What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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Advent is a time of expectant promise leading to the hope of something better. At its core, it is buoyant and uplifting, something that fills the voids that we, integral participants of the human race, often bring upon ourselves. At its least desirable are “if only” moments lived from positions of regret and remorse, times when nothing seems to go our way. Good deeds remain unrewarded and problems compound rather than rectify. Even the neighbor’s Christmas tree shines more beautifully than...
If you’re 40 or older, today’s Colorado is very different politically than the state where you grew up — assuming you grew up here. Except for Lyndon Johnson’s landslide win over Barry Goldwater in 1964, no Democrat won more than 45 percent in Colorado between 1952 and 2000. When Bill Clinton won Colorado in 1992 (with 40 percent in a three-way race), we became a “swing state” in presidential races through 2008. Three of those elections were decided by less than five percent. Republicans...
You may spend many decades contributing to your IRA and 401(k), but eventually you will likely need to take the money out — in fact, you must take the money out or face penalties. What should you know about these mandatory withdrawals? Here are some of the basics: • What are they called? Mandatory withdrawals are technically called required minimum distributions, or RMDs. • When must I take RMDs? If you were born before 1951, you’ve probably already begun taking RMDs. If you were born between 19...
To my beloved patients and coworkers at Haxtun Health, it is with very deep sadness that I announce my sudden and unexpected departure from Haxtun Health. For the last five years it has been my delight to have served this wonderful community and to have had the pleasure to know many of you as your family doctor and/or co-worker. I will truly miss the relationships I have formed with my patients. Serving all of you has been an honor. For those of you that I have formed a professional relationship with, I will certainly miss the rapport we have...
Religious belief is an emotional arena that encompasses the very fiber, the core, of who we are. It touches us in elemental ways, uniquely defining our personhood. The threads of our lives, if we are fortunate, are wonderfully drawn, combined with color, experience, textures and smells and then finely woven with those of others, creating within us fabric of amazing pattern and durability. In the same manner, our contribution to the faith product of others adds warmth and dimension to their lives...
As we enter the holiday season, your life may well become busier. Still, you might want to take the time to consider some financial moves before we turn the calendar to 2025. Here are a few suggestions: • Review your investment portfolio. As you look at your portfolio, ask these questions: Has its performance met my expectations this year? Does it still reflect my goals, risk tolerance and time horizon? Do I need to rebalance? You might find that working with a financial professional can help y...
Letter to the Editor, All dogs bark. Most all of them on occasion but not a noticeable problem most of the time. I have one neighbor, however, whose rottweiler continues to howl and clash along with one or two others from the same corner; it’s bedlam over there sometimes. Despite five years of police complaints and a 2023 court appearance the owners ignore town-provided ultrasound, anti-barking devices to curb this nuisance. Town code page five, letter G prohibits repetitive noise, which includes your pets. There have been quiet times but schoo...
At different times, inflation may be high or low, but, except in those rare periods of deflation, it’s always with us. During your working years, when you may receive boosts in your salary, you at least have the potential to keep up with inflation — but what happens when you retire? As a retiree, what can you do to cope with the rising cost of living? Here are a few suggestions: • Keep some growth potential in your investment portfolio. During your retirement years, you may want to move your...
After 52 years, the water well supplying the house we live in decided to retire, which is a polite way of saying the casing collapsed. There is never a right time to dwell on such happy events, so we looked instead to brighter elements of the situation that might ease our pain. Unlike other moments when previous pumps were replaced (three that we know of since 1995), the weather was not a factor. No crazy wind, no rain, no ice or snow. An emergency well permit was issued in a timely manner and...
With the election mercifully behind us, Americans should expect those we’ve elected to get to the less-pleasant task of governing responsibly. While hot-button issues such as immigration, inflation and foreign affairs will garner most headlines, a more pressing concern is too often overlooked: America’s staggering national debt. Growing faster than the economy and projected to reach a record share of gross domestic product within three years, our debt is a national crisis. If we continue down th...
We all hope to enjoy long, healthy lives, retaining the ability to think clearly and make our own decisions. But life doesn’t always work out that way — which is why you need to prepare for a potential incapacity that could affect your independence and possibly create financial problems for your family. So, in thinking about incapacity planning, you may want to consider the following arrangements: • Health care power of attorney – When you establish a health care power of attorney, you name so...
We all have seen it. We just didn’t know it had a name. “It” is the angular gothic-styled Germanic lettering called “fraktur” that is often discoverable on bookplates, manuscripts, handbills and similar artifacts from the mid to late 1700s and early 1800s. One of the earliest stylistic schools of fraktur ascended from the Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, (1745-1755). Ephrata was known, in part, as one of the few places in Colonial America where women could exercise their own...
