MINIMUM WAGES

For your edification, I have found the minimum wage in the US over the years.  It began in 1938 and  has been changed 21 times as you will see.  I've noted some of my milestones along the way.  At first, minimum wages did not apply to every worker - only special ones desgnated by the law as written by congress.  Now, the minimum wage is for everyone.  

1938    $0.25 per hour    This was the very beginning.

1939    $0.30 per hour

1945    $0.40 per hour    This was the year I was born.  The war ended this year.

1950    $0.75 per hour

1956    $1.00 per hour    I was delivering the local paper at this time.  I didn't get that much.

1961    $1.15 per hour    I had after-school jobs at this time.

1963    $1.25 per hour    This was the year I graduated from high school.

1967    $1.40 per hour    I was working for the government and making less than this.  

1968    $1.60 per hour    I owned a home and had two kids by the end of this year.  I think I made more than the minimum.

1974    $2.00 per hour    I had four children by this year.

1975    $2.10 per hour

1976    $2.30 per hour

1978    $2.65 per hour

1979    $2.90 per hour

1980    $3.10 per hour

1981    $3.35 per hour    My kids were working in the 80's and probably getting this wage.

1990    $3.80 per hour

1991    $4.25 per hour    My youngest was working by this time.

1996    $4.75 per hour

1997    $5.15 per hour

2007    $5.85 per hour

2008    $6.55 per hour

2009    $7.25 per hour

Congress is contemplating a new increase.  Some D's have recommended a jump to $15.00 per hour.

FIREFLIES

 All kids love fireflies - lightning bugs, if you live in my part of the world.  They are amazing.  Living in southwest Ohio, I've always enjoyed them.  

I didn't realize until I had kids living in Florida that everyone didn't have them.  I felt sorry for Floridians.  Well, the other day I saw a map that someone put together that showed the density of fireflies around the world.  The only real dense populations are in central United States.  I had no idea.  

We are so lucky.  Hot summer nights can be magical. Sadly, the habitat for fireflies is shrinking. 

Go out tonight and catch one in a glass jar, poke holes in the lid, throw in a piece of grass or two, take it into the house and set the jar on your dresser.  Watch it blink through the night as you are falling asleep.  Now, think that it is looking for a mate with that flash of light.  How romantic!  In the morning, it will be dead as a doornail. 

MIDWEEK PRAYER

I dare reprint this.  I'm not sure I should.  Take it in good spirit.  I take back that notion that God has a sense of humor.  It's fitting for old people to say it.  

9/04/2024

MIDWEEK PRAYER

You must understand that I firmly believe that God must have a sense of humor.  So, to begin this day, I'm going to offer this little ditty.

The Senility Prayer

God, grant me the senility 

to forget the people I never liked anyway,

the good fortune to run into

the ones I do like

and the eyesight

to know the difference.

Now, in all seriousness, I offer this old standby for your weekly dose of seriousness and hopefully, reflection. 

The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change

the things I can,

and the wisdom

to know the difference.

Amen 

BACKWARD

 Have you ever been called "backward"?   The adjective "backward" could mean diffident and shy or less advanced in development.  Neither are a good thing.  That's not what I'm talking about here.  I'm talking about a great exercise.

Walking backward is a wonderful thing to do.  It works and stretches your muscles in a new direction.  It makes your mind think about what you are doing.  Your brain is working and your body is working at the same time.  This has to be a good thing - unless a busy street or the Grand Canyon is behind you. Don't worry about people, they'll just look at you like you're crazy and get out of your way.  Seriously, I think this would be a great excercise anyone could do.  Try it!

If you are advanced, you could RUN backwards.  I used to do that all the time when I ran/jogged/walked the lake path at Sharon Woods.  Just bend your knees and lean forward to keep your balance.  Defensive backfield football players do it all the time.  

Let me know how it works out for you. 

QUIZ

 Obviously, you don't like the music quizzes.  Try this one.  It's a "where am I?"

I just walked past a UC campus heading North.  I was able to pick up a golf ball I found near the street.  I heard dogs barking in the distance so I made a right turn to see what was going on.  I got distracted by seeing an airport control tower and headed for it.  But now the aroma of food brought me easterly.  Finally, I found what I was looking for:  that stuff "little girls are made of".   Where am I?

DON'T BE ANONYMOUS!

AMAZING ATHLETE

I read something the other day that astounded me.  I was taken aback.  It is an athletic record.  It was recorded by a woman. 

Katie Ledecky, famous US Olympic swimmer, won the 1500 meter freestyle at the World Championships in Singapore this week.  The amazing part:  she has dominated that event for FIFTEEN (15) YEARS.  Come on now, is that possible.   She won the World Championship in 2013 at the age of 13.  She is 28 now and has been the champ every year in between.  

Of course, that's not her only event.  She has more Olympic gold medals than any other US woman.  She has held world records in every length free-style swimming event that exists.  She is regarded as the greatest female swimmer of all time. 

ANSWER TO QUIZ

If you haven't read Monday's entry which is a music quiz, do that first.  Here are the answers in the proper order.  This is more fun than trivia night at the local bar.  

