It's not how LONG you live that counts, it's HOW you live that matters!

One would think that with the amount of money being spent on healthcare in our nation we would have the best longevity expected on the planet. One could be wrong. In this case, one could be very wrong indeed. Welcome back. It is Wednesday, March 21, 2012 and I'm trying to make sense out of a recent report by the CIA that examined the death rates of all the nations of the world and found the US to be 50th in terms of longevity expected. Our 78.5 years expected on average beats the world average of 67.6 but we are bested by many others with the number one in the world producing a staggering 89.7 years. That is a 12 year difference. That country is Monaco. You know, the one where Princess Grace was a part of the monarchy. Wealthy. Elite. On the Mediterranean. Relaxing. The famous Mediterranean diet. The study can only guess at why people there live so much longer. In contrast, the life expectancy for men in Russia is barely over 55 years and that is due almost entirely to alcoholism which most experts connect to a sense of hopelessness. The other evening I was making my way across the convoluted access to our eldest son's home. Our eldest grandson, Jimmy Jr., 15, was riding with me. The traffic was terrible. I was pointing out to him some of the silly things that people do when they become frustrated in traffic. He said he understood because it is unbearable to get behind one of those old people, you know, about 50, and they are driving just 30 miles per hour. I had to remind him that his Poppy would be hitting the 66 mark soon. But for some reason he indicated I was exempt from his assessment. You can read the CIA stuff and be informed but I'll take my grandson's expert input any day of the week!

President Rutherford B. Hayes

I don't know who it is that does fact checking at the White House but someone sure needs to do a better job. The other day President Obama lambasted a Republican President who has been dead for 119 years. In defending his own so called  forward looking vision, he said Rutherford B. Hayes was against even considering technology and tried to paint the current Republican contenders with the same brush. First of all, he was dead wrong about President Hayes. In fact, he was so wrong as to elicit a firestorm in response to his allegations. Far from being against technology, President Hayes had the first telephone installed at the White House in 1878 and was first to bring in the typewriter. He invited Thomas Edison to the White House to demonstrate his phonograph invention and never indicated any hesitation at all to embrace new technologies. President Obama wanted to connect this great President to those he called the flat earth folks. President Hayes' great great grandson is not amused. Nor should he be. Where's the formal apology for this unmitigated attack against this man's reputation. Nowhere to be found. Especially among those who have no appreciation for any true meaning of respect and honor. Want to know something else about President Hayes? He was well known for his commitment to morality, not in word only, but also in his lifestyle. His wife Lucy refused to serve any alcoholic beverages while they were in office. She became known as "Lemonade Lucy." They were ridiculed for their stand for moral values. One thing is almost certain. I don't think we need to worry about any charges of morality being lodged against the current administration. I remain along with many others, still waiting for this well deserved apology! Okay. I admit it. Shameful stuff like this makes me very angry. So there. Now you know. I report, you check it out, and then you decide.

Just when you think you've heard it all. We all are aware that Pandas are rare. They eat only bamboo shoots and nothing else. I saw a report where a Chinese couple are turning the Panda droppings into a big business. They are using the 100% Panda poop to grow green tea. That tea has been given the distinction of being the most expensive in the world. One pound is priced at around $3100. Silly me. There I was fretting over coffee prices that average around 50 cents per ounce. They are promoting this product based on all the latest environmental gobblygook, therefore, you can bet they will have the usual suspects lined up to buy some. It reminds me of the joke we told when we were kids. It was the one where the lady asked the farmer if he preferred chicken fertilizer on his strawberries. He told her that personally he preferred sugar and cream. Don't go making fun of the rural folks because our jokes are so corny. That was the only material we had to work with. I know my grandfather used to tell one about how that people can be suckered into buying almost anything. He said a fellow had a little box and he told the people standing by that it contained smart pills. He was asked how much. He told them 50 cents. One fellow handed over his money, took the box, grabbed a pill, tasted it and spit it out. He told the seller that he had tricked him because it was nothing but rabbit pills in that box. The seller smiled and informed the purchaser, "See, you are smarter already." With that, I will say so long for today and may the good Lord take real good care of you, until we meet again. Amen.    ....More later.