Friday, February 22, 2013

Girls with Guns ... a Warning from Dad!


As the father of four daughters I have a pretty unique view of the world.  In fact unless you have lived in a totally female home with little women that you helped make, you can't really appreciate the dynamic that exists for me.
 
Having only daughters, which are mysteries from the time they are born and no male influence other than your own is truly like being King.  It's lonely sometimes, overwhelming sometimes and scary all the time.  But that's not what the world sees, they can only be allowed to see the scary Dad.
 
I don't sharpen my knives in front of the boys, or clean my gun, no I want them to know that I am so much more dangerous than guns and knives.  I want them to fear me, not know what I'm capable of and hope that they don't ever find out.  Because as King, I would hunt to the ends of the earth, anyone that harms my family.  Of course it goes without saying that as a Christian man it would go against my nature to hurt someone, but I would. 
 
I also believe that I have taught my girls (even if they forget sometimes) that they are worthy to be treated as princesses and that they are capable of inspiring the same fear in the hearts of the common boys that are always lurking about.  Oh, and believe you me, those boys better feel fear in their hearts.
 
Some of the girls really like shooting rifles, shot guns and pistols and they are good shots too (Grandpa taught them right).  Some of my girls really know how to handle themselves in a fight but, all of them know that the King would wage war or even lay down his life to save them from harm.  Not that they need me as much any more ... but here's my warning to the young men of the world. 
 
Treat my girls respectfully, treat them with kindness, and treat them like the princesses they are or you'll suffer, because they are worth it to me.
 
the King
 
 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Old guys are the lucky ones!


Time marches on ... we all know this and yet looking back on the days gone by, we all seem to say, "where has the time gone?"  But I must say that as I slowly become an old guy, I find that I feel like a really lucky person.
 
I've had both success and failure in my life ... so, I know what I can accomplish but, I'm not afraid of missing the mark.  I've seen peace and war, both up close and I know that one can not exist without the other.  I work hard so that I can have sometime to play, and that makes me understand the value of both work and play.  I have enough money to pay my way ... but not enough to make me greedy.
 
As we get older we realize that it isn't the money, fun times, peaceful world, or successes that make us happy or even lucky.  Happiness and indeed luckiness comes from a generous helping of life!  The messiness, the highs, the lows and the craziness of a life through the years makes it more valuable to the person living it and more interesting to anyone that is observing it.  Some folks will tell you that success comes from planning for the future and there is truth to that, but success is not the only element of life worth pursuing. 
 
So here is the last word from this "old guy" in training. Plan what you can, accept what you must, pursue what you love and give 'til it hurts.  When you look back at the days gone by, you'll still say "where has the time gone", but you'll feel like the luckiest old guy on the planet.
 
J
 

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Spending my kid's Inheritance? Heck yeah!


I was riding to Bloomington with my youngest daughter last week when we got behind this truck.  Since Katie was driving I had a chance to really look around and I noticed the words on the back and thought "now there's a guy that's going somewhere!"
 
I hope someday to spend my kids inheritance on a really great truck or a hot tub but my wife insists that we will be spending lots on our kids for years to come, and now I have a grandchild on the way which my wife has decided to spend a chunk of our income on ... I may have to just put a kiddie pool in the back of my old pickup and run a hose from the exhaust to the kiddie pool to make the bubbles.  I'm still working on that idea!
 
But seriously, I had a conversation with a woman in her 70's this week and she has $25,000 in an account that she has set aside for her grand kids.  "It's not much, but maybe they'll get some use out of it."  Well with 3 grand kids that means they'll each get $8,333.  That's pretty great, but it's my job to let her know that they'll be taxed on that amount and if the estate owes anyone when she dies the debts will be settled first and they'll only get their eight grand if it's left after the debts are satisfied. 
One of the best things about my job is being able to help people solve problems like this ... I mean this lady has saved twenty five grand to leave behind and at the very least Uncle Sam is going to take 20% ... not cool!  So I showed her how to take that $25,000 and put it in a single premium life policy which gives her heirs $44,000 at her death and all life insurance proceeds are tax free to the beneficiary.  Oh, and one more GREAT thing about life insurance.  It doesn't matter how long the estate is in probate or tied up in courts and such, life insurance is paid directly to the beneficiary within days of a death certificate being issued.
 
So maybe I can get my truck and hot tub without having to duct tape a hose to my exhaust.  Good luck hiding your money from the kids, I'll talk to you soon.

J

Ask me about life insurance ... I can help!