Posts filed under ‘WALT’S OPINIONS’

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING OLD WHEN:

You remember when psychics were once called fortune tellers.

April 25, 2024 at 3:39 pm Leave a comment

UKRAINE

                                                         INSPIRED

With the passing of the bill to provide aid to Ukraine I am inspired to know:

That congress CAN accomplish something.

Some members have finally developed spines.

Putin is shitting his pants.

April 24, 2024 at 12:10 pm Leave a comment

A WRITER’S DILEMMA REVISITED

                      

Less than eight hours after posting yesterday’s piece where I mention that I thought a writer did not get enough feedback from an editor when your work is accepted for publication I was notified by and editor that short story of mine was accepted for publication, and why it was accepted.

So much for that opinion. I felt I needed to relate to you, at least in this instance, I was wrong.

This story has an interesting history.

I began writing it a little over twenty years ago. It’s gone through many rewrites and many rejections. I finally realized that the premise worked but the approach was all wrong and unbelievable. I finally got the writing right.

I’ll let you know where and when it will be published.

March 7, 2024 at 12:36 pm Leave a comment

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING OLD WHEN . . .

You read obituaries of those who died at or around you age to see what they did with their time.

January 21, 2024 at 11:35 pm Leave a comment

YOU KNOW YOU’RE CREATING MEMORIES WHEN . . .

You find this Christmas as being a special Christmas.

December 25, 2023 at 6:53 pm Leave a comment

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING OLD WHEN . . .

When you can remember, for Christmas presents, buying cartons of cigarettes displaying a picture of Santa.

December 23, 2023 at 3:57 pm Leave a comment

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING OLD WHEN . . .

You remember when buying a new car, around 1954, a heater was an option. And if you did not purchase that option – out would come the army blankets.

December 19, 2023 at 6:40 pm Leave a comment

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING OLD WHEN . . .

Hanging laundry on a clothesline was the only way to dry clothes.

December 15, 2023 at 7:11 pm 3 comments

THOUGHTS ON RETIREMENT

                                  THOUGHTS ON RETIREMENT

I’m going to step away from the subjects usually contained in my posts and focus on the subject of retirement.

It has recently been reported that many folks are not saving enough for their retirement. The fact that 47% of working people cannot put aside $1000 for an unexpected bill. How can people save for retirement when they have so little cash available?

There are numerous ads for various schemes guaranteeing you a percentage of profit from your investments no matter what happens to the stock market. They guarantee you a safe and secure retirement.

I’ve been retired for fifteen years, and, in my opinion, all these guarantees are BS. The only individuals who are assured of having a safe and secure retirement are those who have enough money so that no matter what happens to the economy and the stock market their future is safe.

In my mind there is one important question, the most important question, which must be answered before you discuss the quality of your retirement. How long are you going to live after you retire? For the longer you live, the less the money you have saved is worth.

I look at the cost of living now and compare it to fifteen years ago. I look at current salaries and compare them to my salary fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago, my family’s income provided a comfortable life. That same salary today might pose a struggle.

Some of the retirement plans offered guarantee that you can maintain your lifestyle you had before retirement into your retirement. That guarantee, I feel, depends upon two factors. What is the lifestyle you plan to maintain and how long you live once retire?  

In reality, as all things in life, there are no guarantees.

December 12, 2023 at 10:11 pm Leave a comment

OBSERVATIONS & OPINIONS

This a suggestion is suggestion for a writing project, either a short story or novel. There is something terribly wrong this country and there seems no way to fix it. Perhaps if readers experience, through fiction, the hurt, the sorrow being caused in this country something may happen. This is not the same country I remember as a child. Life has somehow lost its value. The slightest disagreement could end in death. Not long ago there were two mass shootings, one right after the other. Congress was not in session. Mitch McConnell said any action to be taken could wait. I wonder how many people died while Congress waited. But let’s be honest. Any action taken by congress would have little or no effect in solving the problem of guns. Our president said he would strengthen the gun laws of this country. A visit from the NRA changed his mind. The events experienced in Philadelphia during the past few days highlight the gun problem. Recently there were three events which indicate what a vicious society we have become. A mother was holding her two-year-old daughter IN HER HOUSE. Shots were fired and the child died, hit in the head. Can you imagine in that instant the anger, the fear and the hopelessness that mother experienced? I cannot imagine the sorrow that mother will experience for the rest of her life. Her innocent child denied a future by a senseless act committed by someone with no care for life or property. But this event is in no way unique. Every day, in this country, there are people gripped by the same emotions. Close to the same time, an eleven-month- old child was shot four times while sitting in a car seat. That poor child is now fighting to remain alive. The next day there was an argument between a man and his girlfriend. Two men intervened and asked the man arguing to go to his car and cool-down. Fifteen minutes later the man existed the car and shot these two men, trying to help, dead. These days trying to be of help could cost you your life. Life has become so cheap with the increased availability of guns. The NRA strives to defeat any law which would create a safer society. Who supplies the NRA with the money to accomplish their purpose? Could it be the gun industry putting profit over? How can we change this loss of life in our country? We can change it with our vote. We must elect people who will represent their constituents and not the organizations throwing money their way. We must elect those who have never accepted a dollar from the NRA. I know this is an impossible dream but something must be done. So, I say to writers write your hearts out and maybe you will reach the heart of this country.

October 26, 2019 at 10:38 pm 1 comment

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