Thought For The Day - 11.08.08

“Wherever you go, no matter

 what the weather, always

 bring your own sunshine.” 

…Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

 Here is a great (true) story about someone who always brought his own sunshine, as he slowly watched things change….

 

The White House Butler

WASHINGTON — For more than three decades Eugene Allen worked in the White House, a black man unknown to the headlines. During some of those years, harsh segregation laws lay upon the land.

He trekked home every night, his wife, Helene, keeping him out of her kitchen.

At the White House, he worked closer to the dirty dishes than the large desk in the Oval Office. Helene didn't care; she just beamed with pride.

President Truman called him Gene. President Ford liked to talk golf with him.

He saw eight presidential administrations come and go, often working six days a week. "I never missed a day of work," Allen says.

His is a story from the back pages of history. A figure in the tiniest of print. The man in the kitchen.

He was there while America's racial history was being remade: Brown v. Board of Education, the Little Rock school crisis, the 1963 March on Washington, the cities burning, the civil rights bills, the assassinations.

When he started at the White House in 1952, he couldn't even use the public restrooms when he ventured back to his native Virginia. "We had never had anything," Allen, 89, recalls of black America at the time. "I was always hoping things would get better."

In 1866 the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, sensing an opening to advocate for black voting rights, made a White House visit to lobby President Andrew Johnson. Johnson refused to engage in a struggle for black voting rights. Douglass was back at the White House in 1877. But no one wished to discuss his political sentiments: President Rutherford Hayes had engaged the great man — it was a time of high minstrelsy across the nation — to serve as a master of ceremonies for an evening of entertainment.

In the fall of 1901, another famous black American came to the door. President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington, head of the Tuskegee Institute, to meet with him at the White House. Roosevelt was careful not to announce the invitation, fearing a backlash, especially from Southerners.

Started as 'pantry man'

Before he landed his job at the White House, Gene Allen worked as a waiter at the Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Va., and then at a country club in Washington.

He and his wife, Helene, 86, are sitting in the living room of their Washington home Her voice is musical, in a Lena Horne kind of way. She calls him "Honey."

The couple met in Washington at a party in 1942. He was too shy to ask for her number, so she tracked his down. They married a year later.

In 1952, a lady told him of a job opening in the White House. "I wasn't even looking for a job," he says. "I was happy where I was working, but she told me to go on over there and meet with a guy by the name of Alonzo Fields."

Fields, a maitre d', immediately liked Allen and offered him a job as a "pantry man." He washed dishes, stocked cabinets and shined silverware. He started at $2,400 a year.

There was, in time, a promotion to butler. "Shook the hand of all the presidents I ever worked for," Allen says.

"I was there, Honey," Helene reminds him. "In the back maybe. But I shook their hands, too." She's referring to White House holiday parties, Easter Egg hunts. They have one son, Charles, now an investigator with the State Department.

"President Ford's birthday and my birthday were on the same day," Allen says. "He'd have a birthday party at the White House. Everybody would be there. And Mrs. Ford would say, 'It's Gene's birthday, too!' "

And so they'd sing a little ditty to the butler. And the butler, who wore a tuxedo to work every day, would blush.

"Jack Kennedy was very nice," he goes on. "And so was Mrs. Kennedy."

"Hmm-mmm," she says, rocking.

A State Dinner

He was in the White House kitchen the day JFK was slain. He got a personal invitation to the funeral. But he volunteered for other duty: "Somebody had to be at the White House to serve everyone after they came from the funeral."

The whole family of President Carter made him chuckle: "They were country. And I'm talking Lillian and Rosalynn both." It comes out sounding like the highest compliment.

First lady Nancy Reagan came looking for him in the kitchen one day. She wanted to remind him about the upcoming state dinner for German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. But she told him he would not be working that night.

"She said, 'You and Helene are coming to the state dinner as guests of President Reagan and myself.' "

Husbands and wives don't sit together at these events, and Helene was nervous about trying to make small talk with world leaders. "And my son says, 'Momma, just talk about your high school. They won't know the difference.'

"The senators were all talking about the colleges and universities that they went to," she says." I was doing as much talking as they were.

"Had champagne that night," she says, looking over at her husband. He just grins: He was the man who stacked the champagne at the White House.

Colin Powell would become the highest-ranking black of any White House to that point when he was named President Reagan's national security adviser in 1987. Condoleezza Rice would have that same position under President George W. Bush.

