You may have noticed recent financial headlines regarding the European Union and the inability of the country of Greece to repay their debt. Our clients continue to question, “Why does it matter to us in the U.S. if Greece defaults on their loans?” Greece has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $237 Billion,* which is only half of the GDP of our Great State of Michigan at $449 billion as of 2014.** “Why should my investment strategy be impacted by such a small country? Greece has many great achievements in the history of the world, but why is it such a significant part of the current economy?”
August is the month when people say things like, “Summer’s almost over,” a lot. I’ve actually said it before, myself, but it is kind of silly when you think about it. Do I really want to spend the last month of summer talking about how it won’t be summer much longer? There is actually a good reason why an odd sense of impending doom sets in this time very year: It’s back-to-school time. You would have to avoid stepping foot in any and all retail outlets in order to truly escape the reminders. There are signs everywhere, so even if you do not have children, you know that the clock is ticking on summer.
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but I think the same can be said about the road to second language mastery.
On July 4, 2015, we lost longtime Flint media legend, Dave Barber. For decades, the often controversial and award-winning broadcaster hosted “The Dave Barber Show” on Flint radio stations WTRX, WTAC and WFDF. He is remembered as an energetic and talented entertainer and bon vivant, who was passionate about the city and its people. Dave was known to say, “It’s time to count my tips and go home.” My City bids a fond farewell to a friend of Flint who will be missed.
The dog days of summer are upon us. It might be hot and hazy, but you won’t hear me complaining. All I have to do is think of last winter’s brutal cold and how often I daydreamed about a hot, August day. You can always find a way to cool off at the many beautiful lakes and parks we have right here in Genesee County. One of my favorite things to do is pack a picnic basket filled with snacks and icy cold drinks, head for Seven Lakes State Park in Holly and spend a day on the beach with the grandkids.
With its proud stature, white head and tail feathers, strong talons and sharp eyes, the bald eagle is a sight to behold. America’s national emblem, bald eagle sightings in Michigan used to be a rarity, but today people are reporting more sightings of this majestic bird as its numbers continue to rise. It wasn’t always so. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports that the bald eagle population slowly declined in the early to mid-1900s, and then sharply declined during the 1950s to the point of near-extinction in most of the country. The increased use of pesticides in those years, particularly DDT, caused reduced or delayed breeding in eagles, and some pairs did not breed at all or produced eggs with fragile shells that broke in the nest. Chemicals washing into the waterways contaminated the fish that the birds consumed, resulting in the overall poor health of the species.
Let it be known that I do not condone stereotypes. Not negative ones, certainly, or even positive sounding ones. But, alas, they do exist, and if you think Europeans don’t stereotype Americans, you’re dead wrong. Believe it or not, we’re not known internationally as “The Greatest Nation on Earth.”
“Where are you from?” It’s such a loaded question. It really should be an easy one to answer, but as one who has lived across the country and even overseas, it has always been pretty complicated for me.
Per Investopedia, a consolidation is defined as “the movement of an asset’s price within a well-defined pattern or barrier of trading levels. Consolidation is generally regarded as a period of indecision, which ends when the price of the asset breaks beyond the restrictive barriers. Periods of consolidation can be found in charts covering any time interval (i.e. hours, days, etc.), and these periods can last for minutes, days, months or even years.”*
Everybody loves the month of July with its delightfully hot summer days. Many people vacation during July and, of course, it is the month when we celebrate our country’s Independence Day with fireworks, parades and backyard barbecues. As I was doing a little research, I discovered there are some other observances in the month of July. It’s no surprise that July is National Blueberry Month, National Ice Cream Month and National Hot Dog Month! According to the National Sausage and Hot Dog Council, Americans are expected to eat 155 million hot dogs over the Fourth of July holiday alone, part of the seven billion hot dogs eaten over the summer season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Ice Cream Day is observed on July 19 and it’s reported that Americans consume 13 liters per person each year (the most in the world).
Traverse City, MI holds a special place in my heart. My daughter and my grandsons lived there for several years and I would head up North to visit them as often as possible. They lived in a subdivision in Blair Township, right off M-37, near Wuerful Park, home of the Traverse City Beach Bums. We took many weekend excursions to see all of the usual tourist attractions, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Old Mission Point, Suttons Bay, Leelanau, downtown shopping and of course, sweet, delicious ice cream cones at Moomers. I golfed on some of the most beautiful (and challenging) courses I’ve ever seen, in and around Traverse City.
In my mind, west Texas evokes scenes of austere loneliness … of stately cacti daring to be touched, a tumbleweed blowing, wheeling endlessly in through the center of a deserted town. Cowboys on horseback, and leather boots, lariats and spurs.
