Yes, that was our temperature Saturday. The numbers aren’t reversed- it was 75 degrees! In January! I don’t know about global warming, but it was warm here. We opened the windows and let in some much-needed fresh air. I even went for a walk. Still nice today and not much cooler for tomorrow. My students will enjoy it!
It’s amazing how the temperature affects our moods and actions. Too cold and we’re huddled up in front of the fire, eating too much, and watching too much television. Too hot and we’re huddled up in front of the air conditioner, eating too much, and watching too much television. I’ve decided that 70-80 is the prime temperature range for optimum functioning. I buzzed around here and did a dozen little projects this weekend.
Of course I’ve been listening to the “political process” along with everyone else. It’s interesting to hear the candidates talk about change and how they plan to improve our lives. However, after living beyond fifty, I’ve come to the conclusion that presidents do very little to change my daily life. If I want a better life, it’s up to me to do something about it. I got a better education and a better job and a better income because I worked hard, not because I waited for the government to do something about my poverty. If I want better health and better health care then I need to get off my fat butt, and exercise and eat right, not blame my doctor or pharmacist or the big drug companies if they can’t make me feel better.
Oh, I know there are big issues that concern us all and they require laws and regulations and such. I know we need representation and government. I know the president works on foreign relations and things that affect our overall safety and lifestyle. I’m just saying that most of those “big picture” issues aren’t really within the control of one person. The president isn’t the all powerful wizard behind the curtain. There are thousands of people involved in the daily workings of the government. We’ve all seen how presidents have tried to push reforms in one area or another and been thwarted by the process required to put those reforms into real action. Such is the nature of the complicated system that has evolved.
If you really want to make some changes that affect your daily life, the local level is where you start. Why get all worked up about who is going to be president? What is your mayor doing for you? City council? School board? Governor? Congressman? Senator? These are the people who take care of our local issues. We need to be as careful in choosing these people as we claim to be in choosing a president.
I haven’t decided who to vote for yet, but I know I’m going to be tired of all the candidates before this is over. We’ve taken the political process and turned it into a three-ring circus. My son reminds me that the founding fathers never envisioned politics as a career. Our original representatives were simply people who left their daily lives for a while to go off and speak for the rest of us.
Well, I don’t claim to be smart enough or experienced enough to make any real contribution to your understanding of politics or government, so I’d better stick to my own little areas of knowledge before my son reads this and tells me how crazy I am! LOL
With that little segue I will tell you that I put into practice a tip that I learned from The Family Tree Problem Solver (see my bookshelf listing). One of the chapters talks about “collateral kin” and doing research about whole families and even looking at neighbors. This has helped me so much! I went back to a couple of my “problem families” and checked the census for neighbors. Turned up a brother and a nephew and a sister in other households. Checked on a couple of brothers and found some new information on locations that helped me find more information. Gained some more information from looking at a wife and her brother and parents. The point being that we sometimes focus so much on a particular person’s “straight line” genealogy that we overlook valuable information contained in stories about other family members. And in the past it was also very common for people to marry neighbors, or for older family members to live near younger relatives. From now on I’m going to do a much better job of looking for in-laws and uncles and even cousins!
Sad news tonight about my granddaughter’s other grandmother. She is very, very ill and I need you to pray for her. The doctors aren’t quite sure what is wrong with her or if they can save her life. This has been sudden- within the last few days- and very stressful for everyone involved. Our lives are not only fragile, they are so intertwined.
I hope your new year is off to a good start. Remember, every day is a new start. Make the best of it.
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