"jan gan bat paa huhng louh fo..."

This Chinese proverb is pronounced - "jun gum but pa hong low fa" - which means "TRUE GOLD DOES NOT FEAR BIG RED FLAMES" - Hmmmmm... So, let me so, what's that mean today? Economy; if you have skills that are in demand, you have value, or, if you have an asset that isn't over inflated, overpriced, over leveraged, out of trust, out of the mainstream, you have value, or, if you invest in companies that have real value, and they are creating a larger GNP (gross national product) rather than taking away from it, then you have value, and you will not fear any Big Red Flames. Integrity; If your word matters, if your word is your bond, if you believe in the Golden Rule (Do Unto Others as you would have them do Unto You) and, you do not seek the unfair advantage against others, you work hard every day, forgive others, ask to be forgiven, then you will never fear any Big Red Flames. I look back over the last 54+ years of my life and wish MANY TIMES that I had chosen things (made decisions) differently. I suppose I would still have chosen to be a "cut-up" and humorist. But I think I would have thought long about hard about the saying, "there is a time and a place for everything." Maybe. Life's laughter is a hard thing for me to sidestep. Most of you who know me, know I can be very irreverent at times. I don't mean anything by it. Sometimes things just pop out! At least I am not exclusive here, and I am willing to self indict. BUT, I *am* feeling life's refinement process helping me along. I *am* being tempered. When I was younger it was against my will. Today, I see the wisdom in all this. Keep it simple. Love more. Err on the side of kindness. Pray for your enemies, and forgive them. Pray that you will be forgiven too. You don't take anything with you when you live this mortal life, but you do take your relationships, your intellect, your "who you really are" self. Your things stay behind, your money gets argued over, your body decays, your teeth fall out, the tax man says "goodbye", and everything you stewed over is at end. Did you do all you could? Did you live up to your capabilities? Get my drift? Good. Then you are TRUE GOLD and you shall never fear the Big Red Flames! (Oooo, thats hot!)

Can you dig it?

I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it, they can dig it, you can dig it, oh, let's dig it! Can you dig it, baby? I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it, they can dig it, you can dig it, oh, let's dig it! Can you dig it, baby? I remember hearing this song (Grazin' in the green grass) when I was but 14-15 years old. Talk about a cool time in my life! Talk about a cool time everywhere, but, Vietnam, actually. Back then, the mideast was pretty much camels and sand. The music was a reflection of how people felt. HAPPY! Generally. Although I do admit I was raised in a comfortable middle class home, with a Mom who greeted me every day after school with a snack and a load of questions about my day. Sit down dinners with the entire family was the usually, every night. My Dad was in the FBI and used to come home, and take his pistol off and set it on the counter behind him at the dinner table. Loaded. If one of my kids came home and told me they had dinner at someone's house and the Dad there had a loaded gun on the counter behind him, I would certainly think my kid was carousing with Gangsters! I was raised on Gillgan's Island, My Three Sons, and Donna Reed. Today kids have MTV - E Channel, that is keeping up with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton's latest "exposure" moment. Don't get me wrong, I like many things about "today" - but it does seem we are diluting some of the good stuff into a forgotten closet we long ago closed off. But, this is how it is. Life I mean. We evolve away all the time. Its like I still remember when Michael Jackson wasn't dangerously weird to kids under 18. But hey, now he has a lucky nose!

You can't always get what you want....

So, we have a new President. And, times are tough. Housing is lackluster at best, and collapsing at worst. Jobs are evaporating. Times, they are, tough. But, in the simple scheme of things, you STILL have to have economics that work, right? So, lets keep this basic. Can I give you money, I don't have? Uh, no. Can I give you something (knowledge, information, a product, a service, a better deal on a fixed expense, etc.) that will help you make money? And, once you have money, can you give me back some for my helping you out? I think so. Why not? (Unless, I am greedy, then enough is never enough!) So how about this... Instead of the Gov't giving me something it doesn't have ($816 billion in a "stimulus" package) ~and by the way~ most of that is going out 3-4 years and just plain "pork" ~ which isn't a stimulus at all ~ why not give me some incentives to create some jobs, keep some of my tax dollars, maybe off set the price of my mortgage payments with better tax writeoffs, so I will take the $ I saved on not making my mortgage payments, and eat out more, or see more movies, or buy some new clothes, or a car? Want to spur construction? Give me some tax breaks for remodeling my house! If you want to get growth, you create incentives, you don't hand money out. Its the old addage, if you are hungry and I give you fish, I feed you for a day. But, if I teach you to fish, or better, give you a tax free way to own a boat, that you must use for fishing, then I give you fish for life! And, when you sell those fish, pay some taxes, afterall, you got the boat for free! Long live capitalism! At least for a few more years! Sadly, I think we are headed for Armegeddon, and the "end of days" ~ not sure when, but we are edging closer and closer all the time. And before you think I am worried because Barack Obama got elected, I am not. Bush didn't do anyone any favors, and I survived Carter and Clinton too. In my books all politicians are rubber heads! "Just gimme some truth..."