The butler remembers seeing both Powell and Rice in the Oval Office. He was serving refreshments. He couldn't help notice that blacks were moving closer to the center of power, closer than he could ever have dreamed. He'd tell Helene how proud it made him feel.

Gene Allen was promoted to maitre d' in 1980. He left the White House in 1986, after 34 years. President Reagan wrote him a sweet note. Nancy Reagan hugged him, tight.

Interviewed at their home last week, Gene and Helene speculated about what it would mean if a black man were actually elected president.

"Just imagine," she said.

"It'd be really something," he said.

On Monday, Helene had a doctor's appointment. Gene woke and nudged her once, then again. He shuffled around to her side of the bed. He nudged Helene again. He was all alone.

"I woke up, and my wife didn't," he said later.

The lady he married 65 years ago will be buried today.

The butler cast his vote for Obama on Tuesday. He so missed telling his Helene about the black man bound for the Oval Office

 “The One Thing We Can All Count On Is Change!”

(Some things are outside our ability to change… Some, our ability to affect lies in our passion and interest…  But how we react, accept or stand up to change is definitely within all our control.)

Thought For The Day - 10.22.08

“I think somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.” …Eleanor Roosevelt  

The Decent Drapery of Life

The nation's political contests are (finally) entering the home stretch.

That means the candidates who are out of office - Democrats in some races, Republicans in others - are raising the age-old question, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"

When politicians pose this question, we know they are asking us to do a quick economic calculation. Is your salary higher? Is your home worth more? Is your 401(k) rising in value?

Given the bruised condition of the U.S. economy, housing market and stock market, millions of Americans could be forgiven for responding with an emphatic "no" - and perhaps a few overripe tomatoes.

Politics aside, though, there is a problem with turning this "better-off" question into a monetary equation. It neglects what Edmund Burke called "the decent drapery of life."

You may not be earning more than you were four years ago. Your home or your stock portfolio may be worth less. But is that really how we determine whether we are better off?

Maybe you fell in love over the last four years. Maybe you took up fly-fishing. Maybe you moved to an exciting new city. (I did.) Maybe you spent the last four years honoring your profession, learning more about it, helping more people than ever before.

Economic statistics are fine as far as they go. But they don't go far in measuring a life well lived.

Life can't just be about the grim determination to get and have more. As President Calvin Coolidge said, "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

Peggy Noonan agrees. "In a way, the world is a great liar," she writes. "It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn't, not really. The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. That's what it really admires. That's what we talk about in eulogies, because that's what's important. We don't say, 'The thing about Joe was that he was rich.' We say, if we can, 'The thing about Joe was he took care of people.'"

It doesn't hurt to remember this. Because the one undeniable fact about the last four years is that you now have four less of them left.

So maybe the important thing is not to make more, have more, or spend more. Maybe the important thing is to slow down and appreciate small things, ordinary things: The first frost. The town clock. The curl on your grandson's forehead.

At 79, my Dad has suddenly become an avid birder. What a surprise. When I was growing up, his free time was all about golfing, coaching Little League games or watching major league sports. He didn't own a pair of binoculars. And he certainly couldn't tell you the difference between a tufted titmouse and a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

When we're young, of course, we're going to live forever. There isn't time to notice things. We have places to go. Things to do.

"We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well," wrote Paul Bowles near the end of his life. "Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five time more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty."

Rushing from one appointment to the next, we use up our time, putting off the non-urgent, the unessential.

But in the second half - and no one knows when we reach that point exactly - life takes on a special poignancy precisely because our time is limited. It becomes richer and more meaningful because of it.

It becomes more important than ever to spend time with the people we love, to create those opportunities - and to savor them.

Are you better off than you were four years ago? Only you can determine what the question even means. But the answer shouldn't require a calculator.

"Enjoy life, it's ungrateful not to," Ronald Reagan once remarked.

They understand this in Scotland. When I lived in St. Andrews several years ago, the locals would often clink my glass, give me a wink, and announce in that distinct Scottish brogue:

"Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead."

Carpe Diem, Alex Green, Spiritual Wealth

“Perhaps something to consider as we vote and in considering for whom we are voting… Who is the better man (or woman)?  Who has lived the bigger and more rounded life; a decent life?  Who has given the most?  Who has the experience to understand and empathize with more of us… for it is far from just the money or economics that makes America who she is and us ‘who we are’!

McCain-Palin TV Ads Running in Michigan & Thought For The Day 10.12.08

THE TV ADS THAT WILL RUN IN MICHIGAN:

"It Isn't Over, Until It's Over!!'

