Some Good News      
   
   Save the Children says youngsters in 173 of 176 countries studied have a better chance of growing up healthy, educated and protected than at any time over the past two decades.

   U.N. statistics show at least 280 million children are better off today. Still, a quarter of the world's children are still denied safe and healthy childhood, and have no protection from practices such as child labor and child marriage. 

   Those caught in adult conflicts are most disadvantaged.

   Singapore best provides for its children, followed by Sweden, Finland, Norway and Slovenia. The U.S. ranked 36th. At the bottom are Central African Republic, Niger and Chad.

More Good News

   The U.S. Supreme Court by 7-2 upheld Indiana's law requiring providers to treat aborted babies' bodies in the same way as other human remains. In the majority opinion, the law provides "...a state's compelling interest in preventing abortion from becoming a tool of modern day eugenics."   

Baseball's Empty Seats  

   If the Tampa Bay Rays score more runs than the visiting team, and no one is watching, is it a win?

      Jimmy

Liberty for Who?       
   
   We never knew this. Lady Liberty's light originally was
meant for newly freed slaves.  
   
   The monument was imagined by a Frenchman named Laboulaye, an expert on the U.S. Constitution. He loved America, and even more when we abolished slavery. 

   At the close of the Civil War, he and others raised funds for newly freed slaves. He also partnered with Bartholdi the sculptor, whose first model showed Liberty's right hand with a torch. In her left hand were broken shackles.

   His final model showed Liberty holding a tablet with the Roman numerals for July 4, 1776. The broken chains are less visible, beneath her feet. 

   Bartholdi finished building the statue in Paris in 1884, and two years later oversaw its reconstruction in New York. By then, the original meaning was all but lost. 

   Ellis Island's station for immigrants didn't open for six more years. The plaque with the famous Emma Lazarus poem wasn't added until 1903. 

   Black newspapers called it meaningless and hypocritical, as reconstruction had been crushed, the Supreme Court had rolled back civil rights, and Jim Crow laws were tightening. 

   A Cleveland Gazette editorial called for the monument "to be shoved into the ocean until the liberty of this country made it possible that an inoffensive colored man in the South could earn a respectable living." 

   W.E.B. Du Bois in his autobiography recalled a "mischievous little French girl who said, 'Oh, yes, the Statue of Liberty! With its back toward America and its face toward France!'" 

- Edward Berenson, history professor, NYU

   Lady Liberty is still noble, but history is complicated.

      Jimmy

   

Something Twisting Your Way?    
     

Dayton area

   It's good that our TV provider went dark Tuesday afternoon. The Weather Channel had me glued, with forecasts for deadly twisters possible where more than 20 of my relatives happen to live. Enough already.

   We texted a son and his wife, and an adult grandson, in Dayton, Ohio, which was whacked Monday night. Capable son was working his chain saw Tuesday morning. His Dayton suburb, Beavercreek, took a direct hit.  

   Capable daughter was serving with the Salvation Army in Jefferson City, Missouri, which suffered major damage previously. She was scheduled to return home to St. Louis yesterday, which she did. Neither city was or is out of harm's way this week, not to mention the highways she traveled.

   She texted us before leaving Jeff City, "We're surrounded by tornadoes everywhere up here." 

   The Weather Channel also announced that my rural home county, Mercer, in Western Pennsylvania, was under a strong-storm warning early Tuesday afternoon. 

   An hour or so earlier, we had called big sister up there, to confirm that she was watching the weather. She wasn't. So, we added her to Weather Channel viewership.

   Our people, and friends, in Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indiana, Dayton, Cleveland and Pennsylvania are among 50 million Americans on alert this week. Maybe you are among them. This is no ordinary tornado season.

   Now, we learn that we're at fault - those of us in the deep South. We're harboring a high-pressure system that prevents Midwest moisture from spreading, adding to the strength of storms.  

   Sorry about that. 

   The TV is back on, so here goes...

         Jimmy

  

In His Hands        
The Whole World     
    
   Please see the scripture in Sunday's Views, if you missed it. 

   For those of us who think God may be far off, or otherwise busy, or uninterested, Paul helps us understand his nearness in Colossians chapter 1. 

   God created everything. Without Jesus, nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3. "Firstborn" (Col. 1:15) doesn't mean first created, but the Old Testament meaning, first in position. Also, Psalm 89:27. 

