The Bees on the Porch
It’s not that I want the bees to die. I just don’t want to share my house with them.
There is a beehive growing on the second floor porch of my house, three feet from my favorite white rocking chair that happens to be my de facto hiding-from-the-world space. For days, I watch the bees work on their hive which gives me a full understanding of how the phrase “busy as a bee” came to be.
My mind wanders and it occurs to me that the housing industry would be completely different if we humans could figure out how to build homes as quickly as bees build hives. They all work together and don’t seem to worry about sub contractors not showing up; and the CEO is a female – a queen bee, to be exact. The bees actually work in beautiful harmony, which makes me feel guilty because I don’t want to share my porch with a beehive that is doubling in size every few days. Read more 
When People Become Pawns
Losses must be answered, grief redressed. ~ Julie Orringer (from Neighbors, a short story published in The Paris Review, Issue 221, Summer, 2017)
Injustices occur in countries across the world every single day and while these events often shock or sadden us, there are incidents that truly outrage us. The treatment of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year old University of Virginia college student, at the hands of the North Korean regime has touched many an American and there have been more than a few who have demanded revenge. Read more
The Outliers in the House of Representatives
Many people identify with either the Republican or Democrat party but in reality, most voters fall somewhere between the conservative (Republican) and the liberal (Democrat) spectrum because there are so many issues – economic, environmental, education, healthcare, transportation, and more – affecting people and their beliefs.
We may be fiscally conservative and socially liberal or socially conservative but liberal in our views on education or healthcare. Whatever the combination is, the reality is that the closest the votes are to the center, the easier the compromise because both sides don’t have to give up too much. The further the votes are to the right or left, the harder it is to reach agreement because there is too much distance to bring opposites together. Read more
Why the Salvation Army Should File an IRS Form 990
The Salvation Army is an international group of Christians who claim the Salvation Army is a church. The funny thing is I can’t remember the last time I drove down the road and saw a church with the sign “Salvation Army” in front of it although I see signs in front of other churches identifying the property as Methodist, Evangelical, Presbyterian, Catholic, and more. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing a church with the words “Salvation Army” on a sign in front of a church. So, where is the Church of the Salvation Army? Read more
The Donald Trump Chia Pet is Out of Control
A few months ago, I sent a very conservative friend the Donald Trump Chia Pet as a gift. This is the same friend that I sent a life-sized cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton a few years ago after I saw a life-sized cardboard cutout of Sarah Palin in his dining room and lost my appetite. Although my friend told me he used the Hilary Clinton cutout to catch oil leaks under his car in the garage, I sensed the Donald Trump Chia Pet was given a more honorable place in his home (and he was, next to some brass knockers). Read more
ThinOPTICS
Where are my glasses?
People of a certain age (over 40) know that reading glasses are a necessity of day-to-day living because the eyes are definitely not what they used to be. If you’ve ever been in a dark restaurant and been given a menu with more than 3 items on it and not had reading glasses handy, then you know the sense of frustration at not being able to read the font that seems to grow smaller every year. Put the menu up to a candle and risk a bonfire and the ire of the server not to mention the fire department. Read more
DIY Fruit and Vegetable Wash
There are all kinds of fancy and beautifully packaged fruit and vegetable wash products on the market that make all kinds of claims pertaining to effectiveness of removing pesticide residue but the best, most effective, and least expensive wash can be made at home by simply using vinegar, water combined with white vinegar, water combined with salt, or just plain tap water. Read more
Hey SC: It’s Time To Widen I-95
According to Betterroads.com, South Carolina is the second deadliest state to drive in – nearly 1,000 people (3 per day) were killed in 2016 and this is not sitting well with South Carolinians or the people traveling through the state who blame road conditions.
People in South Carolina have been making their views heard in a variety of creative ways including hiring planes to fly banners that say “Fix the Damn Roads” over the State House to forming alliances (Fix South Carolina Roads) to address the poor conditions of the roads. But, it’s not just potholes and deteriorating asphalt, it’s the inability of the highways to handle the amount of vehicles on the roads. Read more
Who is the Freedom Caucus?
Over the past few weeks as I’ve listened to arguments over healthcare, the “Freedom Caucus” keeps coming up which made me wonder “Who is the Freedom Caucus?” The answer: a congressional caucus made up of 30 men, almost all (28) of whom are white and middle-aged or seniors. The other two men include a middle-aged man who was born in Puerto Rico and an Arab-American.
The Freedom Caucus is a conservative group of congressmen who claim to represent the interests of their constituents. There are no women and no African-American members of the Freedom Caucus, and this fringe group only has 30 members (7%) out of 435 members of Congress, which is telling. And, yet the Freedom Caucus is a powerful group in that they can withhold enough votes to stop the Republican party from pushing forward their agenda (which actually helps the Democrats much to their dismay). Read more
10 Things You Can Do To Make The World A Better Place
Sometimes the problems in our world seem so overwhelming that we underestimate the power of our ability to make a difference in ourselves (both physically and mentally), the environment, and in the lives of other beings. We all tend to think of ourselves first but life would have little meaning if not for others. So, in the spirit of making the world a better place, consider doing one or all of the following “little” things to make a “big” change in your world: Read more
Paddock Post 