Northern Indiana – The American Farm The American farm has changed drastically in my lifetime. Farming used to be a family oriented thing especially in our earlier years. Now most of our agricultural goods are produced by corporations of various … Continue reading The Family Farm
Human mind works in a funny way, its basic nature is that of rebellion and the more you try to tame it, the more it gets out of control. Try keeping it fixed at a particular spot for a few minutes and you will understand the point am trying to make here at an experiential level. There are so many times wherein i have just wanted to be quiet, silent in all 3: physical, vocal and mental levels. By being quiet, I don’t mean draining my mind of all thoughts, for that stage is way high up in one’s spiritual … Continue reading Being Still ….
Bishop Hill, IL – A Lutheran Community Bishop Hill, which is located in central Illinois is an interesting place to visit. It early citizens were almost entirely Lutherans who were escaping persecution in Sweden because they dared to believe differently than … Continue reading Bishop Hill…
Those of us who are Christians have been taught about a triune God also called the Trinity. Over the years I have come to form my own visions about just what that means. I am going to share them with you here. But, before I do I am not trying to convince you that I am right or you are wrong about your spiritual beliefs. Some of us choose different paths to our heavenly links. The Trinity is supposed to be made up of three different entities: God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. I first … Continue reading Triune God….
Yeah me too. One thing I have discovered from my long life is Ignorance is bliss more times than not.. Continue reading Not Knowing — Bliss….
Small Town Bank – Somewhere out west Small town banks are quickly disappearing from the American landscape. They are being gobbled up by the big financial institutions who care little about local issues of their depositors. I still cling to … Continue reading Small Town Banks…
This graphic, which I don’t really remember where it came from, seems to be my current philosophy of life. Maybe I am trying to re-live my youth :) Continue reading Essentially Me….
Great Britain has a population of 60 million citizens so they are only about one-fifth the size of the U.S. but I am willing to bet everything that the our cops fired their weapons more than 15 times last year. I’ll bet it is more than fifteen times in the last ten minutes. Our obsession with guns costs us dearly in human lives. I’m sure the NRA and other such folks will say that is because we have so many more bad guys than the Brits but we all really know it is because of the prevalence of weapons. There … Continue reading All The Bad Guys…
One thing I love about America is all the creative people here. I ran across this picture recently on the Internet. It gives new meaning to the term “RV Park” Continue reading Off The Wall Americans….
When’s the last time you heard of a millennial friend or relative getting a raise or a promotion in their current job, excluding a new degree or new job? Almost never, right? Employers rarely give raises anymore, outside perhaps a standard cost-of-living adjustment. If we want a new opportunity, we’re told we need a new degree or certification. Most often, we have to switch jobs.Job hopping is often the only way for us to move ahead. I know friends who are waiting a backlog of managers or supervisors who (might) retire in 5-10 years. The choice is clear: wait out … Continue reading No Raises Anymore….
Metamora, IN – The Water Wheel I know, calling the water wheel the heart of America is kind of a stretch but in reality it is at the heart of civilization. It caused us to take a giant leap forward in … Continue reading The Water Wheel…
In the US, it’s always seemed like the answer was “extrovert.” Being social is lauded and most people seem skeptical of all that skulking about that introverts do. There’s no doubt research has shown a number of advantages to being a people person…. What about more social areas of expertise, like leadership? It definitely gets more complex. Extroverts are better leaders of passive employees, introverts shine with proactive workers: …although extroverted leadership enhances group performance when employees are passive, this effect reverses when employees are proactive, because extroverted leaders are less receptive to proactivity. SOURCE: Introverts or Extroverts: Here’s Which One Has It … Continue reading Introverts or Extroverts…
Springfield,IL – Capital Capital domes are an integral part of America. They are found in almost every State and I have pictures of many of them. Someday I will have to put out a slide show of them. Continue reading Capital Domes…
Ferguson has been dominating the news lately. Especially after the grand jury decisions. This post is not going to be about that except to say that needlessly taking another life is as tragic as all those lives lost previous to that young man. I thoroughly support a police officers right to defend himself and that is what the grand jury decided. The way to defend himself is the matter of this post. The point is that there should be a logical alternative to using lethal force against someone who you feel threatened by. That is especially true for our police officers who keep … Continue reading Beam Me Up Scottie….
Pittsburgh, PA – History Pittsburgh played an important part of America’s history. The early painting above show it has always been a gritty town that it remains today. Rust Belt Chic definitely describes the town. Continue reading Pittsburgh Again…
After yesterday’s post about people resisting change and not adopting the latest technology I thought I would take the opposite route today. Today I am going to talk about Facebook by giving you a view of my personal habits there. How is that for yin/yang?? Unlike so many, I have not made it a life’s goal to grow my “friends” list to any gargantuan level. Some I follow there have hundreds of “friends”, some even have thousands! I think mine is currently almost fifty and several of those are institutions not people. I know that is pathetic by most standards for that site. Who has only fifty friends … Continue reading About Me & FaceBook….
Independence, MO – Truman Library Harry Truman was a people’s people president. He didn’t come from aristocratic lineage as so many of his predecessors did. Some say he as not a very effective president and didn’t really think of himself … Continue reading Give Them Hell Harry….
“Quite frankly, a lot of it has to do with the strength of the Apple brand and how much merchants and customers love how easy the experience is. I’m not saying it’s changing the landscape overnight. But this has never happened with other mobile wallets.”-Denée Carrington, analyst, Forrester Research SOURCE: Apple Pay catches the attention of retail customers. I have been personally reminded lately of just how adamantly some people resist change while others embrace it. Some don’t accept even the simplest changes in their lives without serious complaints. The smallest changes can set them off. And then there are others who … Continue reading Some Resist Change; Some Embrace It….
St Charles, MO – State Capital St Charles is like many other original State Capitals in that is was replaced by another city in later years. Those later years were only five years away. But St. Charles is still very … Continue reading Early State Capitals…
I didn’t consider this for many years. I actually thought my experiences rare. I was one of the chosen. I was special. Now I know the truth. God whispers his love in every ear. He isn’t interested in declaring his love to a select few. He doesn’t limit his presence to Vatican City, to the halls of seminaries, to the offices of preachers, or to church altars. God doesn’t restrict his communication to the Bible. He doesn’t confine his presence to any single denomination or religion. God speaks to all people, even when they’re not inclined to listen. Gulley, Philip; … Continue reading If Grace Is True…..
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 