Real Stuff ... our view of Joplin!

The Joplin relief effort here in the South West part of Indiana has really caught us off guard, but not in the way that you might think.  You see Greene county is the 4th poorest county in Indiana, we rank in the bottom 10% of counties nationwide for higher education and in the bottom half of all counties in the US for adults with a HS diploma.  Our unemployment rate is 8.3% and the average household income is only about $41,000 a year.

I'm not trying to deflate my fellow Greene county residents, in fact it's quite the opposite.  You see it is the perfect example of what my friend Jerry told me the other day (Jerry is over 70 and always has words of wisdom).  He said "Jason if it ever comes that I need a hand out, you know real help, I'll head over to the poor side of town."  Greene county (and our neighbors) decided that we may not have a lot but we have enough ... in one week the efforts of Leroy Barnhill and his army of volunteers, along with the residents of our community, shipped 115,000 pound of aid to Joplin in 4 separate semi trailers.

By the time we are all home from work on Tuesday that will be 5 or 6 semis and 135,000 pounds of supplies.  And this is shipped direct, no middle man, no government, no red tape ... just good people doing what Jesus would do!  I've heard about very young children giving their very best toys, young men giving the jacket off their backs, and a mysteriously appropriate gift of thousands of sets of rain gear.

How great are the people in my community ... pretty damn great.

http://www.bloomfieldfcc.org/page_32.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greene-Daviess-County-Joplin-Relief/209609692411938

2011 Predictions!

I love to read the newspaper and magazines this time of year, they always recount what has happened over the last twelve months and they predict what is to come in the upcoming year!  Will it be feast or famine, will we have peace or war, Will the weather be good or bad?  So many questions to ask and answer, and in the end it is just a guess by the author.  If they are right, they can build credibility in their next prediction, if wrong no one will remember by the end of the next year and they will still be able to try again.

I don't have a crystal ball and I can't know for sure what will happen with the weather or war but I have a couple of ideas about what we will see in 2011.  I imagine that Oprah will continue to make money even though much of the world is not.  I foresee that wives will write out lists for their husbands to do and husbands will try to figure out how to keep  from doing everything on those lists.  The sun will rise and set each day, babies will be born and old friends will pass away.  In other words the cycle of life will continue without regard to the financial health of Greece, the EU or even the United States. 

We will have good days and bad days and all we have to do is enjoy the good and weather the bad.  The last year has been a great one for me.  I've enjoyed my business life and seen some success, I've enjoyed my family and I feel like I made a difference through my church, business and family.  In the end that is the measure of a good year for me, did I make a difference?  

Thanks to everyone that made a difference in my life and who allowed me the honor of making a small difference in their lives. 

God Bless you all and a very Happy New Year!