Wallace G. Smith

The world is beginning to wise up and to realize that the future is not as predictable as some had portrayed it to be – particularly in the area of finances and national economies. When will things turn around?  When will investors regain confidence?  When will the firings, layoffs, and downsizing stop?  Or more personally, when will my family begin to feel like we don't have to worry anymore about our future?

The answer from the experts is beginning to be a clear, definite, unequivocal, "We have no idea."

While the syndicated "Dear Abby" advice column in many newspapers across the U.S. has been celebrated for decades for its wit and "common sense," in the column I read the other day it was clear that "Abby" had struck out. The individual writing to "Abby" was a 16-year-old, struggling with seemingly overwhelming homosexual feelings.  Struggling to deal with those feelings and failing to change them, the teen asks "Abby" for advice on how to "come out" and make his or her homosexuality public, expressing concern about how family and friends will react. "Abby's" advice?  Abysmal.  Let's take a look.

An item caught my eye in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's front page on December 5th.  It was an article on Iraqis and Afghans who have recently moved to the United States.  While some have faced hardship here, they love their adopted country.  (For all America's faults – and perhaps because of some of them – it is still a country that many dream of coming to.)

The business of living life is full of many, many details. There are project reports to write, looming deadlines to meet, and a coffee spill on your desk that demands your attention. There are school forms to fill out and permission slips to sign while finishing your children's lunches as you see their school bus pull around the corner. Our eyeglass prescriptions need to be updated, our garbage needs to be taken out, and our dog needs to be taken to the vet. Details, details, details.

The world held its breath last November 4 as the most powerful nation on earth elected its new president.  At the selection of Senator Barack Obama, there was much celebration, both in the U. S. and abroad.