"Take every birthday with a grain of salt.
This works much better if the salt accompanies a large margarita."
~Maxine
"Don't cry because it's over.
Smile because it happened."
~Dr. Seuss
"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.
Write a good one."
~Brad Paisley
When I created my Updated Bucket List for Year 77 I included an item to go on a Harley Day-Ride on my 78th birthday and do an expanded annual review compared with what I normally do. I wanted to review my experience doing all the activities on my Updated Bucket List, plus review my goals and objectives listed in my Mission Statement. I love being near the ocean and realized that all my Harley Day-Rides during my Year 77 had been in the mountains (which I also love) so I decided to ride to the ocean for this birthday ride. On Saturday July 7th (my birthday) I climbed on my Harley and rode to the Back On The Beach Cafe, a nice restaurant on the beach in Santa Monica, to have breakfast and do my review. The description of the cafe on their website follows - I found it to be a very comfortable place with great views of the ocean and wonderful food.
"Nestled on a wide stretch of sandy beach, Back on the Beach Café offers appetizing meals featuring local and seasonal cuisine with breathtaking views of ocean, mountain, pier, and Catalina Island. Generations of Angelinos have been coming to our landmark restaurant since 1989. Both indoor & outdoor seating is available. Come and enjoy the beach with us!"
The photos below show the inside and outside areas of the Back On The Beach Cafe.
Click Photo to Enlarge - Use Arrows for Next Photo
The Ride and the Heat Wave- An interesting aspect of the ride today is the heat wave that Southern California is experiencing. It was 114 degrees at home in Monrovia yesterday. As an interesting aside, the temperature in both Woodland Hills where Al & Dottie live, and Riverside where Dennie & Alison have their home, was 118 degrees yesterday. When I left home on the ride this morning at 7:00 am it was 86 degrees, and when I arrived in Santa Monica at 7:45 it had fallen to 84 degrees. I would have guessed the ocean would have been cooler. After breakfast and my review, I extended my ride by going into the Angeles Crest National Forest. I entered the Angeles Crest Highway at La Canada (where it was 105 degrees) about 10:00 am and rode 40 miles into the mountains to the Jarvi Memorial, which is at 6730 feet elevation and at 11:00 am was a comfortable 89 degrees. When I got back to Monrovia at noon it was 108 degrees and I had traveled a total of 170 miles. Despite the heat I enjoyed the ride to the ocean and into the mountains.
My Year 77 in Review - The 12 months July 7, 2017 to July 6, 2018:
I had a good breakfast at the cafe (I always eat too much on these Harley Day-Rides), skimmed the Wall Street Journal and the L.A. Times, and then reviewed the many activities during my YEAR 77. Creating the website ronaldyear77.com, doing all the Bucket List activities I scheduled during the last twelve months, and documenting them by writing and publishing blogs in what amounts to a personal journal for that year, has been an interesting, enlightening, and fun project for me. I'm sure many people think I'm crazy, but I hope those friends and family members who participated in the activities with me, and/or that took time to read many of the blogs, enjoyed them. In a few days I will publish a Year 77 Recap of Blogs that will list all the 150 blogs published during the year. The blogs fell into the categories of Bicycling, Birthdays, Bonnie & I, Cars, Family, Friends, Harley Rides, Hiking, Memorials, Miscellaneous, Monthly Reports, Name Glossary, Planning, Running, Sports Activities, and Tours. Many blogs covered activities with friends and family members that were really fun, interesting, and helped foster continuing good relationships. Many were activities I had not done since childhood, or at least for a long time, and I was surprised at how much fun they were despite the decline in my ability to do them. And I wrote about some friends who have left us, and many things that were simply good memories of past activities, which I thought some friends may be interested in reading. It was an interesting year, packed with many fun activities. I'm very happy I did it.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
~ Soren Kierkegaard
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Review of Mission Statement Objectives
"Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whiskey,
and a dog to eat the rare steak."
~Johnny Carson
Over many years before I retired I made a habit of doing an annual review at the end of each calendar year of my specific goals and objectives, and how my life was going. Since retirement I have done a similar type of review, but on my birthday in July rather than in December, with the review covering the 12 months ending July 6th. My aim is to be successful in each of the seven areas identified in my Mission Statement as being most important to me, knowing that success is a moving target; i.e. you do not achieve success in a given area and it then lasts for evermore. I try to continually assess my level of success and set new goals and objectives where needed. Without going into all the details, I believe that my Year 77 was a reasonably successful year, but as always there are areas where I need to improve. I will set new goals and try to make improvements in my 78th year.
