Author Michael

A Thanksgiving Prayer and then some

Michael 1 Comment

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. Others’ Thanksgivings was or will be likewise celebrated around the world. It doesn’t always seem that way, but really everybody is or at least should be thankful for something and most nations have managed to work in a holiday to legitimize the feeling.

I’m not sure when I first wrote the worlds in bold below. Something tells me 2011. That sounds right because pre-2013 I took more for granted that cause for gratitude.

At the time I said, “Sometime today while I think of all that I am thankful for I’ll manage to miss most of them. So will everyone else. Mostly we’re not bad people as much as clueless ones.” And then I offered this prayer that I since have found useful even on days that aren’t called Thanksgiving.

 

Heavenly Father, this is the day set aside to give thanks for Your surpassing goodness to human beings. Let me give proper thanks for my blessings  –  those I am aware of as well as those that I habitually take for granted. And let me use them according to Your will.

 

Happy Thanksgiving today and every day you think to be thankful.

Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention there’s another heartfelt Thanksgiving greeting on the Internet this week at the Uplift blog on ROAMcare. All you need to know to entice you to check it out is the title. Thanksgiving Love and Dysfunction.

That is all. Now go eat a turkey.

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This I found out last week

Michael 8 Comments

Trees and apples

You remember last week I wrote about teens’ level of and interest in news literacy. Most consider content presented by celebrities, podcast host, and social media influencers as legitimate as legacy news sources. I wrote, “they [the surveyed teens) are three times as likely to trust TikTok over their local newspaper, and nearly half of those surveyed said journalists do more harm to democracy than good and that news articles are no more trustworthy than other online content creators.” One in five, 20%, are likely to believe whatever is out in front of them in the guise of “news.”

Today’s teens are offspring of those in the cusp between Millennials and Gen Z, the latter particularly social tech savvy. Enough so, it makes you wonder, how far from the tree did those apples fall.

The Pew Research Center may have taken the measure to that answer. A survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults revealed one in five Americans (a familiar number?) regularly get their news from social media influencers, 77%of whom have no affiliation, or background, with a media organization.

Fly now or pay later

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines, a sentiment echoed by Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan. The airline industry in general is hoping the incoming administration will roll back rules requiring automatic refunds after canceled flights and requiring airlines to advertise the full price of fares, including mandatory fees and taxes. They were most vocal about relief from advertising the full price to fly, claiming that will confuse consumers by giving them too much information. Clearly they are confusing consumers with the nominees for the incoming administration. 

On a personal note

My small appliances are rebelling. The toaster doesn’t, the spice grinder doesn’t, and only 3 out of the 4 digits are complete in the number display on the microwave. The most frustrating is the toaster. It doesn’t except when it does, and then inconsistently, so inconsistently that I can put two pieces of bread in and get one warm piece of bread and one piece of charcoal back. The entire rest of the world will be lining up in front of all the Walmarts and Targets or sitting with fingers poised over “add to cart” in the hopes of scoring a huge deal on 78 inch OLED TVs, robot vacuums, and new computers come this Friday, and I’ll be looking for deals on a toaster. It just isn’t fair!

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Time again for a shameless plug for the latest Uplift blog post. That’s the one where we encourage you to be thankful for the things that are working out so well. Hmm. Maybe I should be more thankful for my toaster after all.  Take a look at Give Thanks for All That Is Broken  

But before you go look, have you still not thought about joining the ROAMcare community and have the weekly Uplift blog delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website? In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly a Monday Moment of Motivation, and our email exclusive Friday Flashback repost of one of our most loved publications. All free and available now at  ROAMcare.org.

 

The silly side of serious

Michael 6 Comments

If you read yesterday’s Uplift post, you might have been wondering where we were going with our opening sentence. By the time you got to the second paragraph, you may had doubted that you were even on the right website. How often do you find a post digging into how we improve our lots in life by comparing it to a stereotypical American Thanksgiving dinner (less the pumpkin pie)?

We knew we wanted something relating to Thanksgiving but not necessarily about Thanksgiving. (We’ll do that next week.) We both have been busy working on improvements. Not the self-improvements you might think based on our string of self-helper posts. Physical improvements to things, Diem to her house, me to my little hobby car. It made us wonder, why do people bother to try new things. We like the idea of new ideas but what gives people the idea to try making those ideas ideals. We hit upon one unassailable fact. The old stuff wasn’t very good.

Nobody cares about a better mousetrap no matter how many get built. But come up with a mouse repellant that works and now it’s a different story. A whole different way to do something that nobody thought of before. Or was able to accomplish before. Those things that so changed the way we conduct life deserve at least a passing remark of thanks.