   Hebrews 1:2,3 speaks of the Son...heir of all things...through whom He created the universe. The Son...the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  

   Paul also writes: Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. Here, it means first of a kind, the first to rise from the dead with a spiritual and immortal body. 
Also, 1 Corinthians 15:20. 

   When his human body presumably was still in the tomb, Jesus visited those under the earth.
  

everything...all things...representation

sustaining all things...powerful...risen from the dead

all his fullness...reconciling...making peace

   There is no place in heaven or on earth or under the earth that Christ isn't or has not been. He knows first hand human birth, hunger, thirst, rejection and cruel death.    

   We cannot hide. It is futile to deny him. He knows everything. He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell us, because we all need help, big-time! Jesus also said that He and the Father would make their home with us. What more can He do?   

   He wants to abide with us more than we can imagine.

   He's got you and me, brother, in his hands.

        Jimmy

   America Remembers   

Freedom isn't free

   Supremacy of Christ   

   

He is the image (precise duplicate) of the invisible God, 

the firstborn over all creation. 

For by him all things were created: 

things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, 

all things were created by him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

And He is the head of the body, the church. 

He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, 

so that in everything He might have the supremacy.

 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, 

whether things on earth or things in heaven, 

by making peace through this blood, shed on the cross. 

  

Colossians 1:15-20

NIV

  The Farm House on the Hill  

Saturday News    

Did Mother Get There?    

Dear Nancy and William,

   So nice to get your announcement and hear about your baby boy. I have been waiting to hear. Now I am wondering if your Mother got there before he came. 
I suppose she will write and tell me all about it, so I will patiently wait.

   That is a nice size baby. I hope you are feeling alright and hope you will soon be strong again. I know both of you are very happy.

   Caroline goes to Earlham College in Indiana Sept. 17th. She is very anxious to go. She is taking Szchology. I hope she likes it.

   I rented my extra bedroom to a girl just out of H. school, who is going to train for a Practical Nurse. She will be some Company for me. She is a Methodist and doesn't smoke. We are only 4-1/2 squares from the Hospital.

   We have had rain all this week and it has been warm, but my Apt. is comfortable. I think it is cooler on the first floor.

   Albert is entertaining his Bible Class tonight. Hope it clears a little for it, but if it doesn't he can take care of them on his big porch. He planned to have it around his Pool.

   I wish all of you good health and Happiness.

          Love, Aunt Hazel 

Next week: Donny, just for you

Did You Know?   

   We never knew, until now, that the U.S. banned importation of slaves in 1808, long before the Civil War. Unfortunately, traders/smugglers continued to violate the law. Their last ship arrived in 1860 with 112 slaves, and they burned it to hide the evidence.  

   In 1787, horse and buggy days, the 13 former English colonies began a laborious, uncertain transition to the independent United States. Many tedious months passed before all controversies and compromises were settled, in 1789. Even so, nothing was passed unanimously in any state.

   All the pieces still were not in place when George Washington took the first oath of office. 

   It took another 19 years before the U.S. could banish slave ships, but not slavery itself, which would have sparked rebellion long before Lincoln's time. 

Obeying the Admiral   

   Did you know we follow an admiral's advice? We knew that someone wrote about starting each day by making the bed, which calls for attention to detail, etc., leading to a productive day. 

   We didn't know who wrote that, until we saw Retired Adm. William McCraven interviewed on TV this week. Adm. McCraven was a Navy SEAL, eventually becoming Commander of Special Ops Command. He organized Operation Neptune Spear, the raid that took out Osama bin Laden in 2011. 

   His visual identification of the body - he had a 6-2 SEAL lay down beside 6-4 bin Laden - later was confirmed by DNA. President Obama joked, "You couldn't afford a tape measure?" 

   The admiral's top concern is not any of today's threats. It is K-12 education. If it doesn't improve, he said, there won't be any national security to defend in 40 years. 

   You can search his name for more expert advice.

      Jimmy

Real Life      
Wonder Woman     
   
   No point in spelling her long name. This is just an amazing woman from Indonesia, written up in PITT MAGAZINE. She is a 2012 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. 

   She works on an offshore rig (in Qatar) as an engineer, the only woman among 120 personnel. During month-long rotation breaks, she scales mountains around the globe, and is on track to complete the Explorers Grand Slam. 

