THE AUTOMOBILE  INDUSTRY
    What have they done with all of the millions of dollars "we the people" have given them?  How many salaries for people who have failed at their jobs am I paying?  It seems like science fiction to me. It doesn't seem right and there isn't anything I can do about it.  Or is there?  I am going to do the only thing I can do to make it right.  I will do what I have been taught for years to do.  I will take a different view of this crisis.
   I know that the only way that I can make a bad situation good is to change my thinking.  I will look at the good side of this turmoil.  I will find the pony in this pile of dodo, (as the story goes).
So, what will happen to people like you and me who cannot buy new cars?  We will take better care of those autos we are driving.  We will be more cautious about speeding, slamming on the brakes, driving over rough roads and watching the dash indicators for warnings.  We will teach our children how to respect their cars and how to care for them.  Young men might once more find the joy in tinkering with their auto or even better helping a friend with his.  Think of it!  Instead of being glued to a computer or Wii, young men hanging over the open hood of their car.  They will enjoy the feeling of extreme pride in high mileage instead of buying (on credit) a new vehicle.
         Perhaps the auto makers of the future, if we have any, will concentrate on building a better, stronger product, one that will last beyond a warranty.  Of course a warranty won't be necessary and that is another expense saved.  Car makers will create a machine that they are proud of and it will not need repair every 10,000 miles.  It would be a pleasure just to drive a brand new car out of the showroom and not have to return it for "minor adjustments" immediately.
    I can visualize a world where a good trained mechanic is worth as much as a salesman, computer operator, or vice president.  Almost every auto industry is top heavy today.  "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians" has driven prices out of sight.  No one has challenged the prices because very few people actually pay for their purchases.  We live in a world of charge cards and loans.
    Now is the time to take control, to recalculate what we actually need to live well.  This is a "wake up" call for us.  That is the good news.  We will be spending the next few years sharing, helping our neighbors, using the barter system to get along.  What is wrong with helping your neighbor paint his home?  He will be there for you when you need plumbing help or work on that wonderful auto that you have learned to be so proud of.  You know, the one that just turned 100,000 miles.

           "I MARRIED AN ICON"
Not only is my husband an icon in the aviation industry; he is a best selling author.  Copies of his book although out of print are now selling for 30 times more than the original. 
      Just wait until the new one
                  is published!

         A LESSON FROM KELLY
    Yesterday when I came home from work (somewhat late) my Old Eglish Sheepdog, Kelly, had had an accident in the house.  He scooted out the door.  I was angry and told him so.  I cleaned up his mess and told him again, "what a bad dog he was."  
    Last night Kelly came to my bedside to say, "goodnite".  I said "go lay down."
    Today, as usual, I walked Kelly early, got busy with laundry, exercise and getting ready for work.  As I sat for a moment to do a daily prayer treatment, Kelly came over to me - he wanted attention and love.  I started to remind him of yesterday but he insisted this is a new day...filled with love and bright expectations...we cannot change yesterday.  Yes Kelly, thank you for your wonderful reminder.        (Exerpt form the book)

            "LETS BAKE A CAKE"     
    Set aside two whole fresh eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, milk, softened butter, sugar and flavoring.  Is this ediible?  No not yet. The eggs of course can become a meal on their own....fried, boiled, etc.  The milk is sufficient unto itself and the butter has many uses.  Flour needs to be kneaded and added to another product to function.  If you add just water you have made paste. It has no taste or composition on its own.  Salt on the other hand, is multi talented and brings out the flavor in most dishes.  Baking powder does magical things when mixed and baked.  Flavoring is multi lingual or comes in many colors and varities.      
     Let us now look at our family, our congregation, our Nation or the world as a CAKE.  Each of us is an important ingredient, each of us is different in texture, color and talent.  We need the bland as well as the spicy, the conservative and the liberal, sassy or solemn.  Serious or amusing, we are brought together lovingly to share and to strengthen the group, the Universe.  If each of us were only flour, sugar or eggs, what an unmanageable mess we would become! If the WORLD is a CAKE, then each of us is a necessary ingredient (just as we are) for the overall success. 
    "Take care, this may be the only CAKE we ever have...." 

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                       SIDE EFFECTS
There is a form of disease running rampant throughout our country and the world.  The good news is that it is curable even preventable. What I have observed is that many people suffer from dizziness, lack of energy, sleeplessness, and appetitie problems.  If you research the medicines that most of these people are consuming daily, (sometimes twice a day), You will find the same disclaimers that you hear on your television many, (too many), times a day.  You know the line that starts "side effects may be..." We as a nation are suffering from SIDE EFFECTS.  (exerpt from article written by author 4/1/2009)