Home

Celebrate America the Beautiful!

by
Celebrating America
pinterest.com

“Of all the nations in the world, of all the social experiments that have been tried down through the centuries, there is no country I’d rather be a citizen of and call home than America.  Where else but in this land of opportunity are people given so much freedom to pursue their dreams, with the potential to bring out the best in everyone?

There are few places in the world where people enjoy the level of freedom we have in America.

Why do we enjoy all of these and many more blessings?  It is largely because we have a representative government that respects the rights of its citizens, and because we have a military powerful enough to defend us against intruders.  It is because we have a free market economy that, when unfettered, acts as an economic engine more powerful than any the world has ever seen.  Most importantly, we have a nation of faith so bold that we are willing to proclaim ‘In God We Trust’ on every coin in our pockets and every bill in our wallets.

There never has been and probably never will be again another place like America the Beautiful.”

Excerpt from Ben Carson, M.D., America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great, Zondervan, 2012.

Shedding your work identity

by
shedding work identity
clausa.com

The trick to navigating the road of retirement?  Figure out who your post-work self wants to be

by Eric Sebo, The Dallas Morning News

June 22, 2017

“Something is missing in my life after retirement. I feel as though I am on vacation, going down a scenic country road with windows open, music playing, hair (what’s left of it) blowing in the wind. At the same time, I’m anxious because I don’t know which exit to take and realize that my time and energy are inevitably winding down.

The problem is not financial. I worked longer, saved more and delayed Social Security payments. Nor is it medical or social, as I work out regularly, eat the right foods and maintain great relationships.

What is wrong is that my work identity has vanished, and I have no ready replacement.

Seeking a retirement identity is not a topic often covered. Radio shows provide advice on investments, real estate and the stock market. In the print media, each ‘new retirement idea’ seems to be a repackaged article on financial, familial, health or social challenges. While all are important, so too is preparing for who you will be after your final day at work.”

Read more about shedding work identity

Do you enjoy traveling alone?

by

While the author of the following article isn’t a retired, she does paint a positive picture of the world of traveling alone:traveling alone

The unexpected benefits of traveling alone

By Andrea Sachs, The Washington Post

June 25, 2017

“On a May vacation in Nicaragua, Alison Peters often visited several panaderias after dinner, sampling not one but many desserts. She spent days wearing the same bathing suit coverup. And near the town of Granada, she lingered at Masaya, snapping selfie after selfie with the active volcano.

During her two-week journey abroad, she never once had to defend her decisions or discuss her choices. Because what the solo traveler wants, the solo traveler gets.

‘Traveling alone is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself,’ said the Washington-area law student. ‘You don’t have to be rational when you’re by yourself.’

Call it the All About Me trip.

These days, more travelers are venturing out into the world alone. According to the Visa Travel Intentions Study, which surveyed 13,603 adults in 25 countries, the number of people traveling solo doubled between 2013 and 2015.”

Read more

Protect your retirement annuity

by

Companies Offering To Buy Your Annuity, Be careful!

by Ken Zawodny, June 15, 2017

“Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has recently learned of an aggressive marketing push targeting Federal annuitants. Companies are offering a cash payment in exchange for a portion, or all, of your future annuity payments generally much less than their long-term worth, and typically charging high interest rates and fees. We have specifically received numerous phone calls from one company in particular asking us to not just verify annuity amounts, but also banking information, including routing numbers and account numbers. Our suspicions were confirmed by our Inspector General’s office who discovered this company is currently under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

CFPB lists three things you can do to protect your retirement annuity:

  1. Avoid loans with high fees and interest. Pension advance companies may not always advertise their fees and interest rates, but you will certainly feel them in your bottom line. Before you sign anything, learn what you are getting and how much you are giving up.
  2. Don’t sign over control of your benefits. Companies sometimes arrange for monthly payments to be automatically deposited in a newly created bank account so the company can withdraw payments, fees and interest charges from the account. This leaves you with little control.
  3. Don’t buy life insurance that you don’t want or need. Pension advance companies sometimes require consumers to sign up for life insurance with the company as the consumer’s beneficiary. If you sign up for life insurance with the pension advance company as your beneficiary, you could end up footing the bill, whether you know it or not. Go to https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/consumer-advisory-3-pension-advance-traps-to-avoid/ for more information.”

