The Reward of Death!

I cannot escape this thing we call death! We go through life and if we are lucky we live a very long life and then we die! The Bible says that death is not the final reward. If you live a righteous God fearing life then your final reward will be that you will one day go on to live in heaven with Jesus! Otherwise you will go on to that other place called Hell and live with the devil! Each day or so it seems like someone we know passes away and leaves a sad and empty place in our heart! ***************** www.nytimes.com › interactive › 2023/09/06 America may still think of itself as a young nation, but as a society, it is growing old. Thanks to falling birthrates, longer life expectancy and the graying of the baby boomer cohort, our society is being transformed. This is a demographic change that will affect every part of society. Already, in about half the country, there are more people dying than being born, even as more Americans are living into their 80s, 90s and beyond. In 2020 the share of people 65 or older reached 17 percent, according to the Census Bureau. By 2034, there will be more Americans past retirement age than there are children. The challenge the country faces transcends ideology, geography and ethnic or racial category, and American leaders, regardless of their party, need to confront it with the appropriate urgency. It has been decades since lawmakers last came to a consensus about what old age in America should look like: In 1935 the passage of the Social Security Act was meant to ensure that older people would not die destitute because they could no longer work. In 1965 aging was included as part of the vision of the Great Society. Our society now faces another moment when it is up to us to decide what America’s future will be. This shift has major implications. A drop in the working-age population typically means labor shortages, productivity declines and slower economic growth. Places like Japan, with the highest proportion of people 65 or older in the world, offer a hint of what the near future might look like for America. In Japan, especially in rural areas, schools shut their doors because there are no longer enough children to fill them; births fell below 800,000 in 2022, and about 450 schools close every year. With fewer young people working, revenue for retirement programs is shrinking, and there is a chronic labor shortage. Japanese people increasingly work into their 60s, 70s and beyond, often in physically demanding but low-paid jobs such as making deliveries and cleaning offices. That means employers have to adjust, adding rest areas, ramps and handrails in workplaces to accommodate older workers’ needs. Aging societies have different needs from young ones, and while America is far from the only country facing this shift, it has been slow to address it. The strains are showing in everything from health care and housing to employment and transportation. With an average of 10,000 boomers turning 65 each day, these pressures are steadily intensifying and will continue to do so, especially if current immigration policies hold. The recent decline in Americans’ life expectancy over the past few years is especially alarming. It reflects deaths from Covid and drug overdoses, as well as higher mortality rates among children and teenagers from violence and accidental deaths, but that does not change the underlying demographic shift. By 2053, more than 40 percent of the federal budget will go toward programs for seniors, primarily Social Security and Medicare — but those programs are not designed for or prepared to handle the new demographic reality. The challenges of an aging population are also deeply personal. Among the most elemental questions are where and how we will spend the closing years of our lives. Millions of Americans are already grappling with these dilemmas for themselves and for their loved ones. A cottage industry of products and services has emerged to help people adjust their homes and their lives for aging. A demographic shift this significant calls for a broad-based response, and the longer the challenges go unaddressed, the more formidable they become. There are many pieces to this puzzle, including who will care for older people, where they will live, how our cities are designed and how businesses will adapt. Many older people in the United States say they feel invisible in a country that has long been obsessed with youth, avoiding the inevitability — and possibilities — of old age. Americans of every generation owe it to themselves and their families to begin asking the question: Is this a challenge we want to handle on our own? Or is it something that we as a society should confront together? The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. All we can really do is try to make the best of each and every day that we have left here on this place we call earth.

A Special Moment In Time!

Do you have a very special moment in time that you will always remember and that you will never forget? Was it that very special person that crossed your path and lit up your life forever and ever? At that moment you knew that they would come to be part of your life. I have experienced moments like that. I knew that I was in someone special! And they look at you and smile and your heart just melts away like butter. But it is not always a person that makes you feel this way! It could be an event or situation also. A well respected motivational speaker penned it like this:Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. "Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored".Earl Nightingale How say you?

Off My Chest!!!

First Love There is something about this first love That always hangs in your mind. Maybe it's the idea of it being the first time. For this first love can destroy your heart and hurt your mind. And it also can bring you happiness and success. One thing about it, you will learn a lot You'll truly know what to do the very next time. When this love enteines. It will spread its webb all around about, And will oftentimes make you want to get out. For you will always have a place in your heart for this first love. Oh, how sweet it was, when you met him or her. For there is something about this first love that always hangs in your mind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is taken from David Laster's Reflections in Black and White!

Off My Chest!!!

Wondering why all the heat? Take a look at the polar ice cape!!! The polar ice cap normally reflect 30% of the Gamma Rays from the sun back out in to space! And about 70% is absorbed. But the polar ice cap is melting away everyday! It is called Global Warming!!! "He said that it would be fire the next time"! And His truth is fulfilling itself! We are not taking care of Mother Earth! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GETTYIMAGES.COM 731 Polar Ice Cap Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

Off My Chest!!!

Is it me? Are people acting really strange since the advent of Covid 19? Check this out? https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/why-are-people-acting-so-weird-the-answer-may-surprise-you/

Off My Chest!!!

What happen to those Republicans? Where did they go? The President Reagan: Everyone can become an American!!! https://youtu.be/XjD650zQjEs?si=_lay-Skt2jcU-YwD via @YouTube

It will never be the same!!!

Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. Separator icon Terry Pratchett Discworld, the fictional universe that bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett created for his 41-book fantasy series of the same name, is nothing if not a chance to see the world differently. His imaginative universe is a flat disc carried on the backs of four elephants who are all standing on the back of a turtle. On Pratchett’s website, Discworld is described as “a parallel time and place which might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different.” That description gets at the heart of this quote, from Pratchett’s book “A Hat Full of Sky.” When you leave a place you’ve known forever and experience something new, it changes both you and that place. You return to something familiar, but it looks different because your perspective has changed. Leaving and coming home again expands your worldview, much more than staying put ever would. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I recall when I left home to go to college at Macon Ga./Mercer University and when I returned home for the first time it did not seem the same at all. I felt like a stranger in my own home. The place that I now live felt more like home and familiar. I had new friends and new experiences different from the ones that I once knew. I had a different perspective about everyone and everything! You learn to do things differently and look at them differently! Your whole world has now begun to expand! It took about six month for me to feel this way. During this transition I felt like an alien on a new and strange planet.