All the controversy about Glen Beck’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial is refuted and  summed up nicely in this article http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0826/Glenn-Beck-8-28-rally-It-s-a-matter-of-honor

It’s an anomaly for a man to get equal rights with the mother of his children with regard to visitation & custody. So often it’s the man that must leave the home when couples separate, then the woman calls all the shots-things such as when, and sometimes even if, he can visit with his children. If only the courts could discern which is the better parent to have primary care over the children, rather than having the default always be the mother unless she is a drug addict or poses another type of equivalent danger.

Numerous moms over the decades have significantly interfered with the father/child relationship. Having a father around is so crucial in a child’s life. Granted, there are fathers who aren’t as involved in their child’s life as others, but it’s still important for every child to know who their father is and how much he cares for them. Next to the love of our heavenly Father, the unconditional love of a mother and a father toward a child is the most complete love one can experience. Think about it. That relationship is so special, and so sacred, even when all other relationships go south, that child has the comfort of knowing he, or she, can always lean on parents for that loving support and approval. To remove either one of those leaves a void in the child’s life that cannot be filled any other way.

It’s in the best interest of a child for parents to put their differences aside and work together for the good of their children. Time and again I have seen mothers use their children to “get back” at their ex-husbands, or they use the children to relay information to the ex such as when they are dating someone, or when their life is going great. It’s as if they want to use the child as a conduit by which they can rub their now glorious life in the face of their ex. If you are a parent who does this, stop it. Your child is not a pawn, and this will leave a lasting impression on your children that will come back to bite you in the future. Kids aren’t oblivious to this adult chess game, and it only serves to make them resentful and suspicious of what real love is. Just as I’m writing this, I can think of numerous moms who do this very thing, and several others who constantly change the visitation rules to show the non-custodial parent they can do whatever they wish.

Fathers, if you are dealing with someone who does this, make sure you discuss this with your attorney. The mom could be charged with contempt of court if she is continually interfering with your right to have visitation with your child.

If there are fathers out there who are experiencing this, Sensible Life would like to hear your story. Please write to us at editor@sensiblelife.com.

It’s pretty tiring listening to those who feel the Arizona law is so unjust. Why is it that providing law enforcement officers with the means to do their job effectively and stop illegal activity is wrong and is racial profiling? This same issue was brought up after 9/11 when airport security would detain travelers of the same nationality as the terrorist who attacked the U.S. on that day to perform more extensive screenings. It’s like Jay Leno said, “If your first name is Muhammad, and your last name isn’t Ali, plan a little extra time at the airport.”

Would these same individuals call it discrimination and profiling if police officers started pulling over blonde, Caucasian women in their mid 40s in a neighborhood where numerous robberies had taken place by a woman fitting that description? One could easily say the officers are profiling and targeting women over 40 for the purpose of harassment, but in reality there’s a reasonable possibility that one of these women could be the one, so why not check to be sure?

I think some get so caught up in political correctness that they lose sight of fact that there are laws being broken. Why is it okay for some to break the law and others may not? Who picks and chooses?

There’s a legal way to enter into the U.S., so why not do it through proper channels and procedures?

by Jim Brennan

Today marks one year since I retired after thirty-seven years of wake-ups. One year, where the hell did all the time go? My mom always said the older you get the faster time flies by, but my wife put it in perspective when she returned from work the other day and told me a patient made an insightful observation, “Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end the faster it goes.” I said, “Yea, that’s why you have to get more from each wipe.”

Getting the most of each wipe of daily life is the only way to retaliate against the ticking clock. If slowing down initiates atrophy, then never slowing down should be the goal just as Tom Petty exclaims in Mary Jane’s Last Dance, “You never slow down, you never grow old.” Neal Young’s put it this way, “Better to burn out than to fade away”, a strategy he epitomized traveling back and forth from Nashville to New York to treat a brain aneurysm in the middle of recording an album.