   Her first "highest mountain" was Carstensz Pyramid, 

 Mt. Everest 

in her homeland. Then followed Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Russia) and Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina). Next will be Denali (Alaska), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), and Mt. Everest (Nepal/China).  

   Oh, and she plans to be the first Indonesian to hike to the South Pole and the North Pole. 

   She started mountain climbing at age 13, learning to understand the risks. "Fear is always there," she said. 

   This is more than a personal quest. She is climbing to raise money to build a school in a poor, rural village that is nearly inaccessible, near the base of Carstensz Pyramid. It is difficult to transport teachers, or anyone, there. 

   "People assume my biggest challenge is the mountains, but it is not," she says. "It's establishing the school." 

       Jimmy

Selfies Gone Wrong     

   Grand Canyon, 1958. We crouched on a ledge over the edge, while a friend took a picture of my hands and face, "bravely" hanging on. If that was today, we would have taken a selfie.

   Tourists and vacationers. Aren't we special? 

   Except, some die in the process. Right there in 
Grand Canyon, a man tripped during his selfie, 
falling down a 1,000-foot rim. 

   A 2018 report counts 259 people who died in 
137 incidents between 2011 and 2017. Yes, numerous deaths are classified as group incidents. 

   India, 2016. A man taking a selfie slipped and fell into the current of the Ganges River. All six friends were swept away attempting a rescue. 

   Carnegie Mellon University did a study called, "Me, Myself and My Killfie." 
Dangers include height, water, trains, animals, electrocution and weapons. About 75 percent of deaths were men age 24 or younger, as we were in 1958.

   The National Park Service advises:
* Be aware of your surroundings
* Understand the hazards
* Stay focused on the surroundings
* Follow any posted rules and respect barriers
* Stay on the beaten path
* Wild animals close enough for your selfie are too close
* Stay at least 100 yards from wolves, bears and such
* Keep both hands on the wheel. Vehicle accidents cause most park fatalities.

   Yellowstone, 2015. Bison gored five people in a three-month period. We're not yet in the millennium, when "the lion will lie down with the lamb." 

       Jimmy



   

How Could She?      
   
   A Chicago woman is charged with strangling a pregnant woman and cutting her infant from her womb. The victim's body was found in a garbage can in the woman's backyard. 

   There's more. Her daughter, 24, is also charged with murder, and the daughter's boyfriend, 40, with concealment of a homicide.

   The woman called 911, saying her newborn was not breathing. No kidding! We don't have the latest, but the baby was not expected to survive.

   Chicago's police superintendent said, "Words cannot express how disgusting and thoroughly disturbing these allegations are."  

   The victim's husband said through a Spanish interpreter, "We plead to God that he gives us our child because that is a blessing that my wife left for us."

   God said, "You shall not murder."

   Did any of this trio know or fear God? Or, "Love your neighbor as yourself?" 

   Paul wrote in Romans about men (women inferred), "who did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God. He gave them over to "depraved minds...wickedness, evil, greed, envy, murder, deceit, malice, senseless, heartless and ruthless." 

   Blame the demons. Blame the political, educational, legal and social forces opposing the influence of faith. Blame the few pastors and priests who give people an excuse not to believe. Blame Adam and Eve. Expect daily news to get worse.  

   Human passion can step over any commandment.

   Before disgusting and disturbing happens, the Way is repentance, forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the power given for us to overcome ourselves, and the devil.

      Jimmy

Children and Teens ... & Guns      
  

   Guns Win   

Second leading cause of death for children and teens: Gunshots  

Number who die by gun suicide or accident yearly: 1,300

Number wounded by firearms yearly: 5,790  

Number who live in homes where firearms are not stored safely: 15 million

Number killed by guns in the last decade: 13,000

     Portion of those that were by suicide: 1/3

     

                                           ~

   Storing a gun properly can save a child's life.

   A third of American homes have guns. How many owners lock them up, and lock ammunition in a separate place?

   If all owners did this, thousands of lost young people would be alive.  

   The American Medical Assn. states that the chances a child will find and fire a gun at home are far greater than the odds a homeowner will need the weapon for self defense.

      Jimmy

            

Whatever is true,
                   noble,
                      right,
                        pure,
                         lovely,
                           admirable,
                               excellent, 
                                 or praiseworthy

    - think about such things.


