School’s out.  Now what?  Every parent knows the drill.  A few weeks of vacation go by, then it’s “I’m bored.  There’s nothing to do.” What are parents to do to beat the heat—especially this summer as temperatures rise and cash is low?  Here’s a thought inspired by a young friend. Andy was a hard-to-please child.  Andy also [...] So the second quarter verdict is in: the economy is still in a slump.  Little wonder when you think of how we got here.  Are we really content to just point fingers at “the banks” and those who “took loans for houses they couldn’t afford”? Those are nice simplistic sound-bites.  The truth, as always, is far [...] Hail to the graduates! Now that you have made it to this day, it is to you, as successful people and achievers, that this open letter is addressed. Amidst the congratulations due, let’s talk about the PRICE of your success, the DEBT owed for it, and a SENSIBLE  REPAYMENT  PLAN. First, the price: take time to thank [...] I was thirteen when Grandpa began our Sunday ritual. But his tradition of Sundays and family did not begin with me. It began in the late 1920s when my mother was little; its roots dug deep for the Great Depression. On Sunday mornings, Grandma could take their three girls to church for their spiritual uplift. [...] Over the years, I’ve heard writers say that they write the books they need to read. Since 1984, I’ve been writing, writing, writing; pages willing themselves to life from the conversations and context of our times. My children, our friends, my soul, demanded it. We were feeling the earth quake under us with the eruption of [...]