Society and Culture: Talking About My Generation

Years back, I stumbled upon a blog written by a young woman named Shaniqua. She was either in high school or her early years of college. She posed an interesting question, and it’s a question that no doubt is asked often and probably asked in every generation. She wanted to know:

• Are young people worse off today than previous generations?

I was born in the 50s. It’s not that the children or young people, PRE-1980s or 1990s were better off. It’s that … speaking from an American point of view … the world “we” lived in had very clearly defined “black and white, right and wrong” standards. These guidelines (or standards) made decision-making and not succumbing to peer pressure OR following the “in crowd” OR being tossed to and fro by any trend or movement, a little easier to make contrasts and comparisons for the purposes of making choices …that is to say, making wise life choices … speaking from my point of view. Would love to be able to boast that all of my decisions were wise choices, but I can not. That’s probably everybody’s lament.

Nevertheless, when we started moving from the “black and white” into the “gray areas” where Walt Disney programs were replaced by uncensored programming being disseminated to the masses … things just weren’t so clear-cut anymore. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good to question accepted “norms” and ask WHY. But asking questions doesn’t automatically mean that everything “that is questioned” is wrong and needs to be changed to the exact opposite to make it better and right.

According to Wikipedia, the term “anti-establishment” was first used in a British magazine movement in 1958, and there were or are such movements that occurred in Iceland, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, as well as in the USA. The Arab Spring is even categorized or described as anti-establishment.

According to me, this was a popular term used in the USA, and based on the way I saw and heard the word being used, my interpretation was that you dared to challenge The Authority. Quite frankly, I think my generation (the 60s and 70s) took the anti-establishment movement in the USA a little bit too far off course. Of course, that’s just my opinion, and I could be wrong.

* * *

♦ How would you respond to Shaniqua’s question about previous generations? Do you think they were better off or worse?

♦ What’s your opinion of the anti-establishment movement in America (or of a similar movement you may know of that happened or is happening somewhere else in the world)?

* * *

Links of Interest:

Which generation am I? Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, Generation Z birth years – Business Insider

The Generations – Which Generation are You?

American Generations Fast Facts – CNN


* * *
Content previously published at Virily.com

You're So Old! Must Be Time for You to Die.

When I was a child I heard a man utter what he said was an old Irish proverb. "You begin to die the moment you're born."  While there is truth in that proverb it seems morbid to view the precious gift of life in that manner.  Don't you think so?

There are so many interesting, weird, and strange questions people ask when it comes to life and death. Questions that I would never think to ask. Here's an example.

When do you know you're old enough to die?

Considering that death does not discriminate. Considering that the good die young, the unborn die, and anyone who is living knows that one day they will die … why would you ask that question? As if death and old age are inextricably connected, and when you reach a certain age, YOU NEED TO DECIDE that it's time to die.

Amanda Jones was 109 when she voted in the presidential election that resulted in Barack Obama becoming POTUS (President of the United States). Imagine if, when she reached age 108 that she decided it was time for her to die. She died one year later, after the election, at the age of 110.

♦ Amanda Jones' life touched three centuries, during which she worked as a maid and a stay-at-home mother of 10 with deep religious faith, Baker said. Jones had voted actively for more than 70 years, even when it meant picking cotton to save money to pay a poll tax. ~ Source

Reports of her death indicate that Ms. Jones passed away peacefully in her sleep.

* * *

Barbara Ehrenreich, is a woman who holds a PhD in cellular immunology and who decided when she was in her 70s that she was old enough to die. She was interviewed by Lucy Rock and the article was published in The Guardian. As of the date of this short post, she is still alive. Ms. Ehrenreich thinks that "there’s an age at which death no longer requires much explanation". Based on her research, she advises not to bother visiting doctors who recommend medical tests, treatments, or preventative medicine, etc., as if they can do anything that will prolong your life. My understanding of what Doctor Ehrenreich is advising is that it is likely that many doctors are just making merchandise out of you.

I do have to say that I agree with her about her research, which led her to the conclusion that the US health and wellness industry generates billions of dollars. I have always thought and said, "Healthcare is Big Business."

