Survival in an Indifferent Universe

#cancer #grief #disaster #god #tragedy My  mother, my sister-in-law, my best friend, and my ex-wife died of cancer. Universe Cancer is evil. Like anything else, it wants to thrive. Growth, normally, is regarded as a good. Cancer is uncontrolled growth. It thrives by destroying the cells that support life, love, and thought. Nothing continues to…

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Elephants, Mankind’s Last Innocence Endangered

#elephants #poaching #endangeredspecies #safari When Cecil, a magnificent twelve year old male lion, was killed by Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, the world took note. Finally, a cowardly act so outrageous in its cruelty gave rise to an outcry from thousands. Perhaps now, in the anger and grief, attention will be focused on the…

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Variable Annuities Insure Beneficiaries Against Loss Due to Market Risk

This is the second in a series of articles that I am writing on variable annuities. Readers are urged to read the first installment before tackling the one that follows. My initial article about variable annuities stressed: Financial advisers have strong incentives to sell variable annuities as they pay more in commissions than most other…

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Death and Taxes — Life Certainties

Life contains its certainties. Gravity is one. Death is another. Recently, the GOP majority proved that taxes are not, at least for the wealthy few in the nation. Most everything else is open to further investigation. Life certainties would seem to be the province of science. But theories are advanced only to be disproved and…

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Vairable Annuities — A Great Way to Protect a Retirement Portfolio

Thanks for all the questions about annuities. Yes, annuities are a valuable way to protect your retirement portfolio and secure an income for your survivors. But there are several things to be considered before buying one. There are two kinds of annuities; fixed and variable. Fixed annuities guarantee income to the owner and often the…

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Eulogy for Nickie. When We Grieve the Passing of a Pet

#petcate  #deathofpet  #pet eulogy On Christmas morning, 1990, my wife entered the room with her present for me—Nickie, a beautiful black Persian kitten who lived with us as part of our family for nearly 18 years. He was a wonderful pet. To grieve his passing, I expressed my feelings of loss in a poem.                       …

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Owning a Dog for the First Time. An Adventure Each Day.

#rescuedog #griecingapet #animalshelter #pet #owningadog I was pleased when my wife began to consider owning a dog for the first time. We had always been cat people. She had never owned a dog. But I had fond memories of canine pets when I was a boy. My own children had a mutt that the entire…

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