We all awakened to another snow-less day here in North Iowa, and I’m ever-thankful for it. Wouldn’t it be nice if we’d get our all of our wintertime moisture in the form of rain instead of snow? As long as the ground is not frozen, it would soak right in where it belongs instead of those late winter meltings which most ends up as runoff until our soil thaws.
After I was was situated at office for the day, I had some running around to do in the downtown, and then off to several appointments which had me corralled up until near the hour of three, and since I was in need of a few groceries, I stopped at Fareway on my way back, and of course I ran into a retired colleague who had me button-holed for about twenty minutes. Of course the entire time we conversed, it was all about real estate. Every time I run into that person, it’s the same question and answer session, and what always gets me, is that person never did much of anything while licensed. At the time, I used to think it was nothing more than having a license to attend social events. Wicked me!
I also ran into another long-retired Realtor whom I’d not crossed paths with in over fifteen years, and since I always enjoyed visiting with her, another twenty minutes was taken with our catching up on each other’s lives. Not long ago, she had a close member of her family pass which I offered my very late condolences, along with her mentioning having seen my mother’s obit, which triggered some additional sharing of regrettable things that had taken place afterwards. The more I shared, the more she shook her head saying, “Oh, how terrible!”, but I assured her it’s all in the past and many doors have been closed because of it all. We both agreed that one never knows the true characters of family members until the last parent is gone. I mentioned my having long suspected problems with two perhaps three, but never how it all ended up. Yes, that’s all it takes is one very bad apple to spoil an entire barrel, and to this day, I believe the bulk of it was created out of guilt, jealously and a good dose of conspiracy theories thrown in for good measure.
I’m sure all of you have heard about the school shooting in Perry, Iowa today, which brings us right back to the same debate about our Constitutional right to bear arms, which I believe is the right we should maintain, but I’m definitely not agreeable to the flimsy gun laws we have in our State. Yes, I’m also of the belief that if someone really wants to go out and shoot someone, they’ll find a way to get their hands on a gun, so it’s all up for debate.
What bothers me the most, is how such thoughts of violence are getting into the minds of our young. I personally believe that much of it is the product of all the violent video games so many of our young became addicted to, along with the internet chat groups they get pulled-into which more sooner than later, distorts their realities. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were affected today by that random act of violence.
When I arrived back at office, I received a phone call from the Realtor I’d been waiting to hear from, and not surprised when discovering his buyers had decided to pass on the counter-offer my sellers sent back. Don’t you just hate it when you almost ‘know’ for certain how something’s gonna turn out? Oh well, it’s back to the drawing board again.
When reading the international news today, I found that ISIS had claimed responsibility for that bombing at the gravesite of one of Iran’s generals. Whenever reading such stuff, it makes a person wonder if our whole world has gone mad, and not to mention how Mother Nature has been creating havoc with that earthquake in Japan, the major storms which have been taking place around the world, and the list goes on. Can you imagine our desert Southwest getting more snow that what’s fallen in New York? Crazy isn’t it?
Just this past week I’ve received four different catalogs from seed houses, which have been offering up some interesting reading. We may think our planting season is far into the future, when in fact it’s a little over three months away, so any of you who’re planning on putting in a garden this year, it would be best if you get your garden planned out long beforehand, just so you’ll know ahead of time, where and when to plant. Yes, whenever working in the garden, it always ends up being my therapy session.
As much as I was dreading the change in weather these coming days, I noticed where it’s actually going to be considerably warmer than earlier predicted. I also noticed where the jet stream wobbled much farther south of us which was a shocker, so perhaps this time around, we won’t get hit with that bitter cold.
I will be eternally glad when those caucuses are over, because it’s gone far past being annoying with the phone calls, text messages and emails. I even received a ‘rag’ of an alt-right wing newspaper in the mail yesterday which I immediately sent to the trash. My gosh! Where are those politicians getting all the money they’re spending on all their fake news. I wouldn’t be surprised if Russia and China is back at it again. How can people be so stupid to believe such nonsense?
The remainder of my day was rather uneventful, but I think tomorrow will have me hopping because I have someone coming to office in the morning, and a closing in the afternoon. I won’t be surprised if the buyer I’ve been working with, calls and wants to look at a few more homes this weekend. Thank goodness he hasn’t been swept away by one of my competitors.
An email was sent from our local MLS with an updated roster which was showing two new agents coming aboard, and then two long-time Realtors having dropped out, so it looks like we’re back to the same number we had last year. It’s gonna be another interesting year, and especially if the Fed raises the interest rates in March like they’ve been predicting. All I want to see, are more affordable homes coming on the market for our first-time buyers. Gosh, I wish the investors would stop buying them, just so they’ll have a better chance at getting into their first homes.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when young, nor weary in the search of it when grown old, for no age is too early or too late for promoting the health of mind, body and soul.
