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About Wisdom…

RJ Walters

Wisdom has been on my mind lately. But before I get started on this topic I need to distinguish between two types of perceived wisdom,  gut wisdom and learned wisdom. Gut Wisdom — Gut wisdom is that feeling you get when you think you instinctively know something. It’s what your gut tells you is the truth. I know the current Oval Office occupant says he is REALLY SMART but I think his self-conceived wisdom is just his biases toward the issue at hand. He may be gut wise but he is definitely not learned wise. I have to include my … Continue reading About Wisdom…

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Never Alone…

RJ Walters

I have let it be known before that I am a mall walker.  Every Friday I walk up to three miles at the local mall. It is good and safe exercise for this 70+-year-old deaf guy. :)  One of the things I do pretty regularly during these mall walks is to take unofficial surveys.  Sometimes I count the number of women wearing heels higher than 1 inch (around 2%). This time I chose to count the number of kids younger than thirty who are walking the mall clinging their cell phones. I’m not talking about them having them in their … Continue reading Never Alone…

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One Day At A Time…

RJ Walters

The title of this post has multiple meanings. It was once a TV show about a single Indianapolis mother who was raising two teenage girls. It was a comedy but also showed some of the serious sides of parenthood. It is also a theme associated with  Alcoholic’s Anonymous. That is you work through each day at a time to stay sober.  But, I want to take the phrase and apply it to our retirement years, and maybe even the time outside those years. I am a dreamer.  That is a good thing, but it also can be a bad thing. I am … Continue reading One Day At A Time…

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What To Do about Extreme Poverty In The USA?

RJ Walters

When you think about extreme poverty I’m sure you mostly think of third world countries. It is hard to imagine that over 3 million people in the US  live on less than $2 per day. According to the World Bank, 769 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2013; they are the world’s very poorest. Of these, 3.2 million live in the United States, and 3.3 million in other high-income countries (most in Italy, Japan and Spain)… Even for the whole population, life expectancy in the United States is lower than we would expect given its national … Continue reading What To Do about Extreme Poverty In The USA?

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Still Committed To Each Other… But…

RJ Walters

I want to start out this post with something I said here at RJsCorner about seven years ago: I must admit that I am probably more adventurous than many seniors.  I enjoy constant stimulation. I enjoy planning and doing things that I have never done before. To sit around the house day after day is very boring to me. My senior years certainly give me an opportunity to do some adventurous things. Unfortunately, like many other seniors I imagine, I am married to a spouse who doesn’t share my sense of adventure. She is much more inclined to spend her … Continue reading Still Committed To Each Other… But…

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Collections/Obsessions

RJ Walters

The TV show American Pickers is basically about obsessions.  Most of the episodes are about a couple of Le Claire Iowa men going to “pick” people’s collections.  Many have thousands of square feet of barns, outbuildings, and old houses stuffed with things they have purchased throughout their lives. They dig things out from massive piles and ask if it is for sale? More often than not the answer is “no, I don’t want to sell that”. The item is likely something that they threw into a barn 30 years ago and hasn’t seen the light of day since then! So, why does it … Continue reading Collections/Obsessions

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Nantucket…

RJ Walters

  I made an “executive” decision a while back to use Flickr as the residence of my future InsearchOfAmerica photo arrays. Just added a new photo album there. If you ever wondered what the island of Nantucket looks like click here. We were there in 1999. We knew that would be our last year living on the east coast so Yvonne insisted we go to Nantucket so she could buy a lightship basket to add to her collection. The island is not as famous as Martha’s Vineyard but still had its share of multimillionaire’s summer cottages and thousands of small shops. The … Continue reading Nantucket…

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And Then There Is The Son…

RJ Walters

Simply stated, I don’t believe in aristocracy. I don’t believe that knowledge or wisdom is necessarily inherited. So, when one generation wants to pass massive wealth or power to the next generation I bristle. The example below is one of the tragic consequences of this practice. While evangelical leader Franklin Graham has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, his father Rev. Billy Graham publicly warned against the prospect of religious figures becoming too attached to a political stance. via FACT CHECK: Did Billy Graham Warn Against Mixing Religion and Politics? I mourn the passing of Billy Graham this … Continue reading And Then There Is The Son…

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Christian Nationalism

RJ Walters

Sadly, one of the things I believe the church has become very good at is to take some particular words from the bible and twist them around to more conform to their way of thinking. That is what today’s post is going to be about. Sometimes small alterations make a great deal of difference. For instance, we have about 90 percent of the same genes as cats and more than 98 percent of the same genes as chimpanzees. But those little differences matter a lot. This is also true when it comes to faith. I have been doing some reading in A Church … Continue reading Christian Nationalism

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Flirting in the Workplace..

RJ Walters

One of my daily reads is from my friends over at The Drabble. They welcome anyone to submit their words but it must be 100 words or less.  It is very creative how so many can pack so much in so few words.  Here is an example from a recent post: By Alex ColvinIn In an age of reconsidering appropriate behavior at the workplace, how does one flirt at work? Well, I’ve got it down to a science. 1. Flirt. 2. Profusely apologize. 3. Run away as fast as you possibly can. It’ll go something like this: “Well, hello Nancy … Continue reading Flirting in the Workplace..

Life On the Margins4 Comments

The Trouble with Lies…

RJ Walters

Being unable to read is illiteracy. That is tragic but something even worse is being able to read but choosing not to.  Of course, you know who I am talking about. We have never had a president in our history who was proudly illiterate until now.  He claims he is a genius and graduated first in his class at Wharton College.  A reporter recently found public records of those who made the Dean’s List during those years and Mr. Trump was never on the list. So how could someone who graduated at the top of his class not make the … Continue reading The Trouble with Lies…

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Saving Jesus

RJ Walters

This post is about some insightful words from a book entitled Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus by Robin R. Meyers. This book solidified my belief that the words of Jesus have been losing focus in the church. Here are the words for today. Strangely, we have come to a moment in human history when the message of the Sermon on the Mount could indeed save us, but it can no longer be heard above the din of dueling doctrines. Consider this: there is not a single word in that sermon about what … Continue reading Saving Jesus