albany, NY and your town. It happens everyday.

The bottom line is when you come from nothing, you have nowhere to go but up but you will not get there unless you work, work, work, save, save, save, save, and invest in ownership of your own business. Ownership of your own business is not a guarantee unless you stay out of debt and find ways to turn a profit bigger every year. Working a job to make money to save, save, save, is good, work three if need be but to be financially free we need to own our business. Business founded from the sweat and savings of a morally upright person has a much better chance of prospering. These people are not chasing the dollar, they actually care about others.

Gary Vaynerchuk may be the modern man's mentor in business the world has waited for... a mentor who knows to put love for his family first, to be sexually faithful to his wife always, to spend any off time from work with his children, he knows to have love and give love takes time with these relationships. He does not have time to go drinking with the boys, or gaming, hanging out doing drugs, using women for selfish momentary pleasures, Gary does not believe in using anyone to get to the top of his business. (And he knows to be happy and rich takes time with your loved ones.)

But he does believe in giving back to people his knowledge and wisdom of life. He is a good man. He loves the USA. He loves capitalism that gives the individual the OPPORTUNITY to rise above any station in life. A Russian Jew Immigrant that is glad his father brought them here in 1978. He has a thick skin and knows who he is so other's opinion of him does not matter. He sounds a lot like Byron Katie.

He believes immigrants have the greatest push to make something of themselves because they know the alternative. They know what they escaped from recently. Future generations who have the basic luxuries supplied to them have less push. Gary says jokingly, "My kids are going to be total losers."

Thank you Gary for your public speaking and great insight that will help this next generation live well in the USA. Thank you.

The universe is a friendly place and life is getting better and better everyday.

Maple Nut Goodies, Did you eat these?

In the same store as the hat rack, I was exiting when I saw bags of "Maple Nut Goodies." Down South I never had maple syrup although it must have been available.  It may have been that like Welch's grape juice which I really wanted,(The church served this for communion,) was too expensive for my family's purse, so Mom would buy grape Kool-Aid and say, "That was the same but cheaper." (Note: It is not the same.)  Maple syrup I had never tasted, when I saw it in the Winn Dixie and wanted to try it was told, "Aunt Jemima was good enough." (Once again, it is not as delicious as 100% Maple syrup)

But the one time I had real "maple sugar" was when Mother would drive downtown and park her car to sit and watch the people go by, we had a white paper bag of "maple nut goodies" in one hand, bought from the Mack 5 & dime store, and a Coca-cola in the other.  It was heaven!  I love maple sugar! On this day I felt rich!

Years later I would marry my Yankee Sweetheart and find his family only ate the finest.  Maple Syrup from nearby maple tree farms was always on the table and Welch's grape juice was his Dad's favorite.  Three things I love came together, my Sweetheart, Maple Syrup, and Welch's, I knew I was in a tub of butter!  (Tub of butter, my mother-in-law's expression for "Good Luck")  Today I love maple nut fudge, I love maple nut ice-cream, and maple nut goodies! Today we always have maple syrup in the house and I save Welch's grape juice for holidays as you know, "Don't drink your calories."  I love water.

So three bags of maple nut goodies I did buy alongside my hat rack. One for my daughter's birthday package, one for my son's birthday package, and one for a friend's daughter's birthday package.  Ok, I'll admit it, I opened one bag to have a few but hey it comes with a reusable twist tie, no one will notice...I best mail these out soon before I finish off the bag!

The Hat Rack Phenomenon by Newton Gimmick

I am having the best time finding unique hats.  The hat collection began because I was tired of dyeing my hair to keep up with the gray and white hair coming in that surrounds my face like a mane.  Years ago I dyed my hair and when it is done professionally with 4 colors it looks real.  No human head ever had one color of hair. Now I embrace the gray and white hair, I am not the woman that lives at a beauty parlor.

There are days when I do not feel like styling my hair and it looks flat and I look older than usual when it is not styled.  After all when my hair is pulled back all you can see is the white hair.  So I began to find fun hats.  Stylish hats can costs up to a hundred dollars and if I think I will wear it often I will buy one.   So the thrifty me found expensive hats and shopped online till I find one very similar or the exact same hat for 1/4 of the price. It's a treasure hunt I enjoy.