But I should also say that Ms. Ehrenreich was diagnosed with breast cancer. Some may feel it's a material or relevant fact, and not to mention, it would be a significant omission.

At first, I thought the question was odd ~ "When do you know you're old enough to die?" ~ but in the end, after reading the interview where she expressed her thoughts and views, I agree with her advice.

Do you agree with Ms. Ehrenreich?

* * *

REFERENCES:

Rock, Lucy. "When Do You Know You're Old Enough to Die? Barbara Ehrenreich Has Some Answers. ~ The Guardian", Guardian News and Media, 7 Apr. 2018, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/07/barbara-ehrenreich-natural-causes-book-old-enough-to-die.

Gardner, Geoffrey. "109-Year-Old Daughter of Slave Votes Obama. ~ NPR", National Public Radio, Inc., 31 Oct. 2008, www.npr.org/sections/newsandviews/2008/10/109yearold_daughter_of_slave_v.html.

"Slave's Daughter Who Voted for Barack Obama Dies Aged 110. ~ The Telegraph", Telegraph Media Group, 19 Dec. 2008, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/3853793/Slaves-daughter-who-voted-for-Barack-Obama-dies-aged-110.html.

On Voting, Amanda Jones & What We Owe Our Ancestors

♦ You’re So Old! Must Be Time for You to Die. https://t.co/elDA4hELXM #aging #healthcare #lifestyle #choices #lifeanddeath #questionsandanswers #healthandwellness @Rx4Wellness2018

— Treathyl Fox (@cmoneyspinner) June 5, 2019

Lifestyle: Does Your Favorite Room Have a Name?

Is there are favorite room in your home where you go to relax, retreat, block out the rest of the world, or share a special space with someone?

OK. Before I get started I just want to say that I know what a casbah is.

• It’s a fortress in North Africa (and in some other parts of the world). It is a unique medina or Islamic city and the Kasbah of Algiers is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• “Casbah” is a word that I have heard in movies and in music. I watched an old movie, released in 1948 titled “Casbah” (1948) and it was set in Algiers. There was also a song I liked during my teen years called “Rock the Casbah” . Will Smith sampled it on one of his songs. (Will Smith feat. K-Ci’s ‘Will 2K’ — Discover the Sample Source)
• Casbah is also spelled kasbah, qasba, or qasaba.

When I hear the word “casbah”, I usually associate it with something really cool!

When I’m talking about casbah in this article, I’m going in a completely different but still cool direction from the usual meaning of the word and how it is commonly used.

JUST FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME.

Everybody likes to read articles or watch TV shows about the personal lives of celebrities. I kind of like shows where they show the homes where they live. The late Gregory Peck and his wife said they liked to spend time in a room in their house that they called “The Casbah”. It’s a place where they retreat.

Just then I had “Ah hah!” moment. I thought to myself:

‘It would be so cool to have a room in my house that I could call ‘The Casbah’.’

The best part would be decorating the room.

There would be thick rugs and huge comfy pillows. The décor would look Persian.

Yes. I know a casbah is a fortress and there are famous casbahs that are located in Morocco. Morocco is in northwest Africa and Persia (now Iran) is in southwestern Asia.

But it’s MY CASBAH! So if I want to decorate Persian or Iranian style, I will. LOL.

8 Inspiring Decor Ideas from Iran: This article says to use copper pots, some handwoven baskets, various types of hand-stitched cloth, sweet-smelling flowers, decorative rugs, and a Poshti (a decorative pillow for your back). (FYI. There is an excellent selection of poshtis on Etsy.)

At present, I live in an apartment with my sons. But if I ever get into a home again, I plan to have a home office/casbah. Yeah well! I figure I won’t be able to afford a house where I can have one room for my home office and another for a casbah.

Have you never named a room in your house?

• What is your favorite room in your home and why?
• What Your Favorite Room Says About Your Personality

Thanks for reading.

Original Source

Food and Drink: Real Soul Food Nourishes Your Body and Elevates Your Mind

There's the “soul food” associated with the mostly US-Southern-style cooking eaten by African-Americans ~ everything from collard greens cooked with smoked ham hocks and chitterlings to mac-n-cheese loaded with butter and cheese to sweet potato pie. The same food that now everybody tells us is the reason so many black folks have hypertension and diabetes.  