Sarah Palin and First Dude Todd Palin Hit the Campaign Trail in Michigan

Thought For The Day - 10.03.08

"Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage."
…Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian renaissance writer and thinker

 

Where would we be today if everyone retreated as soon as they came upon an obstacle? We would be suffering the ramifications of losing World War I and II. Without light, of course, since Edison stumbled many times before succeeding. Would we have cars, airplanes, computers? Running water, food, clothing? The late Dr. Randy Pausch said it best, "Brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." Prove how badly you want to succeed.

Next time a great opportunity comes along, go for it!  If you have friends and family who are willing to try something unconventional… support them, buy from them, try what they have, be an ear to bounce ideas off of or a shoulder for them to cry on before they start over.

Thought For The Day - 10.01.08

"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."  …Mahatma Gandhi, a political and spiritual leader of India

 Would you spend your entire life’s savings to save the life of a family member? Absolutely, without a second of hesitation. That realization should make it abundantly clear that far too many of us live our lives backwards — pursuing wealth, success, and pleasure. And hoping we live long enough to enjoy them. Live life right by putting your health first. Then the rest will fall into place.

 MUFA’s

The trick to a flat stomach and losing weight is having MUFAs at every meal and snack. What is a MUFA? It stands for monounsaturated fatty acid, which is found in nuts (walnuts and almonds are great choices), seeds, avocadoes, olives and flax and olive oils, and dark chocolate. So walnuts in my cereal? Flaxseed oil in my smoothie? Tapenade in my turkey wrap? Guacamole with my dinner? Totally doable!

"Jumpstart" your diet for about 4-days by having Mufas at every meal and snack, which is designed to not only lower the calories a bit more (an acceptable 1,200), but also to reduce belly bloat and gas so you have the visual proof that your gut is deflating.

Add 2 liters of Sassy Water -- a mixture of water with a lemon, a cucumber, grated ginger and spearmint leaves each day, for the first 4-days,strained of course, and you are on your way!

 Source:  Prevention  Magazine!

 Ad some GoChi and you are on your way to weight loss and good health, which truly is the greatest wealth!!

 Source:  Prevention  Magazine!

Trump: Silver Lining Is Declining Oil

Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump is none too pleased with the markets, but he sees a silver lining. Oil should be falling, Trump says, and falling fast. “People aren’t talking about two very big issues, the war and the price of oil,” Trump told Fox Business News. “If people knew how to speak to OPEC the proper way, the hard way, the tough way, oil would be down to $50 instead of $150,” Trump says. There’s already far too much oil on the markets, and anybody in the oil business knows it. “They don’t know what to do with it,” Trump told Fox. “If we got rid of this war, and we got oil down, this country would be unbelievable,” he said. As for the $700 billion bailout, Trump is resigned that some kind of assistance for the banks will have to be arranged, calling the current market the “worst the country has seen since 1929.” “It’s sad but it’s probably something that has to get done. The financial system is going to come to a halt. It’s a sad day for the country,” Trump said. “Maybe things go to hell anyway. Nobody really knows what is going to happen.” © 2008 Newsmax.

Thought For The Day - 09.28.08

“JFK and LBJ knew a thing or two about politics and governing. They understood with Solomon-like wisdom that, ‘there is a time to campaign, and a time to break off campaigning’.  It’s a leadership thing.”

 Americans are interesting people when it comes to politics and politicians.  We are proud of our freedoms and most of us are willing to die for them, yet we come out in very low numbers for elections, especially local elections, even when the results affect us directly and immediately. 

We hold the first amendment and freedom of speech close to our hearts but are usually hesitant to talk politics, in fear of offending someone, and are usually more worried about being politically correct than we are about having the wrong person elected or having a misguided proposition pass. 

We will tell our friends when they’ve made a fashion mistake or often even when they’ve chosen the wrong partner, but we hesitate to pass along information about candidates or their positions, even when we know our information is correct and our friend or associate is confused or uninformed.  Part of the process should be debate and discussion, and not only between the candidates. 

Americans also put their candidates and politicians on pedestals, and we want them to be perfect, while simultaneously wanting them to be just like us, an average Joe or Jane.  Which when you think about it, is obviously completely contradictory and impossible.  We want our candidates or have come from Middle America having shared in ‘every man’s common experiences’, yet we don’t want them to have had to accept any help or to be beholden to anyone through their process of election, which is less likely if they come from a background of means and connections, so again is naïve and almost impossible.  And while we do want them to have experienced what we all have, we are intolerant of any scandals or even the normal teenage and college behaviors that their generation experienced, in their backgrounds  We want them to be above that, better than the average, but not ‘above us’, again a total contradiction.  

