Mr. Paul, His Call, and the Ball
Once upon a time, the US space program faced a major challenge in their Atlas rocket program. It seems they had a corrosion problem caused by moisture that needed to be fixed. The challenge was to create a formula capable of displacing water and thus preventing corrosion. So, one Norm Larsen went to work, concocting formula after formula until finally - after 39 failed attempts - he hit on a successful mixture on trial number 40 and - da-da - Water Displacement formula #40 was born - better known today as WD-40. It’s now estimated that up to eighty percent of us have a can of the stuff in our homes.
THE WHYS AND WHEREFORES OF WRITERS
While I was away from the paper for a couple of weeks, several people came up to me at the Destination, my favorite coffee shop where my friends and I meet every morning. They ask why there was nothing written by me for the paper recently. Good question.
Unfriendly Fire
Many years ago when our youngest daughter Susanne was learning to drive, I was out with her at the wheel one day when we turned down Devonshire. It just happened to be one of those miserable hot days in Hemet where you could probably fry an egg on the sidewalk. About a block down the street I noticed an olive tree on fire. I glanced to the opposite side of the road and saw a man siting in his car, window rolled down, just staring at the flames. Further on down I saw a lady running to the door of a home - no cell phones back then - I thought she was probably calling the fire department.
It’s Not Rocket Science!
Don’t you just love your brain?! I think it’s absolutely about the best thing God invented when He made us! Such a brilliant idea. And I believe He wants us to use it to be out-of-the-box creative whenever and however possible.
America’s disability lifelines are badly eroded when we need them most
Thousands of poor Americans and those with disabilities are missing out on much-needed income benefits during the pandemic. The Social Security Administration recently announced a 22% decrease from January 2020 to January 2021 in the number of people receiving Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, the benefit program available to the very poorest Americans. There are no January stats yet for the number of Americans receiving Social Security disability payments (SSDI), but the annual trend is clearly down, said Kathleen Romig, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
