Thank you Mary Evelyn. I like the name and the theme of this forum. How did you think of it? I will mark it as a favorite so I can keep up with it. Do you like cats? Super! LaNell

I've been thinking about it for a long time LaNell and some of my good friends had also been encouraging me to start a forum.

I like dogs and cats both and I've always had a pet of some sort but not now. I am gone too much and right now I don't want the responsibility of a pet although one of my very good friends keeps telling I need a dog. :)

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Thank you Mary Evelyn. I like the name and the theme of this forum. How did you think of it? I will mark it as a favorite so I can keep up with it. Do you like cats? Super! LaNell

Hi Helen,
I realize that this is a very real problem. The trouble is, it does not pertaint to previously used items anymore. I believe that it was last year, here in the states, where there was a growing problem with bedbugs showing up in brand new items. As far as I know, authorities tracked down the location and country that these items were being shipped from and the problem is pretty much under control.
Their is always goung to be risks involved when you buy or accept items that have been pre-owned and you should always take precautions before using them. Even if you are told that clothes have been washed and dried you should still run them through the washer and dryer one more time. Food pantries often have food whose experation dates have already expired. A friend of ours took me to a food pantry about two months ago. When I put the boxes of food in her car she noticed the package of meat that I had gotten. It was Hamburgher and it was brown. She looked at me and asked, "Your not going to eat that, are you?" I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Looks like we are going to have to." She told me to throw it out as she headed for the nearest Wal Mart. She bought fresh hamburgher and a couple of other items and asked if I wanted her to take the brown hamburgher and throw it out for me. I told her that I could take care of it. That evening, I cooked the brown hamburgher and later that week I cooked the fresh hamburgher.

I retired at 63 because the job that I had at the time was in a fast food restaurant. As I was a cook by trade most of my jobs were in the restaurant business. Unfortunetely, restaurants would rather give more hours to Spanish speaking people who cannot speak English that well rather than American Born citizens. Why? If a person from outside the U.S. work in the U.S., they are tax exempt. When a citizen receives his or her paycheck, taxes are taken out and the remainder is what you get paid. Also, the same amount of taxes that are taken out of your paycheck is also taken out of your Employers paycheck. Therefore, if your employer hires more illegals than American born citizens he or she is saving the company money. Toward the end of my employment I was working an average of ten to twelve hours a week compared to those that were tax exempt and working between thirty to forty hours a week. I could not afford to put gas in my car to go back and forth to work. I did not want to retire early, but I was forced to. When my first retirement check came in, my last paycheck did as well. Twenty-four hours for two weeks. As Shirley was receiving a Disability check it was decided that I made too much (even though that was my last paycheck) Shirley's disability check went to zero. For the next four months we had to try to survive on $500.00 a month. I would love to get a part time job to suplement my income, but if I do, we will go through the same thing all over again. I do not begrudge those that are tax exempt because if I were able to have that opportunity I would take it in a second. I love Shirley and will take care of her any way I can, therefore, if we receive food that has bad spots on it, I will cut those spots out first and cook the rest. Going back to the hamburgher. I ate mine first and had Shirley wait at least an hour before she ate hers. It is a shame that anyone has to live this way, but as long as American employers think about money first and the health of their citizens second or perhaps tenth, this is the way we have to live. We are not the only ones. There are thousands of American citizens that have worked their entire lives and are in the same position as we are. Many senior citizens can't even afford their medications even with Medicaid and Medicare.

GOD BLESS YOU
~Mike~

Hi Karen,
That was a funny video. The last time I laughed that hard was when I looked in the mirror. When I realized that it was my face that I was looking at, I cried even harder.

God Bless You
~Mike~

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Hi friends, hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend. My brother sent me this video and when you watch it you will see there is still a lot of goodness in the world. This is beautiful. :)

Audience Helps Autistic Man Sing National Anthem

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"When this autistic man started having trouble singing the national anthem, something happened that could bring you to tears. What an amazing display of humanity. Thank God there is still goodness in the world."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYiDrpWslv8

Hi Mary Evelyn,
I thought that I would be prepared for it, but I wasn't. When the audience came in in strength I could feel the tears begin to roll down. I had to get away from the computer for awhile because I don't know if it is waterproof. This was Compassion one hundred fold. This shows that no matter how much may be wrong with our country, the People show why we are the greatest country on Earth. WE THE PEOPLE
GOD BLESS YOU
~Mike~