Happy New Year

Tonight 2016 comes to a finish and we start a new year and a fresh start. Those resolutions you made at the beginning of this year may very well be the ones you make for 2017. Don't worry about it. Live your life and enjoy the moment. We will cry tears of sadness in 2017, we will also cry tears of joy. With a little luck we will still be standing together next year at this time looking back and moving forward. I look forward to experiencing the wonders of this new year with all of you.

I also am reflecting back on those who are no longer here. 2016 marked the last chapter of many peoples lives. Some friends, some family, some who touched us all with their talents. They are gone but will never be forgotten. They live on in our thoughts and memories and will continue with us until our final chapter is written.

So tonight I plan to raise a glass and toast in the new year. May 2017 be filled with love, happiness, and prosperity for us all. Happy New Year!

Is this Germany 1941 or America 2016?

December 7th, 1941. 75 years ago the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, it was our invite into World War 2. During that war countless Americans gave their lives in support of freedom and the so called American way of life. Freedom of speech, freedom of and from religious worship, and freedom of the press.

I wonder what many of those soldiers would think of America today. Free speech is threatened everyday. Our elected officials actually want to create lists of those who worship differently. And our President Elect threatens retaliation against the press who dare criticize him. The very things our soldiers fought and died for are becoming the way of life now.

Is this Germany 1941 or America 2016?