Modern black Americans love the taste but let's face it ... it is not to die for!  Consequently, many of them are modifying "momma's recipes" and changing them to healthier versions to nourish the body and to comfort and uplift the body and the mind.

• Greens Glorious Greens!: More than 140 Ways to Prepare All Those Great-Tasting, Super-Healthy, Beautiful Leafy Greens

Then there is “soul food” as in chicken soup for the soul. That comforting bowl of soup that all wives and moms make no matter what the illness is, because if you just eat some chicken soup, you'll feel better.  It's the soup that inspired the book.  Experts say there is some truth of its positive impact on mind, body, and soul, albeit chicken soup is not a cure-all. 

• 5 Insanely Delicious Chicken Soup Recipes You'll Want To Make Again And Again

Then there's the soul food as described in this marvelous infographic. This is the best description of soul food ever!!  I especially like Steps 7, 11 and 16.  What about you?

https://www.tumblr.com/texaxwib/739342665639919616/via-visually-content-for-marketers

♦ ♦

Practical Advice: Life Choices You Won’t Regret

In my life there have been many choices I made and I have absolutely no regrets. What about you? 

We are going into another new year and despite the fact that this year has been OVERLOADED with difficulties and sadness … the world keeps turning! And unless you have figured out a way to stop the world so you can get off … you’re going to keep carrying on.

I found an interesting article by a guy named Thomas Oppong. He’s kind of like a motivational speaker type and gives people advice to help them Stay Calm and Carry On. He wrote an article titled You Will Regret These Choices in 10 Years and … honestly? If I made those choices I would regret them the next day! It wouldn’t take me 10 years. I’m a quick learner.

According to Mr. Oppong, these are the choices you will regret.

1) Waiting for a Perfect Time

2) Waiting to Be Picked

3) Living Someone Else’s Dream

4) Failing to Try

5) Giving Up Too Soon!

There are 2 quotes I extracted that I really like. I collect quotes and share them.

“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.” ~ John Quincy Adams

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky

* * *



I have lived and made it past the half century mark (50 years). The minister at my church say: “No matter what anybody tells you, when you go past 50 your life is HALF OVER!” How’s that for realistic thinking?

It’s true your life is half over but you are still living and that means each day you wake up … it’s a brand new day. Who knows what you will accomplish … IF YOU TRY!

I won’t have regrets about making the choices this guy listed because they are not choices I would ever make in the first place.

1) Waiting for a Perfect Time ~ Hello! What is a “perfect time”? Yes. Timing is important. Some people say “Timing is everything”. But I don’t think it’s EVERYTHING! Rather, I agree with Bruce Lee’s philosophy. He said “If you love life, don’t waste time, because time is what life is made of.” If I approach my daily life with that kind of attitude there’s no way I’m going to … wait for it! Wait for what? Once the time is gone, I’m not going to get it back!

2) Waiting to Be Picked ~ Uuuhh? Who’s doing the picking? The only time I’m waiting to be picked is when I will be standing in line waiting to be called to enter in through the gates of heaven. LOL.

3) Living Someone Else’s Dream ~ How do you even know someone else’s dream? If you have overbearing dominating parents who insist on making you live their dream, then I can see where this might be a problem for a child. Fortunately, my parents never tried to force me to live up their “dream”. They did do their best to try to make sure that I would be able to pursue my dream.

4) Failing to Try ~ Look at this way. From the time you begin to know yourself, practically everything you do in your life, you have to try to do it first. You have to try to crawl. You have to try to walk. You have to try to eat with a spoon. So what’s the big deal with TRYING? Surely you’re not going to use that lame excuse about being afraid of failure. Are you?

5) Giving Up Too Soon! ~ I love Kenny Rogers. He’s a popular American singer/songwriter and one of the souls we lost during 2020, before they announced the pandemic. {Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 — March 20, 2020)} One of my favorite songs that he used to sing was called “The Gambler”. I like that song because of these specific lyrics:

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em.
Know when to fold ‘em.
Know when to walk away.
And know when to run! …

… the secret to survivin’
Is knowin’ what to throw away
And knowin’ what to keep …

That’s life! It may take some experience and some seasoning. But you need to learn that in most situations in this life … it often boil down to 2 choices. You either hang in there OR recognize when it’s time to give it up.

