Opinion

Sounds simple: “The world is what we make of it.”

In a recent conference call for work, an Israeli immigrant to Canada said the United States was a democracy.

Everyday except Sunday begins by organizing my “To Do” list.

My wife and I were on our way to one of our granddaughter’s soccer games one recent Saturday. I was hungry and decided to stop for something at McDonalds but the drive-through was jammed so I parked and went inside.

To those who have come before and to those now serving, you have my ever-increasing gratitude, and my solemn promise to perpetuate what you have given us.

About five years ago, the adult leader of the Boy Scouts of America troops in Phoenix said that the Arizona chapters had stopped their 100+ year old tradition of taking scouts out for camping trips to southern Arizona because “coyotes” with AK-47s were shepherding illegals into the scout camps and demanding food and water.

We must not forget the freedoms, nor especially the price paid, to which so many of us have become accustomed that we are no longer aware of them.

There is a country, which I will allow to remain nameless, that receives a lot of “off-shoring” of software engineering from US companies. I teach a fair number of engineers from that country and, for whatever reason, I have to say they seem to be grossly under qualified. By and large, in the classroom they ask few questions – that could be a cultural thing, I admit – and in the labs they have more problems than others in following the detailed instructions – again, that could be a cultural issue.