Hanging with Rich

Patriotism - The Right Way..... These days you hear plenty on the news about groups expressing their American rights. But you don't hear much about patriotism in general. You hear about Nazi groups and their right to have a public display. You hear about their opponents if it leads to violence. You even hear about players in the National Football League that refuse to stand for the National Anthem. They are protesting something in America. But nobody knows specifically what it is. It is their American right to protest. Ohio flags of honor displayed this weekend in Walton Hills, Ohio. You don't hear much about patriotism. Maybe it's not news-worthy. You don't hear much about the Ohio Flags of Honor. The Ohio Flags of Honor is a traveling display that honors Ohio's fallen in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the global war on terrorism. A full size flag is displayed for each of them. I was proud to have played a small part of it this weekend. There are now about 300

Racism In America Goes In Cycles..... Am I really going to write about racism in America? These days it's hard to avoid it. Racism has always been part of American culture, and unfortunately, probably always will. Watching hate groups on the news is both shocking and disgusting Ohio plates on this car make me sick. Here we are in the 21st century. We are a well established society. But things like Charlottesville still happen. Some say the President has made racism cool. During the campaign he talked like a racist. Unfortunately, now that he is the POTUS, he still acts and talks like a racist. Some groups seem to be encouraged by that. I care little about his politics. Whatever happens to Obamacare happens. Tax laws will be changed, and changed again. The same with immigration law. I just want to live in a peaceful and fair America. I don't think that's asking for too much. Today we have terrorism. Extreme prejudice against ethnic groups, and politicians with &

An Anniversary Cruise?..... Forty years of marriage is an accomplishment for any couple. If you can do that, pat yourself on the back. My wife and I will be celebrating that accomplishment soon. Sometimes it feels like four years, sometimes like four hundred years. But, we made it. Statistics say the average marriage in America that ends in divorce lasts eight years. But the median duration for all marriages is forty years before somebody dies. So if we're at forty years now, anything more is just gravy. More reason to celebrate. Crazy kids. My wife and I were in our very early 20's when we got married. If I were counseling a young person today on marriage I would advise them to wait until they were older. But nobody told us not to, so we went ahead. It even took over a year to plan the wedding. We didn't have a clue as to the challenges and curveballs that life throws at you. There are no guarantees in life. Forty years is a mark where you can look back a