                                                                         Philippians 4:8 

Cost of Your Health Care   

  
   We've always assumed that government clout is 
responsible for our comparatively low Medicare costs 
(good for senior voters), while people in private plans get stuck with the difference. Monthly reports from our Medicare Advantage plan show what each provider charged for a service. Medicare usually allows about 60 percent, give or take, and our plan will pay a portion of that.

   A new Rand Corp. study finds that private insurers on average pay more than twice what Medicare allows for the same services. Differences vary widely across the country.

   What surprised us - Kaiser Health News claims Medicare allows the estimated cost, while most private sector plans pay what hospitals and other providers can charge. 

   Who knew? And how do they estimate "true" costs? 

   Much depends on the market. A specialty service in an area without competition can charge more than it might otherwise. Private plans vary from 1-1/2 to three times what Medicare pays. Seniors on Medicare pay more than $100/month for coverage (premiums), regardless of individual usage of the system. 

   Then there are co-pays and deductibles, depending on whether one is covered in basic Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. 

   Complicated.

   We're talking billions of dollars difference between Medicare and private plans, which affects 156 million Americans under 65 who pay for services and premiums. 

   Rand's authors recommend that providers publish their prices, and that employers demand lower costs accordingly. But, they say, there is no guarantee of improvement.

   "From and efficiency standpoint, the current system isn't working." 

       Jimmy

Remember the Airlift!    
        Sunday, May 12, Berlin celebrated the 70th anniversary of the day the Soviets lifted their blockade. For readers too young to remember, the Allied powers separated defeated Germany into four quadrants.

   England, France and the U.S. each occupied a quadrant, West Germany, and Russia the fourth, East Germany, that being swallowed into the Soviet Union. Soviets built a wall to keep their Germans from escaping to the free West. Berlin, the capital, in the Soviet quadrant, also was split into four sections, as above.

   In 1948, Soviets cut off all land transportation into the Western quadrants of Berlin, expecting the Allies to concede. Beginning June 26, an ambitious airlift began to supply West Berlin (in East Germany). By its end in May 1949, pilots had flown 278,000 flights, with about 2.3 million tons of food, coal, medicine and other supplies into Berlin. (Around 840 flights/day.)  

   The busiest day was April 16, 1949, when some 1,400 planes delivered nearly 13,000 tons over 24 hours - an average of about one plane touching down every minute. Pilots unable to land for any reason had to abort - and good luck with that. There was no way to circle and try again.  

   Ex-Luftwaffe mechanics helped maintain aircraft, and about 19,000 Berliners, almost half of them women, worked around the clock to build a third airport, providing relief to British Gatow and American Tempelhof. On May 12, the Soviets gave it up. 

   A guest of honor Sunday was 98-year-old pilot Gail Halvorsen, who had shared two sticks of gum with starving Berlin children. Other kids sniffed the wrappers. 

   The next day and beyond, Halvorsen dropped candy using handkerchiefs as parachutes. Other pilots and crew joined in. 

   The airlift still shapes the views many Germans have of the Western allies.

       Jimmy

Arming Teachers    

   Our governor will sign legislation permitting volunteers among school teachers to be armed in school. Specifics will be worked out, but for sure they will undergo many hours of training.

   Following are opinions from nine teachers in the Tampa Bay area. We don't know that this sample represents the whole:

Woman: We are only asking for a common-sense approach and proven measures like hardening our schools and hiring sworn law enforcement. Since when do we recruit teachers to do the work of law enforcement?

Woman: There's not one teacher I've spoken to that wants this program. We're in this because we love kids and we love to teach. Our suggestions have gone not listened to. Now you're telling us to go shoot the kids.

Man: Teachers have so much on their plates. In addition to curriculum, we're counselors, sometimes fill-in parents, sometimes...as friends. To pile on another role is not very realistic.

Woman: Give teachers either paintball guns or let's use training guns, because...a rubber bullet will stop a kid or a gunman and it's not lethal. Nobody comes into teaching to shoot a kid.

Woman: I would have no problem stepping in front of a bullet, but I would have a problem murdering someone.

Man: I'm retired military. It just makes sense for teachers like myself who are credentialed. One armed officer - it's not enough to protect 1,000 kids.

Woman: I do not believe that guns are the answer. We need to reach the kids and have more mental health care.

Woman: I think arming teachers is by far one of the worst ideas. It will, without a doubt, bring more uncertainty and risks.

