Early To Bed, Early to Rise...

When Ben Franklin wrote his famous quote:

Early to Bed, Early to Rise, makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy, and wise, did he have a timeframe for sleeping in mind?

I went to bed relatively early last night at 10 pm but Poppy came to bed later around 11:30 pm although earlier than her usual pattern of retiring after midnight. Then we woke up around 3 am this morning! I’m semi-retired so working much less these days; hence in terms of lower stress, maybe I’m a bit healthier while she’s working extensively, often 15 hours a day, so she’s now becoming wealthier, and together we are becoming wiser. It’s wonderful to be married to a happy, sometimes delirious, complementary companion who is more beautiful, intelligent, and personable than I could ever imagine even in my dreams.

Surprisingly awake in the ‘wee hours’ we briefly discussed our landscaping project, fulfilling plans we’ve developed over the past couple of years, to plant trees and bushes tomorrow. We started laughing about the company’s demanding older brother owner who shows up occasionally barking orders to the rest of the chill crew — especially to the kinder younger brother in charge of the site work. He’s very responsive to our questions hoping to keep us very happy with their constructing a terrace wall and patio pavers as well as preparing to plant new vegetation. We get the feeling they’ve been burnt before by unhappy homeowners — so far we’re very happy with their work. A tree we wanted was not available at the nursery leaving a potential gap so Poppy came up with the brilliant idea to balance the color scheme with a second white crape myrtle instead of waiting until fall season to get the originally-intended colorful tree. She also laughed at how I confused her and the younger brother about trying to order trees using numbers as my diagram kept changing.

Speaking of dreams, just before she woke to go bathroom, in my sleep I saw a group of familiar people, perhaps former demanding colleagues from past jobs, whom I wanted to impress about my famous family ancestor who continues to greatly influence me and hopefully many others by reading related Conserve & Prosper blogs to them. The excitement of public speaking got my heart pumping fast as I awoke, or maybe it wasn’t so much the dream as it was the post-dinner snacks of blueberries, chocolates, and cereal that got the ol’ ticker accelerated. So Poppy returned to her slumbers while I came to write this blog as my sleep time typically can accommodate afternoon naps.

Here are some of the blogs I would like to share with anyone who’ll listen about by maternal second cousin whom we share a common ancestor. Special thanks to my next door neighbor cousin who discovered this special connection and also provided HOA approval for our landscaping efforts!

Election Day 2020

GOVEROSITY! Say What?

Happy Birthday Ben Frankin

Happy Birthday Ben Franklin!

January 17th is Ben Franklin’s official Birthday! Actually, according to the Franklin Institute, he was born on January 6th but later Great Britain switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and skipped 11 days. He was born in Boston in 1706, only 317 years ago. During a recent visit to Boston, as described in this blog, we noticed numerous memorials to his life even though he moved to Philadelphia when he was just 17 years old. One tarnished-looking memorial tablet, also called a plaque but not to be confused with sticky whitish deposits on teeth, close to the Paul Revere statue and North Church displays:

Benjamin Franklin, 1706 - 1790

Printer, Scientist, Philanthropist, Diplomat and Statesman, A Man of Towering Eminence

As Publisher of Poor Richard’s Almanac, he provided America with a practical philosophy and enriched its common speech with a wealth of proverbs, his humorous, realistic, far-ranging mind, the liberalism of his political and social philosophy, the manifold services he rendered to his fellowmen, made him one of the greatest Americans.

I recall as a boy growing up near George Washington’s home that I loved to read about our Founding Fathers. One time I spent a week at home in bed recovering from an illness reading about Ben Franklin’s life. I loved memorizing some of his favorite expressions including:

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned!

Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Makes a Man Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.

Haste Makes Waste.

Honesty is the Best Policy.

These and other expressions became like mantras that I often repeated for fun and inspiration. Here are some more quotes related to the theme of Conserve & Pro$per from the National Geographic Kids series Benjamin Franklin’s Wise Words: How to Work Smart, Play Well, and Make Real Friends, by K.M. Kostyal. Thank you Ben for inventing the first lending library so I could unexpectedly discover, borrow, read, and share interesting books:

Content Makes Poor Men Rich; Discontent Makes Rich Men Poor.

Time is an Herb That Cures All Diseases.

A Long Life May Not Be Good Enough, But a Good Life is Long Enough.

Don’t Throw Stones At Your Neighbours, If Your Own Windows Are Glass.

Tart Words Make No Friends: a Spoonful of Honey Will Catch More Flies Than a Gallon of Vinegar.

Eat to Live, and Not Live to Eat.

A Penny Sav’D is TwoPence Clear.

Notice how some of the phases have changed over time like the generic Man instead of Human or Person and “TwoPence Clear” means “a Penny Saved.” Also notice the contraction ‘Sav’D.’ I found another book at the same public library titled An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin and Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution by Beth Anderson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book describes how the two teamed up in 1786, when Noah was 28 years old and just four years before Ben passed away, to make American English easier to read and write. He proposed to match how words sounded by throwing away silent letters like c, j, q, w, x, and y and add aw, uh, edh, ing, and eth. He wanted to change DOG to DAG, FEATHER to FEHER, FISH to FIH, and TEETH to TEEH. It’s interesting to think how different a Boston accent is from the Southern dialect so finding one common way that all Americans could agree on posed a great challenge. I recommend reading this book to see how their proposal evolved into Webster’s Dictionary. Another great quote of Ben’s comes from this book which I think I will add to the bottom of my email footer:

Energy and persistence conquer all things.