Today my collection is growing and I need a hat rack for all season storage of these hats.  I do not want to shop flea markets like i use to for such a find, now I just want a functional inexpensive rack.  As usual I don't fret or seek or worry about things anymore, I don't need the stress. If I find it good, if I don't find it anytime soon, good.  I stopped by Staples to pick up a couple of things for my Sweetheart and I noticed a nearby store is closing so I take a gander (Definition: A look or glance) inside.

There in the front is a commercial hat stand.  As a former retail manager familiar with closing a store, I asked if the hat rack was for sale.  "Yes." "How much?" "Ten dollars cash." "Sold!"  This was the easy part.  Taking the dang thing apart I thought who designed this?  Houdini?  It was a mystery to me how the heck anyone got it together in the first place... written directions for sure.  Well I had none of these now, I'll just have to wing it.  Finally got it all apart and into the trunk, loose screws and all the arms of the tree.  On my way home I thought I should have taken a picture before I disassembled it as it will take me an hour to get the dang thing together again.

All the parts on the floor, I am getting my mind ready to tackle this project which I am sure will take me an hour to assemble but I know I can do it, I just want to get into the mood. I go out on deck for lunch.  My Sweetheart comes in says nothing, goes over to the hat rack pieces and puts it together in less than 3 minutes.  I turned around from taking my dishes to the sink from the deck and Voila! It was assembled!  I started laughing out loud, he says, "What?"  

Thanks to my own Newton Gimmick, you make my life easier just by being.

This is Newton Gimmick from Teddy Ruxpin bear, I have this figurine.  😊

There is a Once World-wide Famous Park Right here in Albany , NY

My love for the outdoors and US history has always lead me to parks and museums. As a young mother I enjoyed taking my three children with me to hike and visit all of them. The fact that we built a home on the Hudson River with nature views surrounding our home and no neighbors in sight is like living in a postcard to me.  My mother visited when we first moved in and said she would not like to live here as "You could fall in the back yard, need help, call for help, and no one would come because no one could hear you."  I said, "I love it here." 

As a bonus, there is the John Boyd Thacher Park only minutes away and an annual picnic and hike for all of our children every year as they grew up.  The views of Albany and the fun of looking for fossils in the cave and rocks along the Indian Ladder Trail never ceased to amaze me and the children.  

Yesterday after work I thought I could go home and walk my driveway (1-2 miles) like I do every day or I could stop by Thacher Park and walk the 1.2 Indian Ladder Trail this year by myself.  I chose the park trail even thought it looked like rain and thunderstorms, I love to walk in the rain and I have a hat. So I walked the trail needing to stop a few times and remembering how as a young mother I use to skip and run up the stairs with the wee ones and now I am aware I need much more exercise to continue to do that again. Today at the end of the trail I climb up the limestone steps to see a new edifice, a visitor center. It is beautiful and I hurried to take a walk through wondering if I need money to go in.  I did not, what a gift.  I was looking for air conditioning to cool off and catch my breath before heading back up to the "overlook" parking lot another mile or so.  I found an area to sit in and see a documentary on the park by PBS.  (And you know I love nature documentaries)

Yes, I sat in the small dark room for almost an hour and watched all of it, as other hikers came in and out not interested enough to see all the vignettes. In the documentary I saw my OB/GYN of 33 years ago speak on the Helderbergs and her participation in the conservation of it! I wondered where she went.  I learned of the two men that met as students at Albany Academy, John Thacher and Verplanck Colvin, both came from families interested in public service.  (Colvin became Superintendent of Adirondack Survey and John became Mayor of Albany.)  The two were concerned about the mining of the palisades along the Hudson near NYC for cement and wanted to preserve the Helderberg Escarpment from the same destruction. 

Info on the pool constructed there in 1952 (when many people did not have backyard pools) was visited by 89,000 swimmers that first summer. My husband remembers going there a couple times with his mom when he was very little.  And now my children and I remember going to hike the Indian Ladder trail many times every summer from 1984 to 2017.

My first date with my Sweetheart ended in the Overlook Parking lot of the park. It was marvelous to see the skyline of Albany at night. Our tenth anniversary was celebrated by the wall with a card table, candlelight, and Chinese food, complete with fireworks from the Altamont Fair.  My brother-in-law offered to babysit our children so we could go out there for the evening. Years ago you could go there after sunset, now the park closes at dusk. Now it has a visitor center and additional activities for children at a nearby Wildlife Activity ground to open July.  Thankful there were others before us that saw to preserve this natural geology for future generations.  We are the future now.