For where to report a possible scam or to file a complaint

First of many

by

It happened at Twin Rivers Community Park yesterday at 4:00 p.m.  I arrived at the Park with my lawn chair, hat and camera in tow.  As I came around field #2, I heard my daughter yell, “Nanni.”  I turned and saw my daughter and her two small sons eagerly awaiting my granddaughter’s first t-ball game.

first of many
First game! (photo by slc)

We secured our spot just to the right of the first base dugout in the shade of a small tree.  The boys were busy digging in the dirt with a stick they had found.  My granddaughter, donned in a bright yellow ball cap, was sitting patiently on the bench in the dugout with her 11 member “Atlanta Braves” team.  In an effort to organize the little ball players, her dad assisted the coach by getting batting helmets on the players and a bat in hand.  The 4-5 year olds now looked like small bobble-head dolls as they walked out to the plate barely able to see under the helmet.

Weeks before the game, her mom told me it took awhile for Jovie (age 5) to pick out a pink and black ball glove.  You see, Jovie is left-handed therefore she bats left-handed, but she throws right-handed.

At the game, she was a natural.  She focused on her throwing, fielding, running and batting.  We were all so very proud.

first of many
Brother Waving to Sis on the Field (photo by slc)

Jovie’s mom and dad played t-ball as youngsters and it is great fun watching this new generation grow up with sports in their lives.  Playing sports brings families together and creates wonderful memories.

I am truly a blessed “Nanni” (grandma) and I treasure the memory of being at the first of many games to come.

Obituaries are important – should you write your own?

by
obituaries
patch.com

In Loving Memory

Fredrick Dean Howard

October 10, 1957 – May 12, 2017

What do I do with this tremendous sense of loss?  Last week, I learned through a Facebook message from a “non-friend” that Fred, a good friend and former significant other, was killed in a terrible motorcycle accident on May 12th not far from my home. The local paper reported the accident but did not name the rider and no follow-up story was done. The “non-friend” sent me the message on May 18th but it didn’t show up in my Facebook Messenger folder until June 8th.  I am grateful to her for trying to contact me and we have since spoken.

Read more

Enjoying happy memories

by
memories
trans4mind.com

A truck full of memories

By Valerie McCullough, Loveland Reporter-Herald

May 4, 2017

“Once a week I make sure I turn on the ignition of Bill’s 1996 Dodge Dakota truck.

Often, I take it for a run to Safeway or King Soopers. I don’t want to let the battery die.

‘Don’t put much money into that truck. It’s old,’ a friend advises.

‘Sure, it’s old,’ I thought. ‘But it holds two decades of memories, the smell of Bill — freshly cut pine, sunscreen, chain-saw gas.’

Always reluctant to spend money on himself, Bill bought the truck only after much cajoling by family members.

The need for the truck came about when western Colorado’s mountains were being devastated by pine beetles. During the 1990s, green trees became spires of rusted iron.

An Illinois friend of Bill’s owned some raw land near Granby, Colorado — an area hit hard by beetles — but not yet decimated.

Surgical strikes in a few areas would take out the diseased trees, but distance made this task difficult for our Illinois friend.

Forests and mountains have always had a gravitational pull on Bill, so it didn’t surprise me when he jumped at the chance to tackle the beetle problem — one tree at a time.”

Read more

Retired psychologist Valerie McCullough and her late husband Bill came to Loveland in 1964 and raised four daughters here. She writes a blog on the Reporter-Herald website. She welcomes readers to share their own experiences or feedback on her column at val@frii.com or by responding to her blog.