Birthday rides to review Mission Statement goals and objectives in past years have been: 2010- Newcomb's Ranch on Angeles Crest Highway; 2011- Evergreen Cafe in Wrightwood; 2012- Newcomb's Ranch; 2013- The Cottage in Rim Forest; 2014- Old Country Coffee Shop in Running Springs; 2015- Red Kettle Restaurant in Idyllwild; 2016- Crestline Cafe in Crestline; 2017- Newcomb's Ranch.
Mission Statement Completed in 1969
My Mission is to lead a successful life. I define success as
"the continual realization of predetermined worthwhile goals."
Happiness itself cannot be pursued; it is a side effect of a successful life.
I will work to be successful in the seven most important areas of my life:
Health and Fitness
Good Relations with Family and Friends
Recreation & Relaxation
Management of Personal Assets and Making a Living
Personal Growth
Travel & Entertainment with Bonnie
Leaving a Legacy
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A Broader Look at Events During My Year 77 -
I have spent 12 months doing activities with friends and family from my Updated Bucket List and publishing blogs writing about these activities. Obviously there were many more important things going on in the country, and the world, during my Year 77 than the activities I wrote about. Natural disasters and mass killings have been prevalent and are obviously on the negative side. There have been many ongoing political and economic events during the year. People's financial condition, and political views, will be major determining factors in their reaction to these events. I've allocated a little space below in this blog to list, in no particular order, a few of the events from the last year.
Our Leaders - While I remain positive on life generally, and on my association with friends and family, it's difficult to remain positive overall with the existing partisanship at the Federal level in our government. I believe if we continue attempting to run the country from the extreme right or left we will lose what has made this country great. Also, the current leaning toward manufacturing all our goods internally, and creating a trade war through use of tariffs, has never proven beneficial in the past. Also, I'm disappointed in how many of our leaders continue to demonstrate their lack of ethical behavior, the most recent being EPA chief Scott Pruitt, whose forced resignation resulted from scandal after scandal. This happens across the board -- in government, corporations, education institutions, religious organizations, and charitable organizations. I keep thinking that when one official is discovered and criminal charges filed, it will convince others to clean up their act. But it doesn't seem to happen that way. (As a matter of interest for anyone who cares, I'm a registered Independent, and did not vote for either Trump or Clinton).
"Suppose you were a member of Congress.
And suppose you were an idiot.
But I repeat myself."
~ Mark Twain
Common Reasons (Excuses) for Unethical Behavior
1. Everybody else is doing it.
2. It's not that big of a deal.
3. It's necessary (the ends justify the means).
4. It's not going to hurt anyone.
5. It's for the benefit of the company or somebody else.
6. I deserve it. 7. It's legal.
8. Nobody will know.
Securities Markets -
The broad stock market was up during my Year 77 (i.e. July 7 2017 through July 6, 2018). The Dow Jones Industrial Average, probably the most recognized index, was up 13% over those 12 months. As can be seen in the chart below, the gain all happened in the first seven months, with the index losing ground from the end of January through July 6th.
"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.
He who understands it, earns it ......he who doesn't, pays it."
~ Albert Einstein
Interest Rates -
The 10-Year Treasury Yield is watched very closely by most investors. When the rate increases, the value of an existing bond decreases. As the rate rises it usually indicates that the economy is heating up, that inflation is rising and that the Fed will be increasing interest rates. This action will usually result in a declining stock market. Currently, 3.00% seems to be the level at which market watchers begin to worry. Mortgage Rates have been rising over the past year. Home prices jumped 7.1 percent annually in May, according to a new report from CoreLogic. That's the biggest jump in four years. Freddie Mac’s chief economist said, “Unfortunately, home-price and rent growth above incomes — driven primarily by a severe shortage of housing supply — have been too high of a hurdle for many would-be buyers to clear.”
10-Year Treasury Yield 2.39% @ 7/7/17
10-Year Treasury Yield 2.85% @ 7/6/18
(Note- The 10-year yield reached 3.12% on 5/17/18, the highest in seven years, but has retreated since then)
30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage 3.96% @ 7/7/17
30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage 4.55% @ 7/6/18
Inflation -
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the 12-month percent change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in June 2017 at 1.63 %. The 12-month percent change in the CPI reported in June 2018 is 2.80%. It has been indicated that while inflation is still relatively low, the growth in the rate from 1.63% to 2.80% is the highest in 6 years.
The CPI measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. While inflation is commonly discussed in terms of the CPI, inflation is also the reduction in purchasing power of the dollar.
Unemployment -
"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job.
It's a depression when you lose yours."
~ Harry S. Truman
Progress has been made during the past year in the area of employment. The most recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is an unemployment rate of 3.8%. It has been indicated that this is the lowest rate of unemployment since December of 2000. As of early July there was no indication of slowing job growth.