If you learn this … nine times out of ten, you’ll have a wonderful life. I won’t say that you’ll live a life with absolutely no regrets. But you won’t have any regrets because you made these particular choices, because you didn’t make them.

Original source

Artist Louise Bourgeois on How Solitude Enriches Creative Work – Brain Pickings (Reblog)

Blogs to Follow:  Redirecting you to the blog that inspired me to begin this blog.

Artist Louise Bourgeois on How Solitude Enriches Creative Work
– Brain Pickings

Considering the Sweet Island Life? Think Bahamas!

Have you ever considered living in The Bahamas?

Did you know that you don’t have to expatriate or give up your citizenship to own property in The Bahamas and live there?

The government of this lovely country welcomes foreigners and opens the doors to allow them to invest in real estate and make their home there. You don’t have to wait until you are in your golden years to do this, although many people do.    The nation is no longer considered a British colony but rather a member of the British Commonwealth.

July 10, 1973, is the effective date that Bahamian leaders officially and peacefully negotiated their independence.

 Happy Independence Day!

Know much about the Commonwealth? Neither do I, but per factophile.com, 49 independent nations are represented. Some of the members still recognize Elizabeth, the Queen of England; while others do not. Nevertheless, it is a “free association”. I’m not a student of politics or history or government, but I’m thinking that this “commonwealth group” – perhaps there was probably a similar concept behind the post-Soviet states; only the Ukrainians aren’t really feelin’ it right now!

Getting back on point, we are discussing how to become neighbors with the local islanders and Warren Moon. Mr. Moon is an American, was a football player, NFL, also played for the Canadians, etc. He owns property in Rum Cay, one of the islands. Bahamians are wonderful people! I married one of them. We currently live in America, but he still has relatives back home, so that makes a great excuse to have to travel if we must or whenever we can afford to go there.

To educate folks about the typical Bahamian lifestyle, the country’s Ministry of Tourism developed a program they call People-to-People . If you want to know more you can eMail them: peopletopeople@bahamas.com.

But the main thing you need to know is that there two specific laws which govern foreign real estate investors: The International Persons Landholding Act and The Bahamas Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act; and that all RE transactions must be handled by a lawyer.

So!! Thinking about it?
♦
Content first published at Virily.com.

Similar or Related Links:

• The Bahamas – Beautiful Beaches, Conch Shells, and Mangos
• My Father's Country: The Bahamas
• Vacation Suggestions: South Florida and The Bahamas

* * *

Claiming My Blog on Bloglovin

Been using Bloglovin' for several years now. Every time I start a new blog I add the feed, claim it as my blog, and then make the posts publicly available to others who might be looking for a blog that shares content like this one. If you are a blogger and you don't use Bloglovin' you are doing yourself a disservice.

Follow Joie de Vivre Magazine with Bloglovin

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Treathyl Fox ~ Austin, Texas (@treathylfoxcmoneyspinner) on Apr 25, 2019 at 3:06pm PDT

#graceunderfire #courageunderfire #Humor and #Truth

People who do wrong and know they did wrong and refuse to repent.


Don't wrestle with them. Just turn the other cheek walk away.


No, you're not moving because you're afraid God might destroy the righteous with the wicked.


You're just getting out of the way because you don't want to get run over by a bunch of stampeding non-repenting hard heads who looking for a hiding place, trying to dodge lightning bolts.


That's my advice. It worked for me. If you don't want to follow it, you on your own!

#graceunderfire #courageunderfire 

#Humor and #Truth  ❤

Fished this out of my Facebook memories , posted August 21, 2013 at 2:27pm ·

English: Lightning over Las Cruces, New Mexico Deutsch: Blitz eines Gewitters Español: Tormenta eléctrica. Português: A eletricidade em sua manifestação natural mais imponente: o relâmpago (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

How to stay safe in thunder and lightning (telegraph.co.uk)