Thank you! My characters are usually like mosaics—small bits and pieces of me and others I've met. I'm glad you enjoyed it Nancy!

Thank you!

I'm sorry there was such a rocky start to the trip. I've heard getting around Italy can be challenging but I've also heard many people say it's the most beautiful country they've ever visited. The pictures

The Affordable Care Act isn't perfect but more choices for healthcare are always good IMO. Before this was passed the only options were private insurance and employer-sponsored plans. We shopped around

What great memories! I can only imagine how much fun and refuge that guava tree provided. My brother and I had a similar childhood and I couldn't be more thankful for those simple and peaceful memories.

Thank you Nancy! Mine won't be much after the State and Federal taxes are taken out. It's insane that they tax your wages and then tax the pension that you worked decades to get. I hope things change in

That's good! Most Americans consume a lot of ice I think. It's weird when you go overseas because if you want it you have to ask for it in most cases.

I rarely use ice unless I'm having a whiskey and that's rare these days. Our son, on the other hand, will go through nearly a whole tray in an afternoon. Hopefully the fridge is an easy fix once the part

That's a pretty good deal!

It took a whole lot of patience to get through the process. I'm glad I did it while I still have most of my marbles left. Lol. It did feel like a major accomplishment!

Thanks! I'd highly recommend striking out on your own as early as possible. You're so right about time being the most valuable thing. I'm far from retired now but I enjoy my waking hours SO much more.

I feel the same way as your friend. It totally was the unknowns that kept me from doing it earlier. The big caveat for me was healthcare. Thankfully the Affordable Care Act was passed, otherwise having

I appreciate that, thanks! It's great that you still enjoy your job that much! I didn't. I had hit a glass ceiling many years before I left in 2017 and wasn't really going anywhere beyond the position

Thank you! Yes I did. They made my wife and I do identity verification interviews and submit all kinds of paperwork. The thing that was the most confusing was how to fill out the paperwork—we were receiving

Yes! There's nothing like it. I'm not sure how brave I was, it was a very frightening thing to do. Everything lined up perfectly in 2017. I was working on a streaming series that got funded by investors,

Yes, there's so much to wake up from! We work so hard to impress those above us when we work corporate jobs. So often they give us just enough so we don't quit.

Thank you! It's the same way here with our Social Security program. We have age-limits for collecting based on birth year. I can begin collecting that at a reduced rate when I turn 62 or wait until I'm

I really think that politician's children and grandchildren should be forced to serve in the military—not just cushy desk-jockey positions where they never have to put their lives on the line. I think

Thank you!

I mainly meant infrastructure-wise. That sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity to vacation there for less. My wife and I are seriously considering making it a stop on the way to Tokyo. It makes