Man: At some point, students are going to start losing trust...not knowing which teachers are carrying and which aren't.

   What do you think?

       Jimmy

Hold Your Horses!     

   Maximum Security   

  
   We interrupt our scheduled Tuesday blog to bring you this shocking update from Churchill Downs, site of the famed Kentucky Derby. 

   Yesterday, we reported on Maximum Security's appearance before a judge, claiming "nay" in the disqualification episode, which denied the horse 
his apparent victory. Max, as the 3-year-old colt is known, hinted that his jockey, if anyone, was responsible for interference. The judge sided with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

   Later, the stewards, after reviewing yesterday's transcript and hearing from at least two rival jockeys, suspended Max's jockey 15 racing days, through June 20. They ruled that he "failed to control his mount, and did not make proper effort to maintain a straight course, interfering with several horses."  

   Knowing that Max speaks English, we slipped into his stall when no one was around to get his reaction to the news.

   He looked up from his feeding trough, a little irritated at this intrusion by a stranger. We calmed him with pony talk, and when we asked him about his jockey it was obvious no one had told him. 

   Max thought for a bit, then snarled, "I tried to tell the judge...about the jockey who whipped me around the track and out of my lane. Does this mean I'll get the roses after-all?" 

   I shook my head. He stared at me a few seconds; then he snorted. It was best for me to leave. 

      Jimmy

  Maximum Security  

       Horse Goes to Court       
        
   Did you hear about this? Maximum Security, 
the colt disqualified from the Kentucky Derby,
has appealed. Here is a transcript we received today, from a hearing that was closed to the news media.

Judge: This is highly unusual. May I call you Max?
   Max: Yes, your honor.

Judge: Is someone representing you?
   Max: Someone can represent my jockey. I'm here for myself.

Judge: Well then, Max, what is your complaint?
   Max: Your honor, the mane point of my tail is that I won the Derby, hoofs down.

Judge: (cough) I watched the race. You finished ahead of the others.
   Max: By way more than a nose.

Judge: The racing commission ruled that in the final turn, you strayed out of your lane, interfering with horses that may have passed you up.
   Max: Dogs stray. We... Your honor, have you ever run a mile and a quarter in the mud? 

Judge: I don't have four legs. You do.
   Max: Besides, I got distracted by the silly hats those women wore. 

Judge: You're supposed to run where your jockey guides.
   Max: This was only my fifth race. And besides, I never heard a crowd so loud I couldn't think straight. I had to walk back to the barn a loser, while a 65-1 horse got a garland of roses over his neck, or whatever they do. That's horse manure! 

Judge: Mudslinging is not appropriate here, Max. You must shoulder the blame.
   Max: I just want fairness. Disqualify my jockey, but add my name to the list of Kentucky Derby winners.

Judge: I'm sorry Max. But the commission ruled correctly. Everyone knows you are fast and you trained hard. My advice is, eat your oats, work hard, and someday your dreams will come true. 

     Jimmy

  No Confidence in Flesh    

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

    

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness

of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,

for whose sake I have lost all things.

I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, 

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,

but that which is through faith in Christ -

the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection

and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, 

becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow,

to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:7-11

    The Farm House on the Hill     

Saturday News     

Orders from Headquarters    

   Dear Nancy and William,

   I talked with the doctor. He was very nice and seems to be in the process of moving his office. He said your blood pressure was 100 over 70 which is just fine and that everything was coming along good and I can just hear you saying "I told you that, Mother."  

   Well, anyway I feel better. There were a lot of other things I wanted to ask him but I forgot them when I finally got him on the phone, such as how long in the hospital, visiting hours, who is allowed in etc.

   Here are orders from headquarters, you are not to prepare a thing for the weekend. We will take care of everything when we come and probably will bring everything under the sun with us. 

   I may be flying high any minute, right? I'm quite sure Junior will wait until after Sept. 1st on account of that insurance deal. Heck, that's only Tuesday, he can wait that long. Looks like a big boy to me, then again it could just as well be a big girl. 

   Seems I feel it is going to be big I don't know why, by big I mean nice & healthy. I can almost see it yet, I can't describe it to anyone else. 

   Don't pay any attention to M.A.'s doghouse stories, she has had a wonderful summer and is going real good.

