Among the many things the federal government has taken from us, the joy of giving may just be the most serious.

Many in the press demean people today – just look at the headlines in some of the well-known newspapers or the stories on some of the news channels. Sadly, I have to confess there have been times when I have demeaned people, too. That's not good, and I hope I have matured enough through my walk with Jesus Christ to check myself when I am about to do this. The act of demeaning says more about the one doing the demeaning than it does about the target.

However, I have some friends in Highland County who I am sure are very happy about the recent temperatures you have been experiencing. I heard from one of them around the first of the year who casually remarked they had run out of ice. For those of us who live with modern appliances, that would mean either filling the ice cube trays or checking on the water tubing that feeds the automatic ice maker. Not for these friends.

OK. Maybe it is my age, but I have my eyes checked routinely. What is with the comma key on my keyboard and the representation of the comma on my computer screen?

While we wring our hands over some relatively mundane headlines at home, China and Russia are playing for keeps. This will be to our detriment if we don’t wake up.

Provisions of the Paperitalo Scholarship at Miami University state that, all else being equal, a qualifying student who graduated from a high school or was home schooled through high school in Highland County shall be given preference for this annual award.

The Boy Scouts recently announced they may file for bankruptcy. The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine founded by News Corporation, just printed its last issue. Are these related events? Perhaps in one way they are, that way being beyond the obvious one of financial problems.

Tell the medical industry – as I have defined it – that all government payments are frozen, all contracts canceled and the government will not make one payment to anyone in the medical industry until, it, the medical industry, comes up with a plan that, in aggregate, reduces the cost of the medical industry as a percentage of the GDP in this country to 6 percent.

Ever since I spent a long weekend in southern Highland County a few weeks ago, I have been hearing noises, even way down here in Georgia, from folks wanting me to “tell more” about my experience. I will do so, but in a way unlike what you may expect.

Back when I started my current business in 1992, it was still possible to operate pretty much as an island. Correspondence was by U.S. mail or facsimile; the internet did not exist. Software, if you had a computer, was bought on discs at a computer store.

This manager has never gone with us. He is also a volunteer firefighter. He told me they had a bunch of surplus equipment, and he wondered if the fire department in Panajachel, Guatemala could use it. Without hesitation, I said yes. Lloyd Monroe (the missionary) stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me, “Did you know the Panajachel Fire Department’s gear was stolen a couple of weeks ago?”

This manager has never gone with us. He is also a volunteer firefighter. He told me they had a bunch of surplus equipment, and he wondered if the fire department in Panajachel, Guatemala could use it. Without hesitation, I said yes. Lloyd Monroe (the missionary) stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me, “Did you know the Panajachel Fire Department’s gear was stolen a couple of weeks ago?”

This manager has never gone with us. He is also a volunteer firefighter. He told me they had a bunch of surplus equipment, and he wondered if the fire department in Panajachel, Guatemala could use it. Without hesitation, I said yes. Lloyd Monroe (the missionary) stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me, “Did you know the Panajachel Fire Department’s gear was stolen a couple of weeks ago?”

There is a way to start practicing rich socialism that is inexpensive and can be done almost en masse. I keep several $5 fast food cards in my wallet. When I am in the city and confronted on the street by a beggar asking for money for food, I give them one of these. They are often taken aback, and, yes, I have somewhat imposed my will on a stranger, but I have met their request. I have given them money for food. It is just not quite as fungible as they anticipated.

On Monday evening, Nov. 5, 2018, I had had it “up to here” with political ads and thought I would go to YouTube and retreat into old “Newhart” episodes (the Bob Newhart show that was set in Vermont, not Chicago) and escape the world. (I realize many younger readers have no idea what show I am talking about.) Well, if I thought this was going to be escapism, I was sadly wrong.