On May 1 of each year, the United States celebrates Law Day. The idea first emerged in 1957 from the American Bar Association. In 1958, Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to observe Law Day on May 1, and by 1961 it became Public Law 87-20.
The word “investing” typically has a different meaning for everyone. Throughout our lives, we need to make choices regarding our finances, and many of them are based upon our phase of life. For those of you wondering what steps you should be taking given your current age, I have laid out a little road map that may help you in your 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond.
Turning 40 years old is such a significant milestone. For us humans, it roughly marks our “mid-life” point, which should naturally run about an 80-ish-year course. Reading glasses, shrinking clothes – er, expanding waistlines, gray hair, lost car keys, odd aches and pains. If you haven’t already done so, have I sold you on turning 40 yet?
For gift-giving, I think it’s best to forego clothing items and opt for accessories. With clothing, personal preferences and sizes can be tricky; you want to save the recipient the headache of making returns.
Pomp and Circumstance. what does that mean? Well, the definition is: splendid ceremony with celebration and fuss. It is also the title of several military marches played at occasions such as graduations. This month, many students will don caps to take that walk of honor to receive their hard-earned diplomas. To me, a graduation is a truly momentous occasion – the recognition of an accomplishment worthy of “celebration and fuss.”
May is always a busy month for movie lovers at the Flint Institute of Arts. Not only is the museum’s Friends of Modern Art film series continuing, but May also brings the annual Karen Schneider Jewish Film Festival of Flint to the FIA Theater.
Having grown up in Flint, it has always been easy for me to take Chicago for granted. Next to Detroit, Chicago was the nearest “big city,” so it didn’t seem like anything very special or exciting. I accepted it as indeed large, and home to many worthwhile museums and attractions; but then, I cast my sights farther afield.
America is the land of opportunity – a land of prosperity where hard work is usually rewarded with positive results and advancement possibilities. However, the status quo in the U.S. seems to be that people will live right up to their income level and delay saving for “some other time.” In general, when it comes to a lack of savings, it is often a matter of high spending rather than low income. Of course, there are exceptions; situations when we need to spend more due to employment loss or unexpected healthcare bills, etc. For the majority, our lack of saving is due to excessive spending – a habit we need to get under control. So, I wanted to share a few simple strategies that can help increase savings without significantly changing your quality of life.
For all of the things that seem to be going wrong in the world, there is one thing that is very right: When the chips are down, Americans are there to lend a hand.
For some reason, many bad things have happened in the month of April. A few examples: President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, claiming 1,500 lives. The Columbine School Shooting happened on April 20, 1999. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. The terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon also occurred in April.
During my years of teaching film appreciation classes at the Flint Institute of Arts, no course attracted as high an attendance as the one I led on the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock. While Hitchcock (amazingly) won no competitive Academy Awards during his half-century career, “The Master of Suspense” did win the respect of the film-going public – and the admiration of filmmakers like François Truffaut.