I remembered a post I wrote for Thanksgiving in 2014. I was only interested in one part of it. The part about the turkey, the stuffing, and the cranberry sauce. It turned out, It was a pretty good preface to yesterday’s sentiment, Give thanks for what is broken. Go ahead, give them a look.

While you are there, consider joining the ROAMcare community and have Uplift delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website. In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly our Monday Moment of Motivation and the email exclusive Blast from the Past repost of one of our most loved publications every Friday. All free and available now at ROAMcare.org.

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All the fits that’s new to print

Michael 7 Comments

I read an interesting article in the paper, as in newspaper, last week reporting on a survey conducted in May. It would have been nice to know this information sooner but I suppose there were more interesting events to report on between then and now. It was in a local paper so maybe it may the national news and I missed it but it seems to be the sort of thing that I would find if it was out there. Then I dug my way to the source and discovered the results were published just last month, so this might be the first I could have seen it.

It is a report of the News Literacy Project’s survey of teen’s interest in, sources of, and understanding of media, news not social. If you’d like to slog your way through all 101 pages, you can find it here. (Naturally I wondered if it got to that length naturally, or if it was padded or cut to make it work out to 101. But my brain works that way so naturally, I’d naturally wonder about that. Now I need my fellow old people to help me out with this, wasn’t there a cigarette that was 101mm in length and built an entire campaign on the silly little millimeter?) (Anyway…) If you don’t feel like slogging this early in the day, alloy me to summarize my slog of this report of a survey of 1,110 kiddies aged 13 to 18.

The conclusion: Kids don’t know crap but think they do.

More detail? Teens are exposed to misinformation (unintentional false information), disinformation (intentional false information), and conspiracy theories (whack job BS), in up to 1 or 5 of the post sources of “news” they consume. AND…81% believe the false information is true Their shared experiences added to their acceptance of the legitimacy of the source and the frequency and placement of the posts added to their reception validity and veracity of the information. (Those big words were mine, not theirs.)

In the above paragraph I added the quotes around news for two reasons. One, the type of information they are being presented, and the source of the information. Per the survey report, quoting a 2022 Reuters Institute study, teens distinguish between “news” and “the news.” It goes on to say, “The News” is narrow in scope and defines as mainly politics and current events. “News” is broadly anything that is happening in any walk of life including content presented by celebrities, podcast host, and social media influencers.

So that also explains the source of their “news.” Most teens get their “news” from social media, the specific site mentioned most was TicToc. When they consume news from “legitimate” news outlets, the most common sources mentioned were CNN and Fox News, the most biased of the major outlets. And that might explain why they are three times as likely to trust TikTok over their local newspaper, and nearly half of those surveyed said journalists do more harm to democracy than good and that news articles are no more trustworthy than other online content creators.

Now we get to the interested part of the report. These aren’t just young teens that may not have been exposed to much news (or to much of “the news”). The survey showed common results from all ages 13-18. Apparently, teens not only are not being exposed to much news but do not understand the purpose and process of news gathering and reporting.

Less than 40% of those surveyed had ever been presented with educational programs discussing news, the traditional news media, social media, and their differences and purposes. Of those who did, there was more willingness to accept legacy news sources as trustworthy and social media sources as entertainment.

Another interesting result of the survey is that of those who had not ever been presented with news-related educational programs, 94% said they would prefer such teaching and schools should be required to teach classes on media literacy.

What does that mean? To me it means these kids have some little inkling that what they are hearing may not be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and as most young’uns are, are willing to suck up any information we can get to them so they can figure it out.

As far as us oldsters are concerned. We’re probably too far gone to be taught how to tell if a “news” story about people eating the pets is real or not.

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Time again to tell you about the latest Uplift blog post. It was a good one, maybe the best one yet. Certainly one of the best, featuring the exploits of Jingle, our favorite tri-pawed. He reminds us that the easiest way to a happy life is not found living in the present. It is found living in your present. Take a look.

But before you go look, have you still not thought about joining the ROAMcare community and have the weekly Uplift blog delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website? In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly a Monday Moment of Motivation, and our email exclusive Friday Flashback repost of one of our most loved publications. All free and available now at  ROAMcare.org.

Why the pill?

Michael 5 Comments

The most common question we asked ourselves when we put ROAMcare together was “do we need a ‘mascot’?” Months before even opening a website we were searching for the face of the website. After an extensive search of about 15 minutes we came up with Pill Guy. Technically he’s a capsule but Capsule Chap didn’t have that je ne sais quoi.

And where did we come up with Pill Guy? He is the homage to our shared background, Pharmacy. We created ROAMcare to increase enthusiasm for what people did at our work and in the field. One of our daughters, or maybe both, commented what we had envisioned could benefit everyone. Realizing these were the strategies we use in our private lives, we expanded ROAMcare to reach everybody everywhere! But Pill Guy stayed with us, smiling from his heart shaped face. 