We also want our politicians to be well educated, well spoken, polished and full of promise, yet very few of us take the time to really find out what they stand for; often leaning toward the candidate that sparkles instead of the candidate of substance.  And then when we do have a clear choice, including someone with experience, a good record, and perhaps even something special about them like heroism, exceptional service or records of charity or kindness, we decide to vote for the other person, with less experience, no or little record and maybe with even a questionable background.  And then when their promises turn out to be nothing more than rhetoric, we are disappointed with what we got. 

We vote for change when we want stability.   We wait for years for a female presidential or vice presidential candidate and then we don’t support their ticket.  We vote for the new guy, forgetting that we elected the Washington outsider last time and it didn’t work out so well.  And we feel proud and safe during uncertain times when represented by someone who we know that has dedicated their life to the service of our Country and then we support and even elect someone we don’t know that really doesn’t have a clue. 

It is probably a miracle that the experiment in self-government that we know as the United States has done as well as it has and is still around.  Perhaps it is time for us to get a clue!  

Thought For The Day - 09.23.08

"If you ask what is the single most important key to  longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it."  …George F. Burns, American comedian

They say that worry, stress, and fear can end your life. If you give in to them, you've already stopped living your life. But the reality is people are  living longer than ever  before. 

In fact, centenarians — people who live to 100 or older -- are one of the world’s  fastest growing segments of the  population.

Renters Left Hanging in the Middle in Foreclosure Proceedings

With the current wave of foreclosures, that we hope will diminish after the recently announced bailouts, many renters are finding themselves in the middle between lenders and their landlord; who is now the foreclosed on owner. They are finding themselves homeless, like the Smiths, after their cash-strapped landlord stopped making mortgage payments and their houses, condos, townhouses or apartment buildings were foreclosed upon, even though they have been making their monthly rent payments.

The California Apartment Association, the state's largest organization of rental property owners, reported that nearly a quarter of all foreclosed single-family residences are renter occupied. And the number of renters trapped in the foreclosure debacle in duplexes and other multi-unit buildings is considerably higher.  Total California foreclosures of single-family homes statewide rose more than 400 percent to a record 31,676 in the fourth quarter of 2007 from a year earlier and has been rising ever since. 

The Smiths received notice last month, when a Trustee Sales Notice was posted on the front door of their townhouse, after their landlord had missed 6-months of mortgage payments and the property was foreclosed upon.  And this seems to be the way most tenants are getting their notifications; inciting a sense of panic and feelings of insult, betrayal and lack of control.

For many people, this can mean even steeper rents on the horizon because the wave of foreclosures has created greater demand in the rental housing market -- a blessing to landlords who are not having foreclosure problems, but also leaves the door open for some gauging. And invariably, these situations mean a total loss of deposits paid by renters, so it is generally suggested that renters stop paying rent as soon as they are made aware of foreclosure proceedings and notice definitely of an impending sale.

State and local officials say many evictions could be avoided or at least made less painful if people knew the legal protections available to them. However, few owners, lenders and property managers make such information available during the eviction process.

This entire experience can be terrifying!! "It's something a number of jurisdictions have been discussing because it's a growing problem.", says Michaelyn Jones, general counsel to the Santa Monica Rent Control Agency, which oversees some of California's toughest rent-control rules.

Many foreclosed properties were purchased by real-estate speculators or novice investors taking advantage of dirt-cheap loans and rising property values, who subsequently rented them to tenants before falling behind on mortgage payments.  Plus now there is a newly reported scam whereby some owners, knowing they are on the road to pending foreclosure are renting their properties anyway or again, right before the Trustee Sale, and then vanishing with what can be a tidy sum, including as much as first and last month’s rent, a security deposit and sometimes additional cleaning or pet deposits; leaving renters holding the proverbial bag and having to move again.

Some tenants don’t find out that they have to move until they receive a letter from the bank or lender, that has taken the property back, or from the new owner after the Trustee Sale, either in letter form or by a representative showing up at their door, which sometimes includes the offer of an "assistance check" varying in amount from $1000 to $2500, to vacate quickly. In many cases it is to the renters’ benefit to accept this assistance check, which usually includes a warning like: "Please keep in mind that the eviction process has started". 

