For a quick moment, imagine you were born in 1900. When you are 14, World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday with 22 million people killed. Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until you are 20. Fifty million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million.
When you're 29, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25%, global GDP drops 27%. That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy. When you turn 39, World War II starts. You aren’t even over the hill yet.
When you're 41, the United States is fully pulled into WWII. Between your 39th and 45th birthday, 75 million people perish in the war and the Holocaust kills six million. At 52, the Korean War starts and five million perish.
At 64 the Vietnam War begins, and it doesn’t end for many years. Four million people die in that conflict. Approaching your 62nd birthday you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War. Life on our planet, as we know it, could well have ended. Great leaders prevented that from happening.
As you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends. Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. How do you survive all of that? A child in 1985 didn’t think their 85 year old grandparent understood how hard school was. Yet those grandparents survived through everything listed above.
Perspective is an amazing thing. With so much happening right now and as 2023 ends, let's try to keep things in perspective, knowing that we will get through all of this. In the history of the world, there has never been a storm that lasted forever. This too shall pass.
My parents were married for 55 years. One morning, my mom was going downstairs to make dad breakfast, she had a heart attack and fell. My father picked her up as best he could and almost dragged her into the truck. At full speed, without respecting traffic lights, he drove her to the hospital.
When he arrived, unfortunately she was no longer with us.
During the funeral, my father did not speak; his gaze was lost. He hardly cried.
That night, his children joined him. In an atmosphere of pain and nostalgia, we remembered beautiful anecdotes and he asked my brother, a theologian, to tell him where Mom would be at that moment. My brother began to talk about life after death and guesses as to how and where she would be.
My father listened carefully. Suddenly he asked us to take him to the cemetery.
"Dad!" we replied, "it's 11 at night, we can't go to the cemetery right now!"
He raised his voice, and with a glazed look he said: "Don't argue with me, please don't argue with the man who just lost his wife of 55 years."
There was a moment of respectful silence, we didn't argue anymore. We went to the cemetery. With a flashlight we reached her grave.
My father sat down, prayed, and told his children: "It was 55 years... you know? No one can really talk about true love if haven't done life with a person."
He paused and wiped his face.
"She and I, we were together in the good and in the bad." he continued. "When I changed jobs, we packed up when we sold the house and moved. We shared the joy of seeing our children become parents, together we mourned the departure of loved ones, we prayed together in the waiting room of some hospitals, we supported each other in pain, we hugged one another each day, and we forgave mistakes."
And then he paused and added, "Children, that's all gone and I'm happy tonight. Do you know why I'm happy? Because she left before me. She didn't have to go through the agony and pain of burying me, of being left alone after my departure. I will be the one to go through that, and I thank God for that. I love her so much that I wouldn't have liked her to suffer..."
When my father finished speaking, my brothers and I had tears streaming down our faces. We hugged him and he comforted us, "It's okay. We can go home. It's been a good day."
That night I understood what true love is. It is more than just romanticism and sex, it's two people who stand beside one another, who are committed to one another ... through all the good and bad that life throws at you.
Peace in your hearts.
🖊 Author Unknown
Happy Thanksgiving from our family at Brown & Crouppen to yours! 🍁🦃 Enjoy this special day with loved ones, and if you need us, just reach out. Wishing everyone a joyous and warm Thanksgiving! 🌟 #Thanksgiving#HereForYou#BrownAndCrouppen
🚨🚨🚨Holy shit: A mom stood up at her school board meeting and delivered an AMAZING speech expressing frustration that conservative extremists were interfering with her child’s education.
Adrienne Martin of Granbury, Texas, boldly confronted the school board and held nothing back:
Here is what Adrienne Martin told her school board: 👇
"I do not want random people with no education background or experience determining what books my child can read, what curriculum they learn, and what clubs they can join.
Just because you can get up at every meeting and rant and rave does not give you authority over my child's education.
Your personal religious beliefs- people in this room and on this board- should not be affecting my child's education either. Our schools are not to be used for personal political agendas.
And our children are here for education, not religious indoctrination.
I implore the board to put an end to trying to appease these extremists. Focus on retaining staff, providing excellent public education, and a safe and welcoming learning space for all students.
The speakers speaking about what great Christians they are... Great! Go tell your pastor. Our schools are not your church.
Thank you."
🔥🔥🔥
Thank you to this BRAVE mom for speaking out! 
I’m FINALLY having surgery to remove the cancerous mass from my colon! Never before have I been more excited about a medical procedure. I’M EXTREMELY TIRED OF HAVING CANCER. This has been the toughest year of my life.
I want the knife. 😂🙌🏾
Russia strikes a train station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, with Tochka-U missile. At least 27 people died, including two children, local officials said. Many people waited there for evacuation trains to safer parts of Ukraine.
📷 @ZelenskyyUa Telegram
For clarity: Donald Trump is a grifter, gangster and fraud - AND a probable seditionist. Mike Flynn is a traitor. So is Meadows. JFK Jr is dead. Fox News is NOT news. Mitch McConnell is an obstructionist. Bannon is a destructionist. MTG is a terrorist. And DeJoy deserves deJail.