Suffocating Interest Rates

This post is a Will Rogers’ tongue-in-cheek rant about those who are whining about today’s mortgage interest rates. I hear so much now about those god-awful high-interest home mortgage rates for Gen Zs. Who can afford to buy a house when you have to pay 6% interest on a mortgage! Let me tell you about the “good-old-days”. I graduated from college in 1970 and bought my first home in 1983. It took me that long to save up enough for the required 20% down payment and monthly mortgage rate of 12.9%. It was a good feeling to finally be able … Continue reading Suffocating Interest Rates

Mosaic of Life #85 – Sam

I have had pets for most of my life, but my first personal pet was Sam. Before that, they were always family pets. I got Sam as a puppy in October 1972. When I graduated from college in June 1970, I got an apartment about 5 miles from where I worked. It was the first time I had ever lived alone. The first two years I enjoyed the solitude, but within a couple of years I started getting lonely. It was time for a pet. I really don’t know why I chose a dachshund who was the biggest in the … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #85 – Sam

I Will Struggle To My Last Breath…

I will struggle to my last breath to convince you that diversity is what has made the U.S. a shining beacon to the rest of the world. • You have nothing to fear from those who might not agree with you on all issues.• You have nothing to fear because a person’s skin color is different from yours.• You have nothing to fear because I am deaf. It is not contagious.• You have nothing to fear because of my neurological differences, and that I might not perceive things the same as you. • You have nothing to fear because I … Continue reading I Will Struggle To My Last Breath…

We Don’t Know The End, Until We Get There…

The more I learn, the more I think for myself, the more I question everything, the more I realize I know nothing. Of course, this is one of the primary lessons from a guy called Socrates. He lived about 2,600 years ago. What I mostly get from Socrates is that even though there is way more to learn than we have years on the earth, we must never stop learning. The more we learn, the more we can contribute to allowing future citizens of earth to have a better life than we had. This finally brings me to the main … Continue reading We Don’t Know The End, Until We Get There…

Mosaic of Life #31 – One Of My Hobbies…

I’m not much of a collector of things, but one thing I have collected are model cars, particularly the metal kind of the 1/32 scale from the 1960s. They currently occupy the bottom three shelves in my six-shelf curio cabinet. Being a teenager in the 1960s, I was intimately familiar with most of the cars of that era. My first new car, or any car for that matter, was a 1970 was a Mustang Fastback. I wore it out by 1973. Three years was the typical lifespan of cars during that period of time. Then came the 1980s and all … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #31 – One Of My Hobbies…

A Report On My Week Without A Calendar

Last week I told you that I was going to give up my calendar for a week. This post is a report on how that went and what I learned from that experience. Almost everything in the list below is primarily applicable for someone in their retirement years. When you work a mandatory a 40 – 60 hour week, little time is left for much of anything else. So, long story short, I am back to scheduling events and activities daily, but not as obsessed that every minor item needs to be put on that calendar. Sometimes lessons are learned … Continue reading A Report On My Week Without A Calendar

Mosaic of Life #109 – Ottawa Reflections

Ottawa, which is the national capital of Canada, is one of my most favorite cities I have ever visited. One of the primary reasons is “reflections”. That is, the old and the new building coexisting and actually complimenting each other. The picture above is replicated there dozens of times. In this particular case, it is a reflection of the Parliament building. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #109 – Ottawa Reflections

Mosaic of Life #107 – I’m Canadian, “We Don’t Do Proud”

One of the most memorable places I have visited was the Eastern part of Canada in 2011. The trip was scheduled for a month but was cut a week short due to my wife’s reoccurring illnesses. I have always wanted to go back and finish that trip, but the years have caught up with me so that is no longer a possibility. But, I can relive those times in 2011 with RJsMosaics and stories from my journal of those times. This is the first of several Mosaics yet to come. I’m pretty sure my roots go back to Great Britain, … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #107 – I’m Canadian, “We Don’t Do Proud”