J. Davy Crockett III

The campaign rhetoric in the United States had much to say about the "poor." This word is rather vague and has various definitions, depending upon the perspective of the person using the term. Like the word "rich" it means different things to different people or groups. Poverty, like beauty, tends to be in the eye of the beholder.

As one who has walked through the aftermath of many disasters – having represented insurance companies for decades as a claims adjuster – my attention was really grabbed by the pictures of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike, and other recent storms.

"Buy Gold!" scream dozens of headlines in various financial newsletters, internet websites and television commercials. It seems that the economic uncertainty of the times has motivated people with assets to seek a safe haven, and what could be more attractive than gold, the standard of monetary value for millennia.

Have you noticed that some words fairly drip with meaning? Even the sounds of these words help convey their meaning. You know the kind I mean. Words like: snap, boom, sizzle, (or fizzle) – words like expunge, lunge, whack and whirl. Interesting, you might say, but not very significant. Yet words do have an impact.

Recently, I realized a dream, a long-held goal to visit Ireland, England and Scotland. My timing wasn't very good because the "Yankee Dollar" doesn't buy much anymore, especially in the United Kingdom or the European Union. But it was a great opportunity and my wife and I enjoyed it immensely.