We all hope to enjoy long, healthy lives, retaining the ability to think clearly and make our own decisions. But life doesn’t always work out that way — which is why you need to prepare for a potential incapacity that could affect your independence and possibly create financial problems for your family. So, in thinking about incapacity planning, you may want to consider the following arrangements: • Health care power of attorney – When you establish a health care power of attorney, you name so...
Far too many politicians speak to desires of owning the electorate, blinded in part by suppositions of sweeping mandates that are crudely called forth but lack definition. A weariness has descended on us this election cycle, a reflection of being reduced to categories of color, age, gender, faith, sexuality, nationality and any number of unnamed groupings that presumedly define who we are, depending of course on who interprets the data. Unfortunately, voters caught in the process can become...
As we gear up for another winter driving season, motorists on mountain grades need to remember to gear down. Braking unnecessarily can cause your vehicle to slide with no ability to steer or control it. Gearing down keeps your vehicle's tires rotating which gives you traction and keeps you in control while still slowing the vehicle on downgrades. The good news is that Colorado is cyclical and for those of your who enjoy milder temperatures and driving conditions, these conditions are temporary....
No cat has more lives than Donald Trump’s political fortunes. To be sure, he is as skilled at retail politics as anyone since Bill Clinton, but he also benefits from being habitually underestimated by his adversaries. His unprecedented political rehabilitation wasn’t merely a product of Republican support. Democrats and the dominant liberal media must ask themselves, “Did our relentless obsession with demonizing Trump instead breathe new life into him?” Democrats were convinced they could b...
[The body of this article was first shared some fifteen years ago, and it continues to generate robust conversation whenever the topic arises. We have ceremonies to properly dispose of worn flags. Might there be something similar for old Bibles? Oh well, into the abyss once more!] Nearly every family has them and doesn’t know what to do with them. Should they keep them, throw them out, recycle them or (gasp) burn them with the other paper trash? “They” are the Bibles of generations, some torn,...
Share and share alike is a nice, if not noble, standard to embrace, but it is not enough. Say what? You mean that the relief work and humanitarian efforts spent on behalf of others do not measure up? To the contrary, they matter. Greatly. There is a need, however, to examine the implied reciprocity that naturally develops alongside responders when addressing the hurts of others. It is part of our human condition, the expectation of reward for the good works that faith demands of us. We cannot...
According to some, the hoppers are bad this year. But then again, who has hoppers and describes them as not bad? Even the most forgiving neighbors agree that the smallest of grasshopper populations can be problematic, noting the insect’s mostly indiscriminate attacks on garden produce, shrubs, trees and ornamentals. We decided to tame the high grass of the back wind break and discovered countless hoppers happily decimating all vegetation in their path. It gave us some degree of sadistic p...
Like most of us, you may someday want to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Your ability to achieve this goal will depend on how much you save — but it also matters how much you spend. And saving and spending are certainly related: The more you can reduce your spending, the more money you could have available to save for retirement through your IRA and your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan. Over many years, even relatively small amounts diverted from spending to saving and i...
We are awash in grace and don’t know it. How can that be? For all our declared best intentions, the world is still a challenging place. It shouldn’t be so hard given the resources and advantages at hand. Unfortunately, we need only look a short distance away to confirm our blindness in that regard. Natural and unnatural disasters have ravaged places that look eerily like the communities we live and work and play in. Is it fate or simply our turn to bear the griefs borne by so many others? Nev...
In the popular imagination, receiving an inheritance always sounds like a good thing — after all, who doesn’t want a financial windfall? And inheritances can certainly be life-altering events. But they can cause challenges, so you’ll want to help your heirs be prepared. To assist in this preparation, try to address some key questions affecting your heirs: • Do they know what’s in your estate plans? Your family and other heirs will be much better prepared to deal with an inheritance if they know...
Letter to the Editor, Prop 131 will give us a chance to have a say, not only in our local representation, but also in the state-wide races. Vote yes on 131. Here in the ruby red part of Colorado, if you want to have a say in who our state representative or state senator is, you have to vote in the Republican primary, but that means that you won’t have any say at all in who will be the next Governor, United States Senator or Attorney General because, more likely than not, those races will be settled in the Democrat primary. Proposition 131 s...
Why is it when it comes to weather that “traces” always linger? Traces of snow and rain linger as well as traces of clouds, sunshine and fog. A lingering frost is not very fast on its feet, particularly in the shadows of the morning and the haze of humidity in mid-summer loiters as much as lingers throughout the long day. One would think it impossible to get a complete weather picture if all we have are but traces of conditions. Somehow or another, however, the traces end up adding up and the...
If you’re a parent, you want to do everything you can to help your children succeed in life. Therefore, you might think that one of the best things you can do is to save for your children’s college education. And this is certainly admirable, but could it conflict with your ability to prepare for another key goal — your own retirement? Of course, this would not be a problem if you had unlimited means, but most of us don’t fall into that category. So, given the financial resources and income...