Resignation of Justice Kennedy- The resignation of Kennedy on the Supreme Court is a major event and the confirmation of his replacement will be a hot topic of discussion beyond the end of my Year 77. As a candidate, Trump stated he wanted justices who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, which is clearly a contentious issue across the country. Trump has said he will announce his nominee on July 9th.
Sexual Misconduct -
Sexual harassment in the workplace is certainly nothing new, but it's safe to say that in the past 12 months the issue has taken center stage. After The New York Times published an explosive report in October 2017 detailing decades of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, dozens of women came forward with their own accusations against the Hollywood mogul. Now, in a post-Weinstein world, legions of women have felt empowered to speak out and share their own stories—both on social media and in major news outlets. Dozens of celebrities, politicians, CEOs, and others have been the subject of sexual allegations ranging from harassment to rape.
Natural Disasters -
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria combined with devastating Western wildfires and other natural catastrophes to make 2017 the most expensive year on record for disasters in the United States. The disasters caused $306 billion in total damage in 2017, with 16 events that caused more than $1 billion in damage each. The bulk of the damage, at $265 billion, came from hurricanes. The storms also caused 251 combined deaths. Western wildfires cost an additional $18 billion and 54 lives.
Natural disasters during the first six months of 2018 included the Hawaii Kilauea volcano eruption, which continues at the end of June with lava overflows again threatening property at the beach and the new lava delta growing to 460 acres. Also, the Mount Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted spewing ash and molten rock thousands of feet into the air. Over 2 million people were affected by the unexpected eruption which has covered entire villages with ash. At last report the death toll had climbed to 109, with 200 people still missing.
As of July 6th the National Interagency Fire Center reports 60 active wildfires burning in 13 western states with over 2.9 million acres affected by fire so far in 2018.
Mass Killings -
In April 1999, two teens went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others. The nation was shocked, but in the 19 years since that time there have been regular mass murders with seemingly nothing that can be done to prevent them.
During the 12 months ending July 6, 2018 (my YEAR 77) the killings continued. Some examples:
-In October 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on 22,000 people at a country music festival from his hotel suite on the Las Vegas strip. The attack, which left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured, marked the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
-Just one month after the attack in Las Vegas, Patrick Kelley killed at least 26 churchgoers and injured 20 others at a church house in Texas. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the state's history.
-In February 2018, a massacre was carried out at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School located in Parkland, Florida. A total of 17 people were killed as the teen gunman, sprayed bullets from a high-powered military assault rifle.
-In May 2018, at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, a student, armed with a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver, killed 10 people - mostly students - and wounded 13 others.
The list of such mass killings is way too long to publish in this blog. In the recent weeks there was a mass stabbing of children in Boise with nine injured in the attack and the death of the 3-year old whose birthday party it was. Most recently there was a shooting at a Maryland newspaper office where five were killed by a gunman. According to reports at the end of June there had been 154 mass shootings in the U.S. so far in 2018. The best our leaders have been able to do so far is to offer their prayers and ask for moments of silence.
North Korea - President Trump had a four-hour summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in mid-June. This represented a break-through in communications between the two countries, but it is unclear whether anything significant regarding a nuclear threat from North Korea will result.
China - President Trump and China's Xi Jinping have been talking, but it's unclear what will happen next. The main subject of discussions has been trade and tariffs. Things change day to day, but it is currently looking like the possibility of a trade war with many countries, not just China.
Russia - The White House announced that President Trump’s upcoming summit with Russian President Putin will take place in Helsinki, Finland on July 16. Trump seems to admire Putin, so it's anyone's guess as to how world events may be impacted by this meeting.
Cryptocurrency - Cryptocurrencies became increasingly popular during my Year 77 as investors became more comfortable with the notion of digital money. The largest of these "altcoins" has been Bitcoin and it's price rose from 8 cents when it came out in July 2011 to $2,874 in July 2017. Then unbridled enthusiasm drove it to a high near $20,000 during December 2017 before it crumbled to $6,600 currently.This surely fits into the "Buyer Beware" category.
Self-Driving Cars -
There has been a lot of talk during my Year 77 about self-driving cars. While cars are undoubtedly getting smarter and the technology is getting better and better, the day that you’ll be able to buy a self-driving car, or have Uber come pick you up without a driver in the car, is most likely a long way off.
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It's above my pay-grade to reach any significant conclusion or recommendations regarding world events during the past twelve months. Potential long-term impacts are simply beyond my comprehension. I can, however, reach a conclusion regarding my personal activities during my YEAR 77 and that is that I truly enjoyed doing the activities with friends and family, and writing a journal about what we did. And I'm very happy I undertook this screwy idea.