The more I learn about Ben Franklin the closer I feel to his Spirit. On Election Day 2020, I posted a blog showing Ben Franklin on the $100 bill describing his pivotal role in creating our democracy and wondering how he would react to the election and political divides in our country. Turns out my connection to Ben is not only one of great admiration but also a family connection! I’m just learning in the recent days that we shared a common ancestor. Ben’s great grandfather John Folger came from Norwich, England to Massachusetts in 1638. My mother’s family connects to the Folger lineage making Ben my second cousin! Yep, I can see a family resemblance between Ben Franklin and my Mom, may they both Rest In Peace!

Election Day 2020

Finally! Election day in America. About 100 million early mail-in votes can begin getting counted today. People going in person to polls, standing in lines, hoping not to catch Coronavirus. How many people will actually vote? In 2008, about 57% of eligible voters actually voted and the number went down in 2012 and 2016 to about 55%. So slightly more than half of the people take their civic responsibility seriously!

One article I read says the swing state of Pennsylvania may decide the Presidential election. As control of the Senate strongly affects the balance of the Supreme Court and lower court judges, today’s election will also determine all three branches of government - so much for checks and balances! Rather than checks on democracy it appears to be legislators writing outrageous checks on the national debt.

What would the famous American founding father Ben Franklin say if he were alive today? He was a childhood hero of mine growing up learning about his many inventions and writings. I think he would be a strong advocate for Conserve & Prosper and blogging! Recall some of his accomplishments included:

Inventor including the Franklin stove, Lighting Rod, Bifocals, and more

First Postmaster General of the US

Minister to France and Sweden

Publisher of Poor Richard’s Almanac

Signed the Constitution

Pictured on the $100 Bill

Two famous quotes of his come to mind:

“An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure” which he said about preventing fires and rings so true today on many issues including stopping Covid-19. So why wait for a vaccine if a mask can stop the spread of the disease?

“Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.” Rather than taking sides of political parties, looking at the big picture shows there are fundamental problems with money in politics.

I asked my brother Bob as I drafted this blog about the information above on this Election Day and he said, “To me it’s about believing in democracy and citizenship. Obeying the rules, laws, and norms. Our freedoms are not imposed on others.”

We grew up in a very conservative, post-depression era, family that believed in government civil service. Our father survived battles in WWII, returned to grad school on the GI Bill, and worked his career for the Navy Personnel Department. Our Mother supported the war effort through service groups. Journalist Tom Brokaw referred to my parents time as The Greatest Generation. They fought for American freedom against dictators including Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Tojo. After the war, we bailed out and rebuilt Europe with the Marshall Plan and created the United Nations and NATO. My parents willingly moved from beautiful southern California to humid and cold Washington, DC with three kids and another (me) on the way to fulfill their American dream.

But American and Allied victories in Europe did not stop the rise of Communism and wars in Korea and Vietnam and a cold nuclear war build up with the USSR. So our family became fractured by political and social changes exemplified by Red States and Blue States. My parents four sons remain politically split half way on both sides.

My son’s conception was inspired by the election of President Obama in 2008 that we felt there would be freedom and equality in the Untied States of America. In my 25-year civil service career I served for six Presidents and saw good times and bad. Some Administrations ran very well and some did not.

For an intriguing view inside the White House based on events that are still very relevant today, check out The West Wing, and an October 25, 2020 article in the BBC. This fantasy based on real life events demonstrates the critical skills of debating issues to arrive at the best solutions given very difficult choices.

What will be next for America and the World? History is being written on this very consequential day!

Overcoming Obstacles: A Few People I Admire

Do you agree that overcoming personal and social challenges takes courage and persistence? Our challenge might be a learning disorder, a physical issue, or peer pressure resulting in political correctness. Learning challenges affect 1 in 5 children according to the NCLD. One in 4 adults in America live with a disability according to the CDC.

The novel Covid-19 virus affects 100% of us. Wearing a mask is proven to save lives during the pandemic but many people refuse. Not convinced? Check out the county comparison posted on MasksSaveLives.org. Everyone with or without a preexisting personal challenge needs wear a mask - it could save your life and the lives of other people. I posted a blog on April 1 about mask confusion and many people in the U.S. are still not wearing masks.

I admire my wife and son (shown in the photo) for overcoming many personal challenges and being willing to wear the mask!

We admire Greta for acknowledging how her autism fuels her passion to fight carbon pollution and asking people to listen to scientists.

We admire Governor Gavin for sharing how his learning challenges taught him to solve problems and inspire others. He deserves much credit for his environmental and public health actions.

There are so many more famous people that we admire who overcame adversity including Ben Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Oprah Winfrey. Everyone has something and now we must all join together to fight the virus!

Before we judge or blame others, let’s smile with compassionate eyes and feel our shared humanity and goodwill towards all creatures.