Look Forward. We Need Bourbon. A Fine Performance from Bill Murray. We Need Your Answer. Daylight Savings Time. Amazing K9s.
- Quote of the Week: “It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.” – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
As one of the most decorated female athletes of all-time, Jackie Joyner-Kersee dominated the track and field circuit for sixteen years winning three gold, one silver and two bronze medals spanning four Olympic Games.
I like Joyner-Kersee’s quote reminding all of us that while we can look back and learn from the past, taking time to dwell on the past is both energy draining and a waste of time. I have vivid memories of my past and respect the fact that I have experienced both failures and accomplishments, but I definitely focus on whatever the future holds.
Many years ago, I read a quote by Dennis Farina, who before he became a great character actor (i.e. Law and Order and Get Shorty), Farina served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was a Chicago police officer for eighteen years. His quote has always stuck with me: “I know people who go back and check themselves, but it drives me crazy. Everybody wants to look in the mirror and see Cary Grant looking back at them, but that’s just not the case.” Similar to Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Dennis Farina reminds us to look forward, not back.
Joyner-Kersee never stopped looking forward, planning, and preparing for her retirement from track and field. From her website: “In addition to her remarkable accomplishments on the field of competition, Joyner-Kersee has defined her post-athletic career as a philanthropist, a dynamic public speaker, and a tireless advocate for children’s education, health issues, racial equality, social reform and women’s rights. In 1988, Joyner-Kersee established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation as the vehicle through which she provides youth, adults and families with the resources to improve their quality of life.”
Two people, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Dennis Farina, from different walks of life, reminding us to look forward, not back.
- The tariffs now in place with Canada, Mexico, and China have far-reaching impact on different businesses throughout the U.S., and for that matter around the world. The goal of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, from a level-set standpoint, are to even the playing field with goods imported and exported from the U.S. border countries, as well as China. Last week, President Trump pulled back a bit on the tariffs, offering up a thirty-day moratorium with Mexico and Canada.
My concern is the short-term impact with different types of businesses across the U.S. One example is in the state of Kentucky, specifically the bourbon industry. Kentucky estimates that ninety-five percent of the global bourbon supply is produced in the Bluegrass state, with 23,000 jobs and $2.2 billion in wages and benefits. The trickle-down effect of the imposed tariffs will most likely see corn farmers (bourbon must be produced with a minimum of 51% corn), distillery workers, barrel makers, as well as the infrastructure built around the Kentucky bourbon industry severely impacted in the short term.
I mention Kentucky and its bourbon industry for all the right reasons. Years ago, a group of us went on a bourbon tour in the Lexington, Kentucky area. Besides enjoying the many tastings, we toured a few distilleries and came away impressed with the facilities, the many processes involved with producing bourbon, and the many workers involved with turning out a great-tasting product. Note: last Wednesday, one fallout of the imposed tariffs saw the removal of American alcohol from thousands of liquor store shelves across Canada. Again, I am staying out of politics, but the short-term impact of the tariffs could be far-reaching with businesses and their employees.
Last week, the Trump Administration pushed back the Presidential Executive Orders to April 2, 2025. Here are the five tariff stipulations:
1. Additional 25% tariffs on goods that do not satisfy U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) rules of origin.
2. A lower, additional 10% tariff on energy products imported from Canada that fall outside the USMCA preference.
3. A lower, additional 10% tariff on potash imported from Canada and Mexico that falls outside the USMCA preference.
4. Additional 20% on goods from China and Hong Kong (increased from 10% on March 4).
5. Effective March 7, 2025, no additional tariffs are due on goods from Canada and Mexico that qualify for the USMCA preference.
Here is your tariff factoid of the day: Before the Civil War, tariffs represented 90% of U.S. government revenue until the creation of the formal income tax in 1913. After World War II, tariffs were de-emphasized due to concerns with reduced trade and rising costs for consumers. I guess what comes around, goes around. 🙂
- Though I am okay with all of you posing questions that involve politics and religion, I will maintain my abstinence from mentioning either subject with JustMyTake. In support of that decision, I watched only three minutes of President Trump’s Congressional Address. The three minutes I did watch was to try and learn firsthand how the newly imposed tariffs might affect my business.
Last Tuesday night at 9pm EST, I elected to stay away from the Presidential address, college basketball, the NBA, and the NHL, and decided to watch a movie. Due to being a huge fan of Bill Murray I found the movie St. Vincent. Is the movie a top ten of all-time? No, not even close, but it is well-written with a great cast, with Murray portraying a retired war veteran who forms an unlikely friendship with the son of his new next-door neighbor. If you want two hours to escape and watch a good story, check out St. Vincent. The cast includes Murray, Terrance Howard, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, and Jaeden Lieberher, who plays the young boy. Bill Murray is no Gene Hackman, but he is a damn great actor.
- Question of the Week: Last week’s question generated three great answers from our readers: What is a random act of kindness that you recently delivered or received? Thank you for these answers*:
*Back during Covid I read about a group called Lasagna Love. This group matches volunteers willing to make a lasagna for a person/family who requests a lasagna that lives close to you. Each week my wife makes a lasagna and we deliver it to a person we haven’t met in our community. We have delivered to extended stay hotels, apartments and houses….met a wonderful veteran who lives alone (who we have been matched with several times) and end up talking with him for a while. Giving a home made meal brings us happiness. The notes we get back make it even more rewarding.
*I was at Publix a couple weeks ago and there was this young man panhandling for money outside of Publix, looked a little bit strung out so I didn’t want to give him money, but I went inside and bought him a whole meal a pub sub chips a couple of drinks And a box of cookies . Unfortunately, by the time I got outside, he was gone. I was annoyed at myself thinking maybe I shouldn’t have done my grocery shopping. I just should’ve gotten him lunch and brought it outside.
*I recently sent a letter of commendation to a YMCA trainer who is super quiet and humble, yet does his job so effectively by serving the elderly (lol even older than me), population. He does this be being completely present and patient, focusing entirely on their physical needs. I simply wanted his managers and he to know that his care does not go unnoticed.
Here is this week’s question, and yes, your questions (not mine) can include the topics of religion and politics. I would like to get some answers from you:
Do you believe it is in necessary to believe in God to be moral?
- To the disappointment of many, daylight savings time started at 2am this morning. Yes, I always receive comments concerning my posts that cheer on the advent of more daylight in the early evenings. Everyone has their opinion with daylight savings time – from too dark in the early mornings to too warm at night. I suppose the argument can go both ways, but to me, having daylight until 8:30PM is great in many ways.
Some analysts and special advisors have advocated for the U.S. to legislate permanent daylight savings time for many reasons. Some of the reasons include the ability for children to be outdoors more often (and not staring at their phones or tablets), to reduce seasonal depression, and to cut down on the number of car accidents that occur due to time changes. Critics of permanent daylight savings time note that children would be going to school in the dark and some would have issues with alertness due to the morning darkness.
For many reasons I am a proponent of daylight savings time. It is definitely time to stop adjusting our clocks twice a year. That is my take, what is yours?
Here is Harry Styles with his song, “Daylight.” Well done, Harry.
- Pure Talent. I will take a different tact with exceptional talent and performance. The K9 and their trainers are amazing with the ways and means of training these beautiful dogs. The pure power and intelligence of this German Shepard is amazing. There are close to 50,000 active police K9s in the United States. From seizing drugs, sniffing out explosives, detaining criminals and uncovering forensic evidence at crime scenes, these dogs and their handlers are very much Pure Talent.