On Veteran’s Day, we reflect and honor all of the men and women who selflessly served in the military to protect our country. I have been thinking about that a lot lately, as my 17-year-old grandson, Mack, has decided to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps after he graduates from high school next spring. It is a decision he made completely on his own, without telling his parents. His mom isn’t entirely on board with it; but he will be 18 in December and it is his choice. He will leave for boot camp in July.
I’m at work, it’s 4pm and I can feel myself falling behind on the day’s tasks. I know that the family has dinner planned, kid’s evening events that need shuttling to. My family will be expecting me home by 6pm to get the evening rolling and I know I’ll be lucky to get there by 6:30. It is at this instant that I have to decide whether to make the phone call to tell them I’ll be home late, OR do my best to work faster than I ever have to make sure I arrive just slightly after 6pm, maybe 6:15-6:20?
In our household, November was always a very busy month. The first part of the month involved my husband preparing for opening day of rifle deer-hunting season. He looked forward to his annual trek up north, where he and his buddies would spend countless hours and days in the woods.
It’s time. No, really. You can’t put it off any longer. It has to be done.
Over the last 18 months, we’ve obviously not had as many opportunities to travel. We had rescheduled our trips multiple times, sent cancellation emails and made lots of heartbreaking decisions about where to go and when. And so it was that with a hastily assembled trip to the Netherlands, we found ourselves once again in the Venice of the North: Amsterdam.
“What is this ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ thing?” I remember thinking this in 1978, when I heard about a movie of that title somehow playing midnights for weeks (months?) on end in a multiplex near Western Michigan University. Being an impressionable college student who liked movies (but hadn’t yet grown to love them), I thought I ought to give this one a try.
October is the month when fall foliage is at its peak in Southeast Michigan – a glorious sight to see! There’s something about taking a walk on a brilliant, sunny October day that is soothing to the soul, drinking in the rich hues of the golden yellow, burnt orange and deep red leaves.
On my list of medical things I don’t want to do having a mammogram is right up there next to the root canal. My first thought is that it is painful. Then, I remind myself it is really more “uncomfortable” than painful. My annual internal whine-fest is usually interrupted by one thought: my aunt, Candy.
Inflation is a concern. Consumer prices increased by nearly 6% between June and July, on an annualized basis. This means that if prices continued to increase at this rate for a year, then prices would be 6% higher by the end of the year. This is triple the average annual rate of inflation over the last 25 years!
October is my favorite month of the year. It brings us cooler, crisp air, high school and college football, homecoming celebrations, fall color tours, bonfires, pumpkin treats, Halloween and … haunted houses.
The House of Representatives is putting forth a new tax plan that will likely increase taxes on both corporations as well as higher-income earners. An article on Rueters.com1 states the current proposal is to increase corporate tax rates from 21% to 26.5%, and to increase the highest personal tax bracket from 37% to 39.6%. It would also increase the Capital Gains Tax for single filers making above $400,000 and joint filers making above $450,000 from 20% to 25%. Luckily (for the time being), it looks like the step-up in cost basis to the owner’s date of death will remain in place. It also appears that the Estate Tax will likely stay intact at $11.7 million, which can be doubled through some moderately advanced estate planning.
Since the development of motion pictures in 1878, we’ve been entranced by the medium. In 1888, the first official “movie” was made and at just 2.11 seconds long, the “Roundhay Garden Scene” quickly showed the capabilities of the technology. By 1895, motion pictures were well on their way to entertaining the masses.
