If I were the Pres....

Some one recently posted on Facebook, what would one do if he/she were the President of the U.S. and I thought about it long and hard

And if I were the President, this is what I would do

1.  no child or elderly person would be without food, shelter or medical treatment and care (this is a humanitarian and (for those who keep posting how "Christian" they are, what Christ proclaimed!

2. I would bring our fighting troops home and put them to work (at a higher wage, btw) rebuilding our infrastructures that need refrubishing.

(side bar here: who do we think we are that we can impose our democratic beliefs on nations that have existed eons before ours...let them deal with their problems and let us divert our money to ours)

3.  Pay our educators more than a babysitter and establish boards of teachers who regulate their peers.  Stop letting legislators regulate what they know nothing about.

4.  Workfare, not Welfare...educate and provide a cushion while it is happening.  How can we expect anyone to rise above their standards when we provide money but no training or training but no child care or any of the above.  Want to live in subsidized housing,  sign up for classes to move out!

5.  I would not give money or subsidies or tax breaks to any company that out sources...I would double their taxes and watch how our economy flourishes

6.  I would limit the amount of money that could be spent on any political campaign.  It would be begin at local and, of course (because I am not stupid) accelerate to presidential).   BUT,  for every dollar ANY donation, any expense, any anything went over that amount, no matter who it came from or how it was justified, the candidate had to contribute 2x that amount to education (and no charter schools!)

7.  NO privation of public education...these tax dollars are paid by the residents and, if they don't go to the local schools, but go to privately owned charter schools, the residents loose

8.  If politicians are not doing their jobs, they need to be remanded.
9.  Federal and state senators and reps need to be in the same health plan that they "approve"  for their constituents, and nothing better  (what's good for the goose is good for the gander)

10.  If I want it to be, I'll live it

So, perhaps I should be Queen rather than just the Pres...ya think?
 

Winter Doldrums

I should not complain as our weather here has been chilly but no SN*W (that is a four letter word, you know!).  It has been hard to get out and walk lately as even the winds and rain have been conniving to keep me from my daily stroll. 

Several other events have assisted in my recent doldrums.  The death of friend who was only a year older than I am was a reminder of how fragile life actually is.  My sister's on going battle with lung cancer which apparently runs in our family as my dad had this as well...and our smoking doesn't help.  (I quit right before I turned 50...thanks to the kick in the butt from my dear friend, Chuck Adams who also is no longer with us).  The Grands have been sick off and on, one or the other or all 3 since right after Christmas and I've seemed to catch a milder dose of whatever they have shared ever so nicely.

I do know that this will pass.  The sun will shine, the winds will die down and I'll be out walking and biking again soon.  Meanwhile, I do have a couple of events to look forward to.  This weekend I am heading to St. Pete's to crop at Whim's with Jacque, Sonia and my pal, Janet M.  Landon has his turn at a sleep over the following weekend and I'll be visiting with Janet on Anna Maria in March. 

I have a ton of pics on my phone of the Grands that I need to upload and share here.  Please be patient...I am a work in progress even at 67.

Reflections

Our friends, Jo and Bill, are closing soon on their condo here.  They have been snowbird renters for the past four years and this is their Starter Home here in Paradise.  I am so excited for them as now we'll get to spend even more time with them.

Their purchase of a winter abode got me thinking back to the very first place I could call all my own.  I had graduated from college, had a teaching job all lined up in a small town near Kansas City, a few hundred miles from my parents in St. Louis.  I had found the perfect, and almost affordable, place to call my own.

I rented an apartment in an old home.  There were two apartments on the ground floor, two on the second story and my first home of my own in the attic.  It came furnished which was a good thing since all I had to my name (and these things mostly thanks to my parents) were a t.v with rabbit ears, 2 sets of sheets, a couple of towels, a cookie tray and one pot and one pan.  I bought a set of plastic dishes and called my apartment furnished.

I loved the tiny space I could call my own.  I graded papers at the tiny kitchen table, cooked pizza for girlfriends in my small oven on my one cookie tray and stared off into the tree tops from my bed.  It was my own private tree house and I was very happy.

I only lived in my starter home for four months.  My boyfriend proposed, we married and moved back to the college town where he was still taking classes.  Many homes followed and 1 husband (but that is another story entirely) but I've never forgotten the first place I could call my own.

What was your first home like?