Blackest Friday Yet

Daniel, Since your passing on the day after Thanksgiving, now three years ago, a lot has happened. American jobs continued to be sent overseas. Plants here closed. New jobs became a thing of the past, even for new college graduates. The educational system in the US continues to slip and slide. Many graduates of high school are not what I would consider truly functionally literate, and they admit to not being able to do relatively simple mathematical functions. This certainly makes graduates of our homeschool look very good when they go to college and excel. Typical American students are often ill prepared for job training, even if there were jobs and training available. The community colleges are full, and there are waiting lists at many of the vocational schools and technical colleges. Some schools are trying to anticipate need by training substandard medical or dental assistants or certified nursing assistants. Unfortunately, none of these people are going to be qualified to make judgments. Some university programs are valuable, but many are overpriced monuments to a time which no longer exists, and makes the mistake of programming students with liberal ideas, which frankly haven't worked here.
This week, during "Black Friday" early shopping, a woman used pepper spray to keep other shoppers away from things she wanted. Two men were shot in parking lots over disputes for X-Boxes. People are behaving like animals and sheep. They are doing what the television box tells them, and heading out to "shop til they drop", even in an economy where they cannot afford it, and may actually lose their jobs when Christmas is over, as I think many people will.
We still prepare for Christmas well in advance, and don't attend the sales. It is a solemn day of remembering the birth of Christ, and how grateful I am to God for you, for Dad, for your Dad and for your siblings.
In the coming year I think that it is at least possible that there will be numerous governmental collapses. Europe is in deep trouble as it tries to bail out Greece, then Italy and Portugal. Belgium is not doing much better. Germany and France carry a boat load of debt also. England is not doing well and smart citizens anticipate food shortages. America cannot be far behind.
Most Americans are not using this prep time for potential collapse wisely. There is still a rush to grab STUFF, in lieu of wisdom, support, charity or kindness to one another. Today, the ads say......."Come shopping at Black Saturday !"
We miss you both immensely and remain the people you know and love. Yes, we still love you both wider than the oceans and deeper than the seas.