   Love, Mother 

Next Saturday: All So Excited

All Quiet on the Southern Front   

   Our first hurricane of 2019 came through this week, and it isn't even the season.

   Her name is Callie, age 4, a delightful - most of the time - great granddaughter. Smart too. She knew exactly what to do during her first visit to a real beach: collect sea shells and wade in the ocean with her grandma.

   They are traveling back to Ohio. Meanwhile, her grandpa quickly discovered our computer problem. Last Sunday's storm disabled the USB port for the keyboard connector. Switching to a different port...all systems go. 

   He said we were lucky the damage wasn't more severe.

   We would like to summarize world news during our off time, but it's too depressing. Cyclones, genocides, gunmen, persecution...

   Turkey is building a wall to keep out militant groups from Syria. We thought walls were immoral.

   With nothing better to do, British media is preoccupied with how black the new royal baby is, or should be considered.

   Finally, for every wealthy Italian woman in a silver Audi, it takes four Tibetan antelopes to make one shahtoosh scarf. Global demand for the $20,000 item has wiped out 90 percent of the Tibetan antelope population. 

   And you've been told America is the source of all world problems.

       Jimmy

Monday

Friends, our first great-granddaughter, age 4, arrives tonight to occupy the Views By the Sea office for a few days. So we'll sign off until the weekend.

We offered to let her produce blogs for the week but she only replies, "I'm going to the beach." Anyway, we had an electric outage today that seems to have nixed my ability to write and edit on the computer. Maybe great granddaughter can fix it.

This message is thanks to our tablet. An emergency option.

    Jimmy  

Over the hill? Great! 

      

Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed

day by day.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, 

but on what is unseen. 

For what is seen is temporary 

but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

   Remember The Little House on the Prairie?   

   This is, The Farm House on the Hill.   

   Life before Internet and texting.   

Saturday News

Nancy Is Expecting 

Dear Nancy and William

   I am hoping to call you tonight but I'll write anyway. I am real anxious to hear what the Dr. said last night.

   Your chair sounds very pretty. I'll give it a workout. 

   There was a toy lady here yesterday, she had some real cute things. I may take on a toy project for the parsonage fund. The stuffed animals and baby toys are so sweet. I would probably be my best customer. Jane already figured out what to get if it's a boy. 

   I haven't found any more good articles if I do I'll send them.

   Why don't you ask Wanda about the dresses? She has some and I'm sure she could use a few more since you are so anxious to get rid of them. Aunt Nellie put mine way down in the cedar chest after you were born. I guess she figured I wouldn't need them anymore, but I fooled her!  

   I just know we will go in the night, oh well, traffic shouldn't be so bad then. Don't forget to send the name of the hospital. I might get excited and forget it so I want it written down. 

   All the livestock is fine. Spunky is growing so fast, in fact I gave up, he is too much for me. I don't like being upset out there when I go to feed him, he gets too anxious. 

   M.A. got a cute shirtwaist dress yesterday. Jane is going today for bras and what have you. She baked chocolate chip cookies yesterday & did real well. Waiting for the phone to ring.

                                                 Love, Mother

Next Saturday: Orders from Headquarters

Good? Morning              
      
   We're having more and more difficulty getting up in the morning.

   Can't imagine why. Our blog this week about dark matter in the universe and its gravitational pull got us to wonder. Is there an increase in dark matter on the other side of earth in the morning, making us heavier? 

   If you run across a scientific paper on this, please let us know.

Tapping Sources of Wealth   

   Also this week, we wrote about politicians who want to raise taxes on the rich, those undeserving rascals. 

   Have you noticed? The pols always infer that it's the capitalists - you know - the Ebeneezer Scrooges. They never complain about our entertainers, including professional athletes, or themselves.

   We've identified some additional sources of wealth for socialists to confiscate.

   Four of the Boston Red Sox account for $95 million of the team's $221 million payroll: Price, $31; Martinez, $23; Porcello, $21, and Betts, $20. 

   Four of the New York Yankees - $207 million payroll - account for $87 million this year: Stanton, $26; Tanaka, $22; Ellsbury, $21, and Chapman, $18. 

   We're happy to share this discovery with socialist politicians in Washington. It's time to cry foul on the ball players (such inequality!), and then go after our favorite actors, singers and other celebrities.

   Oh...what's that? Extraordinary wealth is okay, so long as it's people we like?  

      Jimmy