As we rapidly approach the 15th of April it seems there’s even more things pressing than getting the last “look over” of our tax returns before they’re submitted along with a personal check that some years feels like the coughing up one of the world’s biggest fur balls. Yes, we all must pay our fair share and then some, but I really wish we all had the opportunity to direct where those tax dollars are to be spent. I’m not personally very keen on funding some of the government programs that I consider being nothing more than willful waste. I’m all for building education, infrastructure, small business development, and of course our environment. When you look at it, education is an investment in our country’s future. We must stay ahead of worn out and failing infrastructure in our aging cities and towns. Small businesses have been the backbone of our national economy for many years and if we can’t keep small businesses alive and growing, we’ll have even more erosion of the middle class. And lastly, if we don’t work diligently in protecting our environment and natural resources, the children of the future could be faced with a catastrophic decline in potable water and arable land. I’ve mentioned before to others these strange yet connected occurrences with our weather patterns. Even here in North Iowa, we’ve changed from Zone 4 to Zone 5 in as far what can or cannot be grown this far north. I’m not a doomsday theorist, but there are disturbing signs that our weather is not what it used to be. I once read some years ago a book about Edgar Cayce and one of his statements was that as we approach the transition of what he believed to be earth’s 5,000 year cycle, the earth would experience more raging and destructive natural occurrences such as more tornados being spun out of giant thunderstorms, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. We all must continue to wish for the best and keep working on cleaning up our environment.
One of the little ladies from the senior apartments down the street stopped by the office today to inspect the blooming flowers in my front window. She is quite the character and most times is completely without guile. We talked about flowers and the happenings downtown as well as the continued development of our historic district. I mentioned something to her about someone who lives in her building and she said, “Oh yes I know him. He’s getting quite old now and has turned into quite the shuffler.” I couldn’t help but laugh in the way she said it and retorted, “So, you don’t associate much with the shufflers?” She gave me quite the look and chided me for taking it the wrong way. I continued to be quite the clever one by saying, “I’ll let you know the next you’re sauntering down Federal Ave. and showing signs of a slight shuffle.” Yes, we do have to have fun once in a while.
A customer called me today to have me come and look at a home she just purchased. Seems the previous owner was quite sneaky about concealing all the paint drips that were visible after she took down all the curtains and drapes. I was again reminded how careless people who think they can paint but can’t. There were drips and runs everywhere. All I could say was, “Looks like they preferred painting with brooms blindfolded.” She laughed and said, “You’re being far too kind in seeing their mess.”
