“Will you buy me some papers?”
This seems like such a strange question when you think that it came from the lips of my 3-year-old daughter. That’s right, Elizabeth asked one of the other children – the 4-year-old no less – if he would buy her some papers so she could go to Mexico with the rest of the children and her MeeMa.
If you haven’t met Elizabeth or haven’t heard me brag about my extremely intelligent daughter (I admit that it I could be more than a little biased in this matter) one of the most surprising things to the people we meet is that Elizabeth speaks both English and Spanish. I’m not sure it is possible for a 3-year-old to be “fluent” in a language, but Elizabeth doesn’t just speak Spanish, she also thinks in Spanish.
We’ve all heard of the person who has a second or third language. In Elizabeth’s case, she has two “first” languages. From the time she was 14 weeks old, she has been going to MeeMa’s house. And there she has been given the gift to learn to speak in Spanish at the same time her mother and I have been teaching her to speak English. It is truly one of the most incredible gifts Elizabeth will ever get in her life.
On more than one occasion Elizabeth has chastised her mother and I because we don’t speak Spanish. She thinks that everyone should speak both Spanish and English.
Several times each year MeeMa heads back to Mexico to see her family and she usually takes along the children that have become Elizabeth’s “brothers and sisters.” When one of these trips is approaching, it is inevitable that Elizabeth will start asking us if she can go to Mexico with MeeMa. We’ve told her for some time that because she didn’t have a passport she could not go with the others. Since the concept of a passport is somewhat lost on a 3-year-old, MeeMa told her she had to have special papers to go to Mexico. That’s what prompted her to ask one of the other children to "buy her some papers."
This afternoon, my wife and I spent more than 30 minutes at the downtown post office with Elizabeth taking pictures and filling out forms so we could get her a passport. While she didn’t care for the wait and didn’t want to sit still for very long, the thought of getting some papers really put a smile on her face.
When MeeMa and kids head off to Mexico this spring it is very likely that Elizabeth will be headed south as well. By then she’ll have her passport and someone will have “bought her some papers.”
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
I'm Mad as Hell...
"I owed $34,000 and only paid $3,500."
"We owed over $100,000 and paid less than $10,000."
By now everyone in the country that owns a television must have seen one of these infuriating commercials advertising some law firm or CPA outfit that claims to be able to help you reduce the debt you owe to the IRS. I said infuriating and I'm not sure that is anywhere near a strong enough descriptor for how mad I get watching these commercials and the claims made by the people in them.
No one likes to pay taxes, but the vast majority of us do our part. We pay our taxes when they are due. We may grouse and complain about paying them, but we do pay them on time.
Admittedly, we pay on time every time because failure to pay results in the IRS taking your stuff. As my wife is fond of saying, "they just take your s#&t and they almost never give it back."
What chaps me the most about these ads is the bragging about getting out of paying what you really owe. We all know that in many cases, being just a little late or making an honest mistake on your taxes can result in the IRS determining that you owe additional money and since you're "late" paying the additional money, you also owe penalties and interest.
In cases of honest mistakes, there should be some leeway for reducing or eliminating penalties. But for someone who just didn't pay on time, I have absolutely no sympathy. In fact, as I often say about my wife's client's, they should be put under the jail.
And then to turn on the television and see some joker smile and tell me how much money the didn't pay just turns me every which way but loose.
Do I believe that as a whole we all pay too much in taxes? Yes. Do I wish I could pay less in taxes? Absolutely. Should deadbeats who choose not to pay on time or attept to cheat their taxes and get caught be allowed to get off paying only a fraction of what they owe? Not no but HELL NO.
I'm mad as hell ...
"We owed over $100,000 and paid less than $10,000."
By now everyone in the country that owns a television must have seen one of these infuriating commercials advertising some law firm or CPA outfit that claims to be able to help you reduce the debt you owe to the IRS. I said infuriating and I'm not sure that is anywhere near a strong enough descriptor for how mad I get watching these commercials and the claims made by the people in them.
No one likes to pay taxes, but the vast majority of us do our part. We pay our taxes when they are due. We may grouse and complain about paying them, but we do pay them on time.
Admittedly, we pay on time every time because failure to pay results in the IRS taking your stuff. As my wife is fond of saying, "they just take your s#&t and they almost never give it back."
What chaps me the most about these ads is the bragging about getting out of paying what you really owe. We all know that in many cases, being just a little late or making an honest mistake on your taxes can result in the IRS determining that you owe additional money and since you're "late" paying the additional money, you also owe penalties and interest.
In cases of honest mistakes, there should be some leeway for reducing or eliminating penalties. But for someone who just didn't pay on time, I have absolutely no sympathy. In fact, as I often say about my wife's client's, they should be put under the jail.
