The unexamined life is not worth living. (Socrates)

.....Well, hello again. A little wisdom is welcome when you're 92, and hopefully it'll give me some insight about who, what, where, and when I am. That should cover it, though all of it may not apply to me.  Anyway Plato had it, Aristotle had it, Maimonides had it, though wisdom and self examination apparently didn't do them much good. Who said "the unexamined life is not worth living"?  So, if I accept that concept, and wish to make sure that I live a little longer, I have to do some self-examination immediately: I am humorous but can't smile, a little insecure, impatient, out of control at times and hard to handle. But if you can't abide me at my worst, you sure as hell dont deserve me at my best. And though I did not get to some other stuff about me, I will refuse to drink the hemlock--I prefer diet coke.

.....It's amazing how fast time passes by. Eight years ago I was writing and speaking about Obama and Mitt Romney (sp?) Or was it Hillary? Anyway I got into trouble with some of my friends, who in our political debates, felt more comfortable forgetting the second amendment. It was wise of our forefathers to put in lots of amendments to the Constitution so we could, with convenience forget a few when the occasion called for it. (Oh, it was Socrates who said that thing about examining. But forget about the  amendments--he had to drink hemlock!).  So, I recommend walking away from any political discussions. Or claim that you are voting for Ross Perot (sp?)

.....Well my taxes are all paid, and the IRS has to send me money according to TurboTax who will do your tax return for nothing. What a country! Doing my tax return online was a lot of fun--but also a headache. You will have to get all your 1099s together in addition to a lot of other stuff about which you have to go. I'm fortunate that I happen to have all the medication to help me through the  ordeal...But remember that things are only impossible until they're not.

TAX TIME IS TAXING! (ME)+---------

.....hI ONCE AGAIN...it took me a good part of my days to do my tax return. I decided to let Turbo Tax help me. They did a good job and submitted my return electronically. Shortly after that, my return was accepted by the IRS. They had an easy time of it. I'm not Donald Trump. It seems like only yesterday that I was blogging about Hillary and Obama.  ( Attributed the title of this posting to me because JR likes attribution.) He's right. Except when a quote is allowed due to poets' license--and I'm a poet!

.....Now, since you are all eligible for Social Security--or soon will be--I read somewhere, perhaps Time Mag., that you get the most money when you are 70.  Me? I took it right away.  Thus I will not advise you one way or the other. If you decide to wait, join AARP and read the articles as though you were waiting for a bus.  So far I've learned that the older you get, the more doctors you will need for any part of your body--and they will get the money that you should have gotten if you take your Soch early.  Speaking of Social Security, I have heard Bernie make a few speeches and if he's 78 if a day, he gets so excited that he may drop dead before he's done with his Socialist Shpeel. Then who will take his place?

.....I can't believe that I was posting on this blog ever since Hillary and Obama were duking it out.  But this time keeping track of the delegate numbers each of the current candidates carries and prepares to have a heart attack if they are not chosen to run for President is much more fun. (Is that a complete sentence?) OK, so maybe it's not complete, but I myself am close to complete so who cares about sentences. And to think that I was a student of comparative linguistics at Columbia. I suspect that my 

British cousin will chew me out for such carelessness. But which of my readers can run a debate about morphemes and phonemes, huh? Anyway Trump is my man! (though I don't plan to vote for him) I'm a Democrat. and why doesn't Bernie get the hell out of the way. A Jewish president? And 78 to boot.  

.....

Where have all my students gone?

.....First I have to address Joel who said I did not attribute the poem "When the Sea waits..etc". Perhaps I failed to do so. If I did, it was only because I did not remember to attribute it. I do so for other poems. I did attribute "Dulce et Decorum est" a few posts back. I apologize for not remembering to use quotations. Remind me to get to it on a comment. Besides, I could claim "Poet's license! Symons is dead.

 

.....A couple of weeks ago I sent a gift to Phil and Hindy of grapefruit and (or) oranges. Today we received a beautiful basket (a real basket) of all kinds of goodies including a package of dark chocolates, which I'm told is very healthy for you.  I guess that's the reason I reached 92.

 

.....Second, and about Senor Trump.  He came out of nowhere to make the Republic presidential candidates.  I don't plan to vote for him. But perhaps when I listen to the speeches at their convention, I will.  Who knows? The Confederates always claimed to be the saviors of the American people. They claim that they know what Americans want. If that's so? Since Donald has drawn many more people to his side then to any other Republican, isn't that what the American people want? A screwball for President?

 

.....Thirdly,my two daughters  &  Bonny's   husband, Don came from California to celebrate my birthday. In addition to them Magda came here from Sweden and stayed at our place for two days. Magda is a professional vocalist who came to North Shore High School from Brasil and though spoke only Portuguese at first. She was one of my best students.