Pill Guy gets around. He has appeared cutting the grass, hiking (complete with backpack), hanging out with the couple from American Gothic, in a parade, at his desk, in a classroom, dressed as Santa, on a bicycle, on a scooter, and in a car (once driving, once in the back seat), and yesterday for the first time, with his dog.

Pill Guy’s as yet unnamed furry friend showed up to remind us that the easiest way to a happy life is not found living in the present. It is found living in your present, as we explained in yesterday’s Uplift post, Be Present in Your Present. Take a look. We think it’s a good one, and it was inspired by Jingle’s recent surgery and recovery. 

While you are there, consider joining the ROAMcare community and have Uplift delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website. In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly our Monday Moment of Motivation and the email exclusive Blast from the Past repost of one of our most loved publications every Friday. All free and available now at ROAMcare.org.

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Jingle all the way

Michael 5 Comments

Jingle all the way and other random notes from the depths of my cobwebbed brain.

Happy Veterans Day dear fellow veterans. You would think in 14 years I’d have published 14 Veterans Day posts. A search for “Veterans Day” turned up three. I don’t believe it. I am sure I wrote more than three. I am also sure I’m not to go looking for them all. I think I’ve earned a year off the seemingly required uttering of the, pardon my frankness, trite “Thank you for your service.” What started as a beautiful sentiment is now a mere platitude of the sort as “have a nice day.” Yes, some people are sincere, very sincere. Most are not. As a veteran I’d rather you return the favor and start serving those who served. You surely know someone who served. Look to them as examples. Phone calls, meals, random cards, offers to cut grass, shovel snow, rake leaves made to the older vets. In today’s Moment of Motivation at the ROAMcare site we will just the millions who pay tribute today. Our thought for the day, “They came from all over for all different reasons. They served for only one. Look to their example. Find your reason to be of service.”

Now for some positive news from Jingle’s dog house. Actually, he doesn’t have a house. He has his own room at my daughter’s house. I figured it was time you had an update to how the little tri-pawed is doing. When we last left our hero, he was adapting nicely to life on three legs. You will recall due to an osteosarcoma he had his left front leg and shoulder amputated. That was just over a month ago. Since then he has started chemotherapy. He goes once every 3 weeks for 6 treatments. His first was 2 weeks ago and after being a little groggy from the sedatives, the very next day he bounced back to normal in all his Jingle-ness. He even is back to 1&1/2 to 2 mile morning walks every day. Their regular route takes them past my house and occasionally he stops in for water and to have his ears scratched. Daughter is doing well also. He has impressed us all so much over this month that he will be featured in this week’s Uplift when we talk about resilience. Mark your calendar to read that one.

Thanksgiving is still on, right? I notice all of last last week’s food centered supermarkets had ads that featured turkeys and fall foliage to highlight their ample supplies of frozen turkeys, fresh cranberries, and the sweetest sweet potatoes this side of Marshmallow Fluff. But walk into the store and you are greeted with 8 foot tall candy canes, fake fireplaces with fake snow, sparkly lights, and tree shaped peanut butter cups. The mega-mart sized stores where food is just a sideline skipped the pretense and went straight Christmas in their ads. Ten foot skeletons were replaced with ten foot snowmen in the store displays and Jingle Bells (the musical kind) played through the PA systems. I like the season. But it should start after Santa rolls up during the Thanksgiving Day parade just like Mr. Macy planned it.

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Here we are again. That place where I say go look at the latest Uplift blog post. We’re confident you’ll like this post about self-help.

But before you go look, have you still not thought about joining the ROAMcare community and have the weekly Uplift blog delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website? In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly a Monday Moment of Motivation, and our email exclusive Friday Flashback repost of one of our most loved publications. All free and available now at  ROAMcare.org.

 

 

 

 

 

Corrected: Take a peek – Heal Thyself

Michael 2 Comments

Darn, did it again  A bad kink in the first email  and I checked them too!

Hi dear readers. It’s time again to take a peek at the latest ROAMcare Uplift post, Heal Thyself.

When we suffer a scrape or cut our bodies heal themselves. When we suffer a disconnect from positive feelings and emotions, we can still heal ourselves.

Heal Thyself

Posted November 6, 2024
3 minute Read

The day after Election Day in the U.S. is probably a good time to talk about healing. No matter who won and lost, there will continue to be anxiety and divisiveness, and people will look to others for hope and healing. They will be looking in the wrong place.

True healing comes from within. We previously quoted Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous words, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” There is a corollary to that. No one can make you feel whole without your participation. …

Read the full blog at Heal Thyself, on Uplift at ROAMcare. As always there is no fee to read, nothing to join, no catches, no kidding.

While you are there, consider joining the ROAMcare community and have Uplift delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website. In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly our Monday Moment of Motivation and the email exclusive Blast from the Past repost of one of our most loved publications every Friday. All free and available now at ROAMcare.org.