And then to turn on the television and see some joker smile and tell me how much money the didn't pay just turns me every which way but loose.
Do I believe that as a whole we all pay too much in taxes? Yes. Do I wish I could pay less in taxes? Absolutely. Should deadbeats who choose not to pay on time or attept to cheat their taxes and get caught be allowed to get off paying only a fraction of what they owe? Not no but HELL NO.
I'm mad as hell ...
Monday, February 15, 2010
Reader's Digest Is Right
When I got home this evening Melissa told me Elizabeth had once again refused to take a nap and had been quite a handful all afternoon. I talked to E to see what she had been doing and why she didn't take a nap. In a very assertive 3 year-old voice she told me "she wasn't tired."
As I watched her run around the house looking for someone or something to play with, I thought it would be a great time to get on the floor and wrestle a little. We played superman. We played tickle. We played tigers. You name it, we spent almost 30 minutes rolling around on the floor and she giggled and squealed and laughed uncontrollably. One minute she was begging me to stop tickling and the next she was begging for more.
I've discovered there is nothing as intoxicating as listening to her laugh and giggle. Whatever the troubles in my world, a few minutes of laughter from Elizabeth simply make those troubles seem small. Laughter really is the best medicine.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Most Beautiful Place on Earth
I admit I'm a junkie - a golf junkie. From watching on TV to craving the newest gadgets and clubs, I simply can't get enough golf. Much to the dismay of my wife, I have spent the entire afternoon watching the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
When you see Pebble Beach on television, the views are absolutely breathtaking. What's even more impressive is that the television views don't begin to do justice to the actual views from the course.
I have been blessed with several opportunities to visit Pebble Beach - I've even been able to play the golf course three times.
My third trip to Pebble was another golf outing and again we stayed at The Inn at Spanish Bay. At the end of each day you can sit on the porch, sipping your favorite beer or cocktail, smoking a cigar, listening to the bag piper play, and watching the sun set on the Pacific Ocean. When you combine the comaraderie, the music, and colors reflecting off the ocean, it is one of the most relaxing and impressive experiences I have had in my life.
When you see Pebble Beach on television, the views are absolutely breathtaking. What's even more impressive is that the television views don't begin to do justice to the actual views from the course.
I have been blessed with several opportunities to visit Pebble Beach - I've even been able to play the golf course three times.
My first trip to Pebble was about 10 years ago with my parents, brothers and sister-in-laws. We were staying in San Francisco and drove down the coast to the Monterrey Peninsula. We went on the 17 Mile Drive and had lunch in the The Lodge looking out over the 18th green. Words simply can't describe the visuals along the coast. Some call it the most beautiful place on earth and I have never seen anything that comes close.
My second trip to Pebble was on a golf outing with some friends. Three of us spent three nights and two days of golf, culminating with 18 holes at Pebble Beach. In addition to Pebble, we also played Spyglass Hill and The Links at Spanish Bay. All three courses have holes that play along the coast and you can see the ocean and even when you can't see it, many times you can hear the waves crashing on the shore.
My third trip to Pebble was another golf outing and again we stayed at The Inn at Spanish Bay. At the end of each day you can sit on the porch, sipping your favorite beer or cocktail, smoking a cigar, listening to the bag piper play, and watching the sun set on the Pacific Ocean. When you combine the comaraderie, the music, and colors reflecting off the ocean, it is one of the most relaxing and impressive experiences I have had in my life.
My fourth trip to Pebble was a family visit with my wife and her family. We had flown to California to visit Melissa's brother and his kids. We stayed with Scott for several days and then headed down from Modesto to the Peninsula. Melissa's dad is 80 years old and it was his first trip to Pebble. To see the joy and wonder in his face as we walked out to the 18th green and pleasure on his face when he wears the shirt we bought him reinforces how everyone who travels to Pebble comes away with great memorie.
Golfing was the focus of my fifth trip and it included another new experience for me - a trip to the spa. After two days of golf and some sore muscles, I decided a massage sounded like a good idea. I hadn't ever had a massage before, but now that is one more memory that is priceless.
As I watched the golf tourney this afternoon, I saw the professional players playing shots on greens and out of bunkers and from the rough that were the same places I had played from when I have been there. I even watched two touring professionals make a 9 on hole 14 today. I've played that hole three times and I know I made a 10 once and I think it was a pair of 8's the other two times. It just blew my mind to watch those "pros" struggle with the same shots I struggled with.
As you finish a round of golf at Pebble, you play the 18th with the Pacific Ocean crashing on the cliffs all along the left side of the hole. For an amateur golfer like me, keeping your focus on the next shot while the sun glistens on the bay is extremely difficult. But to stand on the green at 18 and soak in the view, you realize you may be in the most beautiful place on earth.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Have You No Shame
As I sat in the recliner watching the evening news tonight, I finally reached my limit as it relates to the shameless fundraising advertising being conducted by the Humane Society of the United States.