PRISONER OF LOVE   PERRY COMO  1946

HEARTBREAK HOTEL   ELVIS PRESLEY  1956

HEY JUDE   BEATLES   1968

LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER   CAPTAIN & TANNILLE  1975

BETTE DAVIS EYES   KIM CARNES   1981

WHEN DOVES CRY   PRINCE   1984

END OF THE ROAD   BOYZ II MEN   1992

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU   WHITNEY HOUSTON   1993

SOMETHING ABOUT THEY WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT   ELTON JOHN   1997

LOVE YOURSELF   JUSTIN BEIBER  2016

Future

POOP THUMB   PP & DS   2025

DON'T COMPLAIN

 Let no one complain about an upcoming surgery.  I just read that an anesthetic wasn't developed until 1846.  That's not really that long ago.  It was ether -  the first anasthetic.  It took real guts to agree to a surgery back then.  

Prior to 1846, anasthesia, if any, for a surgery consisted of either whiskey or opium - neither worked real well.  The staff for all surgeries had to include two or four or more strong people to hold the patient down while the doctor did his work.  Can you picture that?

Here's an interesting side note.  It was once believed that outer space was made up of ether.  The atmosphere in the heavens was ether.  When it came to naming things relative to modern technology, computer architecture was called the ethernet - it was up in the heavens, I guess.. We still use that terminology.  You probably have an ethernet connection from your router to your computer.  

Anesthesia is one more thing that I am grateful for.  PTL

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 A FAMILY PRAYER

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

in you we contemplate

the splendor of true love,

to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

grant that our families too

may be places of communion and prayer,

authentic schools of the Gospel

and small domestic churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may families never again

experience violence, rejection and division,

may all who have been hurt or scandalized

find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

make us once more mindful

of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,

and its beauty in God's plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

graciously hear our prayer.

Amen.

PRONOUNCIATION

 I'm making a list of English words that are surely spelled incorrectly.  I'm sure there are hundreds of them.  If you have any to add to my list, let me know.  I may develope my own dictionary.

SWORD  should be spelled SORD.

CHORUS  should be spelled CORUS OR KORUS.

CELLO  should be spelled CHELLO.

QUIZ

I haven't offered a music quiz for a couple months.  Let's do it again.  I'll try to bridge the full gamut of music for all ages.  I may have mentioned it before, but I read where someone's memories about music stop at about the age of 33.  Think where that puts you.  

Tell me the proper order of dates of release of these hit songs - they were all number one for their year on Billboard's Pop Chart.  Shuffle the order to make them go from earliest to latest.  I'll have the answer in Friday's entry.

1. SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
2. HEY JUDE
3. PRISONER OF LOVE
4. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
5. HEARTBREAK HOTEL
6. LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER
7. LOVE YOURSELF
8. WHEN DOVES CRY
9. BETTE DAVIS EYES
10. END OF THE ROAD

Here is a bonus question.  Will that great new song, POOP THUMB, lead the list in 2025?

FOOTBALL

Is it too early to start talking about football?  Pro Football?  No it's not.  Players reported to the Bengals facilities on Tuesday.  Practice began on Wednesday.  The first preseason game is against the Eagles in two weeks - yes, a Thursday.

I believe in avoiding the hype.  Don't set your bar too high at the start.  In that regard, I offer the following.  The Athletic is the most respected sports publication in the land.  They have put out a preseason Power Ranking just to tickle your interest.  Of course, it is based on their present feeling of how the 32 teams will do this year.  Here goes the top ten, Bengal Fans.

EAGLES 

RAVENS

BILLS 

CHIEFS

PACKERS

COMMANDERS

LIONS

TEXANS

RAMS 

VIKINGS.

Well, did you notice anything?  Ah, yeah.  No Bengals.  

How good are they?  How good do we expect them to be?  

HELP!!!

 THIS IS A SERIOUS SITUATION AND IT REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!

A little background.  A good friend gave me two small Dixie cups with a plant in them about two months ago.  I was told they were a tiny pumpkin plant - pumpkins like the ones you see in table-top displays at Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I gave one to my neighbor.  I planted the other in the rear (NE facing) of my house amid some flowers and grasses.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  

Here it is (above) after a few weeks.  Didn't think too much about it.

Another couple weeks and I was starting to worry.  What have I done here?  It was threatening to cover up my flowers and grasses.  I thought those yellow flowers it was producing were cute.  I cut off the part over the lawn.

Right.  It spread out sideways. I had to use the panorama camera setting.

Two weeks ago - this is what I had.  YIKES!

You can see that I tried to wind it through the railing on the patio.  It is taking over my yard.  BUT, I'm afraid to cut it now because I saw this.

BIG WHITE PUMPKINS! 

My investigation on the internet tells me that they might be called Lumina Pumpkins.   

HELP!  

WHAT DO I DO NOW?

How do I know if they are ripe?  ready to harvest?

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make ME an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let ME sow love; 

Where there is injury, pardon; 

When there is doubt, faith; 

Where there is despair, hope; 

Where there is darkness, light 

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 

to be consoled, as to console;

to be loved, as to love; 

for it is in giving that we receive, 

it is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.