Independence Day

Russia has a 4th of July.
China has a July 4th.
England has a 4th of July.
The 4th of July is a special day for our country.
Remember to wish others a "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY" to remind them this day is unique for us.

Knowledge About College

 If I take a loan for a full college load now, do I have to repay it?
If so, WHY?

Gilbert, AZ In The Rearview Mirror

 Big Bubba has been living in Gilbert, AZ almost 8 years. He bought a 4-bdrm/2-1/2 bath home so we could live comfortably (separated if necessary) from his personal space. We've spent four months in this home for those eight years from mid-December to the end of March. Weather during these months is as near perfect as you could imagine... 70+ degree days and 60+ degree nights most of the time. During the time we spent there this Fall/Winter, it rained three times.
We've grown to like the neighborhood. It is clean, well lit at night, and almost all our immediate needs are within walking distance.

Big Bubba sold this home this week. Many factors impacted this decision. The biggest of course is family related. His aging parents will need him more and more, and we don't want to be exposed to 120-degree heat for half the year. Our son has also finally tired of the heat. There's a joke in Phoenix that is true:
"My wife arose before me and used up all the cold water."
Turn on the cold water tap and when the water exposed to the home's air conditioning is used up, the cold water feels like bath water. (Big Bubba turns off his water heater in late Spring. It's unnecessary)

It's a seller's market in Real Estate these days. In the time he has lived in this home, the value has more than doubled. It's a good time to pocket his equity.

But a BIGGEE that I've had him considering is the bare water line marking the shores of Lakes Meade and Powell. Water depth in both lakes is shockingly down. Although there is some attention now being paid to the problem, most residents of the Phoenix metro area... and for that matter in virtually all the big cities served by water from the Colorado River, are in denial, big time.
It's gonna become a crisis at some point now. (180,000 more water users illegally crossed our Southern border in May, and I'm reminded of an old truism: "That which cannot continue... won't".)

It's a good time for him to bug out.
We will miss our Winter walks in perfect weather. We will miss our wonderful Gilbert neighbors.
And we hope they come to their senses and bug out before water begins to be rationed in the West.
But we also know... addicts sometimes have to hit rock bottom before they realize behavior needs to change.

Life Throws A Curveball

 "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

It's 0300 hours. I'm shocked awake and turn to find my wife sitting bolt upright in bed and confused, looking around the room as if something is threatening her.
This, obviously, is not a comfortable way to be awakened.

When he was 8 or nine years old our son went through a phase during which he had "Night Terrors". We'd hear him in the wee hours crying, and when we asked what was wrong he couldn't explain why he was upset.

Sara Jean has been having late-night hallucinations for some time. She awakens and imagines someone is standing at the end of our bed, or right beside her. Frightened, she screams and in doing so, wakes me.
We sort of equated her problem with our son's situation when he was young.

She's been sensing changes in her thought processes lately. She can't think of words, phrases, or memories to share during conversations. The problem, to her thinking, has accelerated during the last months. She has shared this with our Doctor and he has administered a simple test to check her for "mild cognitive impairment" then declared her normal. But over the last month SJ feels she has declined dramatically so we scheduled a new appointment. And at this time she finally shared the fact that she's been having these nighttime hallucinations.
"Hmmm. Sounds like 'Lewy Body'" he says, very casually.
I had never heard the term. And he said it so nonchalantly I brushed it off as no big deal.
It definitely IS a big deal.
Five to 8 years life expectancy, says the internet.
You may as well have come upside my head with a 2X4.

We've scheduled an appointment with a neurologist and won't know details until after meeting with her/him. In fact, the only way to know with certainty that someone has "Lewy Body Dementia" is after an autopsy.

But this changes everything.
ALL our retirement planning has been modified.
We are now looking at a serious "bucket list" and want to check off items on that list as quickly as possible while we both can share and enjoy them.

Life is short.
Don't be miserable.
It's a tremendous waste of time.

"British Marine Reacts-"

I made note of a few things while watching this video.
This "Commando" is VERY proud of his service. This "Esprit De Corps" permeates the elite of our military. The "Joe Blow" average trooper might have volunteered to serve in order to get an education to further his/her civilian career, but the Aviators, Submariners, Special Forces, etc? ALL those guys are damned proud to have gone that extra mile and took the greater risk to defend freedom. I was glad to see it.

A couple years ago I accompanied my son to a retired "Titan" Missile silo near Tucson. The lethality of that one weapon could pretty much have wiped humanity from the face of the earth... and we had ELEVEN of them around the U.S.. The overlap of weapons we have across our services is mind boggling. We retired the Titan system partly because it was obsolete. Think of the protection we have in place today.

Supercarrier groups?
Just look at the support and strength it takes to deploy those systems!

I had a friend that worked directly with the F-111 and B-2 systems and knew the factoid about the Bumblebee comparison.
Again... mind boggling.

It's easy sometimes to worry about the lack of manpower in our military compared to say, WWII today. But why risk human lives when we have machines that can do the jobs of many, and do them better? And this trend will continue.
How long before we enter "Star Trek" territory and start marching human "results of attack" into "disintegrator rooms"?

In the mid-60's that concept seemed SO far fetched.
In today's world with Karen in control?
I'm not so sure.

Subway Megan

 I used to like Subway restaurants... felt the sandwiches were reasonably priced and if you were careful about preferences, they could also be sorta "healthy".
But like so many businesses today, they inadvertently "stepped on their poncho", as we Dogfaces used to say.
They hired Purple-Haired Megan Rapinoe to be their Spokesperson. If you're not familiar, she's the Olympic Soccer Player that was one of the first to take a knee when our National Anthem was played.
She's now regularly appearing on their TV commercials. It's yet to be seen if this will be as big a disaster for them as was pedophile Jared Fogle.

Not one red cent, Subway.
And maybe even an apology?

D-Day, + 76

"Those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
That's a paraphrase of a quote by someone smarter than me.

My Uncle Garlin was on the Battlesthip West Virginia in Pearl Harbor as she sank on 7Dec41. He then spent the rest of the war on a destroyer.
My Uncle George was aboard a glider that crashed upon landing 76 years ago. His ankle was broken in the bad landing and he spent the remainder of the war in a German P.O.W. camp.
My Father was injured by Mortar fire in the Philippines all thse years ago; received the Purple Heart and was sent home early due to his injuries.

I am VERY aware of the sacrifices made for me by the "Greatest Generation" and I tried my best to meet their standard.
I don't need a "Safe Room" or "Safe Space" to survive.
I am scared to death of the attitude I sense around me.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
What cannot continue... WON'T.

Dr. Fauxi, Our Hero?

"It's worth the risk" Fauxi said, when questioned about the possible connection, direct or indirect, to the Wuhan laboratory.
-3,500,000 million deaths later? He perjures himself when asked about the connection.
At what point does our liberal media tell the world about our hero?