midlifejourney.com

I heard on the radio this morning about a woman with 19 credit cards - $21,000 in debt – no job, on disability, three kids, husband out of work. How bad can it get.

The economy in the U.S. is getting rough. Especially for those with few resources. I understand this woman: how one crisis can lead to another. I’ve been there. And the credit card companies keep throwing pre-approved offers in your path with no or low interest on all balance transfers. The temptation to keep rolling from one card to another is high and the dangers even higher.

Credit Consolidation Companies are everywhere, trying to “help” you out of your pain… but if you read the small print, some of them are no better than Shylock the money lender from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, looking for their pound of flesh. Charging outrageous amounts to “help” you figure your way out of the deep hole you’ve dug for yourself.

Best advice I’ve heard: cut up the #$%@^! cards. If you have to, keep one for emergencies but put it in a metal can filled with water, and put it in the freezer. To use it, you have to let the can thaw – no microwave! and by the time the ice melts, perhaps that “have to have it” item is no longer such a necessity. Then begin to pay off the card with the highest interest rate. Little by little the debt goes down and in the meantime, you feel a lot better about yourself.

Does my small monetary contibution make a difference to a political campaign? It sends a signal to the candidate, that someone is listening. Someone is paying attention. Someone still wants to see a particular candidate win.

Several times in the last few months I have listened to the talking heads predict that Hillary and Obama are driving the Democratic party into the ground with all their wrangling. Actually, I think it is just the opposite.
I think keeping the fight alive and well is an effective way to discuss, debate and promote the cause of democracy. How can engaging millions of people in the process be bad?

People who never got involved, who sat on the sidelines watching the parade go by, are now joining in, speaking out, putting their time, and their hard earned cash on the line for the candidate they think will do the best for our country. So my small monetary contribution does count. To me. It tells me I am committed to seeing this democratic process work and I am willing to put out for that.

The Worlds Biggest Plastic Dump is not on land. It’s swirling around in the North Pacific!!!

I thought it was a joke, but it’s not. All the plastic we dump into the Pacific ocean or let flow there from our waste plants, cruise ships, garbage scows, ends up following one of four prevailing ocean currents and creates the enormous vortex of plastic.

It’s so big, it can’t be cleaned up. Birds, fish, turtles, undersea creatures eat the stuff. You can imagine the consequences, not only to them, but to humans who eventually eat the fish, birds, or turtles. The coastlines are full of the stuff washed up after a storm.

Get the real story by visiting the web. It’s worth a look. One of the best sites to explain all this is at maholo.com. Check it out, watch the video, and tell your friends…

Send them this link: http://www.mahalo.com/Great_Pacific_Ocean_Garbage_Patch.

View addtional videos at youtube.

See an animation of the vortex.

May we learn to love the earth!

Author: P. Mullaly

Sometimes being too smart is dumb. It’s certainly true for me. I learn best by just diving in and making a bit of a mess of things which usually ends up with my wasting a lot of time. I finally realized it is often a lot smarter to just read the directions, or better yet, if I am truly out of my element, hire someone who knows what they are doing.

Last summer my clothes dryer stopped spinning. The belt around the inner tumbler had gone “kaput!” and it was up to me to fix it. In typical fashion, I refused to consult the manual and just ripped off the front of the dryer, fudging around, trying to find the broken part. “This has got to be simple. It’s probably a broken belt. Couple of minutes, a run to the hardware store for parts, and this dryer will be good as new.”

Four hours later, with parts all over the cellar floor, grease and grime under my fingernails, and three different and useless replacement parts later, I finally called the repair man. Within 10 minutes he had the back of the dryer off, the belt replaced and all the chaos I had caused, under control.

It cost me $100. But well worth it. I had spent four of my billable hours trying to repair something I had no business repairing. Not a smart idea. If I had just admitted the dryer was beyond my expertise, I would have been making a lot more money than $100 and the dryer would have been fixed correctly.

Sometimes trying to be smart is dumb.

There is nothing so satisfying in the early morning as the perfect cup of coffee. Hot, but not too hot, strong, but not too strong. It’s a relatively simple thing to brew: a matter of finding the right balance between water and bean. I have discovered the French Press serves up a fine cup of jo., and use that without fail when I am home.

On the road, you are at the mercy of the one who prepares the brew. And it can be a disaster. Muddy coffee, weak coffee, flavored-ugh!, sugar?-never. More often that not, a disappointment. How can such a simple process go so wrong?
It makes me want to stay home.