The world is so full of political issues on which I wish to comment that I have decided to take a break. I can’t decide which one is most important. Hence, I thought I would discuss my dietary regimen this week. This starts with a statement that I have told the family for decades, “The best meal I have ever had is not that much better than the worst meal I ever had.”

I want a country with stable rules, regulations and tax policies so that we have a place to grow more businesses like the one I have just described. These can provide a good future for us all. The very best social program is a job, a job where one makes things people want and need.

Morals, ethics and honesty are constantly changing or at least they have been constantly changing in the seven decades I have been around. This column is a selection of scattered remembrances and current observations, some appalling, some not, that flash across my memory. I hasten to say I am cursed with a very good memory, at least of the older scenes, but perhaps you should not ask me what I did last week.

It seems as though I remember when lung cancer deaths were around a half million a year, so education on smoking is obviously working. Funny, we don’t talk about these deaths anymore. Tuberculosis and death by automobile are other statistics that occasionally come into the national narrative, but not now. At the moment, it is not COVID-19, it is COVID-24/7.

The Hon. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio's 4th District) had a great week with outstanding performances on July 28-29.

I think we will have really gotten over our discrimination practices in general when we present employees, academics, award recipients and others without any mention of those attributes which are not pertinent to the recognition being bestowed.

Only when we can remove ourselves from these despicable conditions will statespersons emerge as presidential candidates. As I have said before, the ideal situation would be two (or more) outstanding candidates, making it difficult to choose, but leaving us with either outcome being good for the country. I don’t think that has happened since Jefferson faced off against Adams in 1796.

Starting in Russia, this is the way these sorts of coups have taken place for the last 103 years. The average citizens continue to go about their business, rationalizing that the latest loss of freedom is insignificant and adaptable. Then one day, all awaken in a terrifying world of which they never dreamed. It not only can happen here; it is happening here while we attempt to go about our “normal” lives.

Let’s focus all of our energy in a direction that will really advance even the least advantaged among us. We are a team. Teams don’t fight among themselves; they focus on external goals that allow all members to work together for the common good. This has been the strength of America in the past and can be our strength going forward.

On the whole, we are deteriorating, folks. These are not problems to be blamed on big box stores, these are often problems of poor, corrupt or incompetent management. In the voting booth this fall, look askance at anyone claiming to have the solutions to our deteriorating cities. Nearly all politicians’ performance over the last 70 years has been dismal.

If you have not spent a lot of time digging into data or if you know math and science are not strengths for you, I have a recommendation, should you want to discern the truth for yourself. Gather as much information as you can. Then, seek out people you trust on both sides of whatever issue you are examining. Listen to them, roll it over in your mind, then decide for yourself, having gathered as much information as you can, what way to go. I also have a recommendation as to where not to gather information for your opinions. Television or social media. Both spew the emotional side only.

The acorn does not fall far from the tree, they say. There are some issues and personalities I deal with in a tough manner. For other situations, I am a softie. The example for my life was set in Highland County in the years on the farms by a conservationist.

These days, I dream a lot, and people from various times in my life show up in my dreams. Once in a while, SHE does, but now I have the nerve to wave at her across the room – and she smiles and waves back.

Thanksgiving weekend 1964 revolves around a hamburger, served to me about 7 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 28, in a small diner in Oolitic, Ind. I drank a glass of milk with it.

The means are easier and more economical to implement than ever before. The question is this: Do we have the will to explore other spaces, other ideas? I hope I do, and I hope you do. We are richer for the experience when we do.