A word of caution: Some physical injuries are too severe for our bodies to repair themselves and require the attention of healthcare professionals. If you are suffering significant emotional or psychological distress, please consult a mental health professional to help with your healing process.

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Take a peek – Heal Thyself

Michael Leave a comment

Hi dear readers. It’s time again to take a peek at the latest ROAMcare Uplift post, Heal Thyself.

When we suffer a scrape or cut our bodies heal themselves. When we suffer a disconnect from positive feelings and emotions, we can still heal ourselves.

Heal Thyself

Posted November 6, 2024
3 minute Read

The day after Election Day in the U.S. is probably a good time to talk about healing. No matter who won and lost, there will continue to be anxiety and divisiveness, and people will look to others for hope and healing. They will be looking in the wrong place.

True healing comes from within. We previously quoted Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous words, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” There is a corollary to that. No one can make you feel whole without your participation. …

Read the full blog at Heal Thyself, on Uplift at ROAMcare. As always there is no fee to read, nothing to join, no catches, no kidding.

While you are there, consider joining the ROAMcare community and have Uplift delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website. In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly our Monday Moment of Motivation and the email exclusive Blast from the Past repost of one of our most loved publications every Friday. All free and available now at ROAMcare.org.

A word of caution: Some physical injuries are too severe for our bodies to repair themselves and require the attention of healthcare professionals. If you are suffering significant emotional or psychological distress, please consult a mental health professional to help with your healing process.

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The very last, Last Minute Voting Guide

Michael 7 Comments

Greetings all. I see some of you out there are still undecided. How that can be I don’t know but all the major news media say there is still a chunk of folk who can’t decide for whom to vote. Here’s some help for you.

First – If you find reading sentences with the word “whom” in them difficult, please do not vote.  You are too stupid but may be suited to keep the line of intelligent voters straight and free of stragglers.

Second – If you find yourself saying, “I don’t know if I really like him/her/it,” remember, you are NOT voting for a best friend or someone to take you home after you made a fool of yourself at the local watering hole’s Halloween Party for Drunk Adults. You’re voting for the President of the United Frigging States of Goll Darn America. Act like it.

Second and a Half – If you find a political advertisement too outrageous to believe, don’t believe it. Remember, we’re voting for President. Leave creativity balloting to the Oscar and Emmy voters.

Third – The President’s job description includes important things. A clear understanding of and ability to articulate the issues is essential.

Fourth – If you find reading sentences with the word “articulate” in them difficult, please do not vote. You are marginally less stupid than those heretofore mentioned.

Fifth – If you find reading sentences with the word “heretofore” in them difficult, please do not even go out on Tuesday in case your stupidity rubs off on intelligent voters.

Bonus Tip – Please review this previous post. If the post reminded you of anyone, then you know what to do. If it made no impression on you at all, please do not vote. You are way too stupid. Period.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled commercial.

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Here we are again. That place where I say go look at the latest Uplift blog post. We’re confident you’ll like this post about self-confidence.

But before you go look, have you still not thought about joining the ROAMcare community and have the weekly Uplift blog delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website? In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly a Monday Moment of Motivation, and our email exclusive Friday Flashback repost of one of our most loved publications. All free and available now at  ROAMcare.org.

Corrected Take a peek – Yes You Can

Michael 7 Comments

The first email of this post contained a broken link. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Hello fellow bloggers! I again invite you to take a peek at another ROAMcare post, Yes You Can. 

Confidence comes from within and you can increase your self-confidence. A positive you is a confident you. Confident that you are the best you there is.

Yes You Can

POSTED TO UPLIFT, OCTOBER 30,2024
3 MINUTE READ

Two weeks ago, we wrote about self-worth. It is impossible to discuss self-worth without bringing up self-confidence. Without being confident that you are presenting the best you to the world, it is difficult to describe your value. Likewise, if you do not value yourself, you are not going to be confident of contributing to society. Confidence comes from within. We know that and presented words from others describing the connection between value and confidence. We closed that post with, “Once you accept yourself, you can offer you to others. The true you. The valuable you.”

Are there exercises you can do or it there a roadmap to increasing how confident you feel about being you? There are things you can do to build your self-confidence, beginning with accepting yourself and rising to the challenge of being you.

Read the full blog at Yes You Can, on Uplift at ROAMcare. As always there is no fee to read, nothing to join, no catches, no kidding.

While you are there, consider joining the ROAMcare community and have Uplift delivered to your email as soon as it hits the website. In addition to an Uplift release every Wednesday, you will also receive weekly our Monday Moment of Motivation and the email exclusive Blast from the Past repost of one of our most loved publications every Friday. All free and available now at ROAMcare.org.

Uplift 2024