Offering financial inducements is a common practice when renters are being pressed to vacate a foreclosed-upon property, but there are several factors to weigh. It's called "cash for keys" and can involve payments of up to $2,500, ostensibly to help a tenant resettle but also to get him or her to waive any claims to the rental property.  However in the wake rising foreclosures and rising rents, you now have 60-days from the day you receive official notification to vacate before having to be out or before eviction procedures can begin, giving you 2+ months of rent free living.  So you need to weigh the value of two free months of rent against the amount of the assistance check being offered.  And if you have an active lease in place, that lease could have to be honored.  Be sure to check with Renters Rights and give your options some thought before the representative appears on your doorstep.  Also, if your property has been purchased by a new owner, be sure to ask if you can stay on as a renter.

The Smiths were told that if they didn't agree to the assistance money deal right away, their resettlement money would be slashed in half from the original offer within a week and then to third a week after that. Then it would drop to nothing, and they'd still have to move out.  Sometimes that is enforced and sometimes, if they really want you out, they will work with you and could still get the original offer, but it is a gamble.

Also be wary of your previous landlord trying to collect rent, present or past, (before or after the trustee sale) or asking for a share in the moving assistance money.  Once they have lost title to the property, they have no claim or rights to anything involving their former property.

State officials have said that under California law, existing rental agreements are essentially wiped out when a property is foreclosed upon, but changes and amendments have and are being made daily, so keep checking. A few months ago renters only had 30 days' notice before being evicted; now they have 60.  And those officials also said state law can be trumped by local rent-control statutes, which often provide tenants with more far-reaching protections.  These "just cause" provisions of many municipal rent-control laws limit the ability of landlords to evict tenants, even those on month-to-month leases. They also include cases in situations when ownership of a property changes hands, such as a foreclosure.

However, not all "just cause" provisions are created equal. Some require that a tenant occupy a property for at least two years before an eviction notice is served. Others allow an eviction to proceed if the landlord plans to remove the property from the rental market or have a relative move in.  And, not all rental properties may fall under a city's rent-control protections, allowing state law to apply.

But anyone receiving a notice from a bank or property manager, which is often an assigned realtor, saying their rented home has been foreclosed on should contact City Hall and ask about rent-control rules that may exist in your area and whether your particular property is protected as well as checking with Renters Rights.  Then ask the bank or property manager to specify the legal grounds for the eviction. If nothing else, this could result in a more generous offer of payout to get you moving.

And remember, do your homeworkd and always get everything in writing!!!

By: Marion Algier/Ask Marion

Related Articles:

Michael Reagan:  Wall Street Bailout "Robbery"

The Rest of the Meltdown Story

Michael Reagan: Wall Street Bailout "Robbery"

By: Phil Brennan

The runaway government bailout of Wall Street at taxpayer expense is nothing less than "robbery,” according to Michael Reagan.

The top-rated talk-show host and Newsmax columnist told the 5 million listeners of "The Michael Reagan Show" on Friday that their pockets and those of their fellow Americans were being picked clean by the panic-driven bailout.

"Democrats Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, Jamie Gorelick, Penny Pritzker, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank are robbing the American taxpayer, and Republicans in the House and Senate had been tapped to drive the getaway car," said Reagan.

“In a political system where well-paid Democrat operatives can enrich themselves at the expense of the American people with zero downside, there is no incentive to behave properly, when the taxpayer will bail you out. Enough is enough, bad decisions have consequences and those consequences ought to include indictments and jail time for those who cashed in."

Speaking to Newsmax.com, Reagan added: “I hope John McCain will not shrink from pointing the finger of blame where it belongs – at Barack Obama, who fed greedily at the trough of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac while their top people, including two of his own campaign associates, were flim-flamming the American people. It’s a Democratic scandal from beginning to end, and the American people deserve to know it.” 

@ 2008 Newsmax

Related Links: 

Rest of the Meltdown Story

Obama Looking Thin and Americans Are Catching On...

Michelle Obama As Our First Lady???

The Left's Crooked Umpires

Thought For The Day - 09.20.08

“‘Perhaps Western society has lost its way, producing material goods in impressive superfluity but also generating so much stress and pressure that people cannot enjoy what they attain. Perhaps men and women must reexamine their priorities – demanding less, caring more about each other, appreciating what they have rather than grousing about what they do not have, giving more than lip service to the wisdom that money cannot buy happiness." …Greg Easterbrooke, author & writer 

