The Land of the Free

During the July Fourth weekend, I spent a lot of time thinking on a phrase that has become synonymous with the holiday-“The Land of the Free.” Everyone knows that the Fourth of July Holiday is the time that we as a country celebrate our independence from England.

You can buy happiness by the foot

Oh, the years we’ve wasted donning white socks and black, sometimes brown if the ensemble screams for it, but never bright orange, or psychedelic candy stripes like the ones I’m wearing today. “How gauche,” I hear. “How unprofessional,” you say.

What to expect from a financial advisor

If you know how important it is to invest for your future, but you’re unsure of the road to follow, you may want to get some guidance and direction from a financial professional. But if you’ve never worked with one before, what can you expect?

LIBRARY CORNER

We’ll be closed Monday, July 4, so here’s what’s happening the rest of the week: Tuesdays • Take & Make (Pick up a craft to take home and make.) • Ignite book checkout 9 a.m. • AA’s book checkout 11 a.m. • Story Time 11 a.m. • Kids’ Pottery 3 p.m. (Preregistration required. Class is full.

U-boats on the prowl in the Gulf

Buried in the back pages of a Houston newspaper in July 1942 was a brief account of the sinking on the fifth of the month of a cargo ship “somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.” German U-boats were on the prowl off the coast of Texas, but there was no reason to get folks all riled up about it!

No problem, I can deal with change

“Change? I’m all for it as long everything stays the same.” — Yep, I’ve probably been accused of saying that. Looking out the exam room window at the dentist’s office last week, I started to think. Nothing complicated or even philosophical. Just a simple observation.

Take the long way home

In 1979, the group Supertramp released the song, “Take the Long Way Home.

Beware the temptation of endless tiktokery

The TikTok hole is so wide and so deep that if you were to accidentally fall into it – fall into its everlasting whirlpool of DIY time-lapse home-improvementon-a-budget tutorials or lip-syncing cat aerobic dance videos – you may never be able to swim safely back to shore, or even want to.

Take steps toward financial freedom

Next week, we observe Independence Day, an opportunity to celebrate all the liberties we enjoy in this country. Of course, there are different types of freedoms – such as financial freedom, which can open the doors to many other opportunities.

LIBRARY CORNER

This week in the library: • Monday—Check out books Little Rascals 11 a.m. • Tuesday—Story Time 11 a.m. • Wednesday—Puppet Maker ( for school age) 3 p.m. • Thursday—AA’s Treehouse 9 a.m. • Pleasant Living Care 2 p.m. • Pushing the Limits Book Club 6 p.m.