HSUS works tirelessly to portray themselves as an entity that really cares about our puppies and kittens. They go to great lengths convince you that if you'll just send them $19 per month they can save puppies and kittens from horrible people all over the country and the world.
Everyone loves puppies and kittens and no sane person wants to see animals that abused. But claiming to prevent abuse of animals and intentionally misleading the public to raise money to further an underlying agenda just seems to fly in the face of the charitable mission HSUS purports to accomplish.
While the ads on TV push the idea that HSUS is affiliated with the local humane shelters that actually care for animals, the fact remains that HSUS spends a very, very, very small amount of the tens of millions of dollars they raise each year actually providing care for animals. In April 2009, a TV station in Atlanta did a feature on HSUS and its fundraising efforts and where they actually spent the money they raised. A summary of the story and a link to the video feature can be found at http://activistcash.com/news_detail.cfm?hid=3899.
The story indicates that in its general fundraising efforts, only about 4 cents of every dollars actually ends up in your local animal shelter helping dogs and cats that are in need. Further the story focused on HSUS fundraising efforts following Hurricane Katrina and pointed out that a specific call for donations to help the animals that were impacted by Katrina brought in $34 million, but only $7 million actually went to help animals - $27 million went to fund HSUS administration and their true underlying agenda of forcing a vegan lifestyle on the rest of the country.
HSUS even went so far as to start a fundraising effort for animals impacted by the earthquake in Haiti. While a huge number of the humans living in Haiti are still struggling to dig out of the destruction, HSUS is trying to get people around the world to donate money for the animals. While the people of Haiti are enduring suffering that is beyond the imagination, HSUS thinks we should be giving money for the dogs and cats. If that isn't an organization with out-of-whack priorities, I don't know what is.
I don't fault anyone who wants to help a local animal shelter. What I hope is that if you want to help your local shelter, you'll contribute direct to that shelter. Don't let HSUS have a vast majority of your donation for their vegan-creating drives and political efforts. Give your dollars where they can actually do some good.
I have thought about writing this piece for months, but seeing the add during tonight's evening news really pushed my buttons. I encourage everyone to support the charities of their choice, but please take just a few minutes to really understand where the charities will use your donations. Some of these charitable organizations - HSUS especially - have absolutely no shame.
HSUS works tirelessly to portray themselves as an entity that really cares about our puppies and kittens. They go to great lengths convince you that if you'll just send them $19 per month they can save puppies and kittens from horrible people all over the country and the world.
Everyone loves puppies and kittens and no sane person wants to see animals that abused. But claiming to prevent abuse of animals and intentionally misleading the public to raise money to further an underlying agenda just seems to fly in the face of the charitable mission HSUS purports to accomplish.
While the ads on TV push the idea that HSUS is affiliated with the local humane shelters that actually care for animals, the fact remains that HSUS spends a very, very, very small amount of the tens of millions of dollars they raise each year actually providing care for animals. In April 2009, a TV station in Atlanta did a feature on HSUS and its fundraising efforts and where they actually spent the money they raised. A summary of the story and a link to the video feature can be found at http://activistcash.com/news_detail.cfm?hid=3899.
The story indicates that in its general fundraising efforts, only about 4 cents of every dollars actually ends up in your local animal shelter helping dogs and cats that are in need. Further the story focused on HSUS fundraising efforts following Hurricane Katrina and pointed out that a specific call for donations to help the animals that were impacted by Katrina brought in $34 million, but only $7 million actually went to help animals - $27 million went to fund HSUS administration and their true underlying agenda of forcing a vegan lifestyle on the rest of the country.
HSUS even went so far as to start a fundraising effort for animals impacted by the earthquake in Haiti. While a huge number of the humans living in Haiti are still struggling to dig out of the destruction, HSUS is trying to get people around the world to donate money for the animals. While the people of Haiti are enduring suffering that is beyond the imagination, HSUS thinks we should be giving money for the dogs and cats. If that isn't an organization with out-of-whack priorities, I don't know what is.
I don't fault anyone who wants to help a local animal shelter. What I hope is that if you want to help your local shelter, you'll contribute direct to that shelter. Don't let HSUS have a vast majority of your donation for their vegan-creating drives and political efforts. Give your dollars where they can actually do some good.
I have thought about writing this piece for months, but seeing the add during tonight's evening news really pushed my buttons. I encourage everyone to support the charities of their choice, but please take just a few minutes to really understand where the charities will use your donations. Some of these charitable organizations - HSUS especially - have absolutely no shame.
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