When people ask what I do with my time I’m usually stumped trying to remember what I did the previous day, or few days, or week, or month; so please don’t ask me what I did over the past year. All that I know is that I was busier than hell every single day. I took a break yesterday afternoon and cycled over to a local lake. Sitting on the bridge at the inlet I watched as an egret skimmed the surface of the water and wondered where I would be had I not made the move last summer; Washington D.C., West Coast, Texas, or my office answering a question that I’d answered five hundred times. I smiled to myself knowing I made the right decision before saddling up again.
Retired friend’s who knew my lifestyle advised, “You won’t know how you ever had time to work.”  They were right. Only rather than meetings, deadlines and headaches it’s cycling, gardening, writing, the kids and the grandkids. The contrast in activities registers quite a different reading on the stress-o-meter.

Shorty after I walked out the office door for the final time a good friend gave me a well-intentioned gift, a book about retiring with a mission. So late on Saturday night I was into a good bottle of pinot noir and pulled it out and gave it a read. I had a hard time getting past the mission statement and taking a life inventory, but when I got to the action plan I screamed and woke my honey from a sound sleep. She ran into the living room and asked what the matter was. I told her that our society has become so tightly wound that it’s no longer okay to retire and chill, travel, party and enjoy life. Now you have to find more crap to wind yourself up again. Under those conditions why would anyone want to retire? Apparently, these days’ people retire to go to work. Not me!

Nevertheless, welts that remain on the back of my head as a testament of the Catholic school guilt ingrained so deep into my psyche I thought better list exactly what I learned the first year of retirement so I could start defining my next career. Following is what twelve months free of staff meetings, business travel, presentations, and personnel actions have taught me:

1. I have too many damn cloths; I can get by on about one quarter of what I possess (including underwear.) Since retirement I’ve donated more cloths to shelters than I had in my entire life, still I am unable to close my dresser drawers because of bulging material hanging from the sides.  Suits? I expect one day that more of my kids will marry, but I’ll rent a tux. Ties? If I lay them end to end they reach across the street to my neighbor’s driveway and I’ll probably never wear another for the rest of my life. Shoes? Who wears those things? One pair ought to do until I’m in the box and planted. In the meantime running shoes, hiking boots and sandals will do just fine.

2. Razors, soap and shampoo last forever. Before I retired my aging mentors encouraged me to calculate retirement income and expenses. The exercise enabled me to identify adjustments that enable me live a relatively comfortable lifestyle, certainly not lavish, but comfortable. But now when I back out the cost of the aforementioned sundries I am able to take a second vacation each year, to an international destination no less.

3. Always have a backup plan. Once people know you are retired they think you have all of the time in the world. It’s incomprehensible to the workingman/woman hunkered down in the grind that a retiree can keep themselves busy, even if it is goofing off. So to counter the onslaught of request to drive this one here, that one there and pick the dog up at the vet, I’ve created a cheat sheet I keep in my wallet that has some indisputable excuses if called to lend a hand: Car’s in the shop for oil change; dog is sick; waiting for a pizza to be delivered; fixing the toaster…….

4. Revelation: Caller ID is the most useful technology created in the past half-century. Thank about it.

See, I did learn a lot over the past year; and yea, retirement is settling in and agreeing with me. I concede that taking “inventory” of lessons learned was a useful exercise because now I know my next profession won’t require getting dressed, bathing or leaving the house. I’ve decided to become an organic farmer/blogger/eBay entrepreneur. Oh, did I mention that expendable income isn’t that important to me?

It’s hard to believe Christmas is only 4 months away –especially if you are living in areas that are experiencing records highs on the heat this summer.  But, if you wait for cold weather to start your holiday shopping, you have a more difficult time working gifts into your budget. To help get you started, Sensible Life recommends Marlene Alexander’s e-book that will not only give you great, economical ideas for gift-giving, but also for entertaining.

Click on the link below to review and download.
http://www.dollarstorestyle.com/christmas-dollar-store.html

To do the Christmas countdown, click on the link below and keep track of how many shopping days are left.
http://www.allcapecod.com/shoptillchristmas.cfm

Here’s a little something extra to help get you in the mood for Christmas shopping. Click on the link below for a window into a virtual snowfall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSQ9fsVWxc