Thorn With Every Rose (This title made me laugh… because my father-in-law has always said when describing his daughter…  She is a rose between two thorns… the brothers)
This week I'm attending an Oxford Club chapter meeting at the Grove Park Inn, a historic hotel on the western slope of Sunset Mountain near Asheville, NC. Passing the enormous stone hearth in the lobby this morning, I noticed an engraving on one of the stones. It was a quatrain by Frank L. Stanton, a columnist for The Atlanta Constitution in the 1890s: This old world we're livin' in             Is mighty hard to beat We get a thorn with every rose             But ain't the roses sweet This was once the most quoted poem in the country. But the mood has changed. According to a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, Americans' views on the general state of the country have hit an all-time low, with 81% saying the prospects for the United States are declining – the worst-ever number for this barometer. Some will argue this just reflects the current economic slowdown or the monumental unpopularity of President Bush. But pollsters report that, for decades now, large percentages have said the country is going downhill, life is getting tougher, our children face a declining future, and the world, in general, is going to hell in a hand basket. Clearly, we do have serious problems. There is the threat of nuclear proliferation, the specter of terrorism, and the unpleasant fact that our troops are bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. From an economic perspective, the federal deficit keeps growing, home prices are falling, the currency is weak, food and fuel prices have jumped, credit is tight, and the stock market recently entered bear market territory. No wonder Americans are in a foul mood. Especially if this perspective – one that is repeated endlessly by the national media – accurately represents the big picture. But it doesn't. The media delivers the world through a highly distorted lens. It doesn't report buildings that don't burn, planes that don't crash, or companies that are hiring instead of laying off. You wouldn't know it by listening to the pundits, but our general lot is getting better, not worse. As Greg Easterbrook of the Brookings Institution recently wrote in The Wall Street Journal, "Living standards are the highest they have ever been, including the living standards for the middle class and the poor. All forms of pollution other than greenhouse gases are in decline; cancer, heart disease and stroke incidence are declining; crime is in a long-term cycle of significant decline, and education levels are at all-time highs." Despite the gloomy headlines, most of us have it pretty darn good. Consider that in the first half of the 20th century, most people earned a subsistence living through long hours of backbreaking work on farms or in factories. In 1850, the average workweek was 64 hours. In 1900, it was 53. Today it is 42 hours. On the whole, Americans work less, have more purchasing power, enjoy goods and services in almost unlimited supply, and have much more leisure. In the first half of our nation's history, most Americans lived and died within a few miles of where they were born. Nothing traveled faster than a horse and, as far as they knew, nothing ever would. Today we have instantaneous global communication, 24-hour broadband Internet access, and same-day travel to distant cities. Formal discrimination against women and minorities has ended. There is mass home ownership, with central heat and air-conditioning – and endless labor saving devices: stoves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves and computers. Medicine was almost non-existent 80 years ago. In 1927, for example, President Calvin Coolidge's 16year-old son Calvin Jr. developed a blister playing tennis without socks at the White House. It became infected. Five days later, he died. Before the advent of antibiotics, tragedies like these were routine. Advances in medicine and technology have eliminated most of history's plagues. There has been a stunning reduction in infectious diseases. We complain about the rising cost of health care. But that's only because we routinely live long enough to depend on it. The average American lifespan has almost doubled over the past century. In short, we enjoy economic and political freedoms denied to billions throughout history. We live long lives, in good health and in comfortable circumstances. By almost any measure, we are living better than 99.9% of those who have inhabited this planet. Yet we routinely tell pollsters that life is hard and things are getting steadily worse. I think it's time to take the larger view. If we don't, we risk becoming the mopey character Steve Martin portrays when he mumbles, "The only joy I know is a dishwashing liquid." As Easterbrooke writes in "The Progress Paradox": "Perhaps Western society has lost its way, producing material goods in impressive superfluity but also generating so much stress and pressure that people cannot enjoy what they attain. Perhaps men and women must reexamine their priorities – demanding less, caring more about each other, appreciating what they have rather than grousing about what they do not have, giving more than lip service to the wisdom that money cannot buy happiness." How do we do this? We can re-order our lives so that they are less hectic, less stressful. We all have problems. But as author Robert Ringer used to say, whatever your troubles, the odds are small that anyone is going to throw you up against the wall and pull out a machine gun. We can start improving the quality of our lives simply by changing our perspective. And we can accept that if something is missing in our lives, it is probably a sense of gratitude, not material possessions. It's worth taking a moment to appreciate your incredible good fortune just to be alive. As Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins writes in "Unweaving the Rainbow": "We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively outnumbers the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here." True, it's not a perfect world, but it's the only one we've got. And we're only here once. But, as my Dad used to say, "If you work it right, once is enough." Carpe Diem, Alex Green, SpiritualWealth