Carl Crossman

My niece Athena is a darling little girl. She recently graduated from college and has married a fine young fellow named Dan. They seem to be very happy together and they remind me of when I was first starting out in life. The two of them are now located in California where Dan is trying to break into the computer field. He has found employment with a major company and is looking to settle down.

Their latest efforts have included the need to find housing until Dan is settled in with his new job. They have looked into finding one of the best San Francisco apartments to stay in while they decide their future. They wanted to be comfortable where they live and have all the amenities that are due to them. They are very particular about where they want to live.

Dan is mostly concerned with the proximity to his job. He does not want to have a long commute to work everyday. Athena has other concerns about whether or not the apartments have a pool or fitness center. She also plans on having a pet someday and so that is also a consideration. I am sure that they will be able to find the perfect place for them. At that age and time, I am sure that just being together will be more than enough for them!!

It’s a rare thing when someone finds a true treasure. It happened recently when the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell found one. After becoming the Catholic University president, he found a picture in his bathroom that is reported to be a Rembrandt. The etching turned out to be created by the famous 17th century artist Rembrandt Van Rijn.

While the jury is still out on whether the picture is an original, it could still be worth thousands of dollars. The painting will soon be reviewed by appraisers to see whether or not it is authentic. I hope the world will gain another great work from this exceedingly talented man!

I was sorry to hear about the deadly earthquake that hit the country of Haiti this week. It turns out that no one really knows the amount of people who were killed or wounded and authorities fear that the number may be as high as 500,00. The magnitude 7.0 quake flattened houses, schools, and government buildings without regard to who was inside or out.

The International Red Cross is hurrying aid to the people and is asking for emergency donations from everyone to help the victims. I plan to send in a check tonight and hope that everyone else will do so as well. In the meantime, I hope that everyone will send up some prayers for the people who are suffering!

Since last year was pretty much an economic disaster for many people around the country, I decided to take a few steps to improve my own financial situation. Starting with the New Year, I have made a resolution to improve the way I handle my money and find ways to save the money I do have. One expense that I thought I could lower was car insurance. My current rate seems a bit high and so I am looking into going with another company to provide it. It would be nice to shave a few bucks off that bill!

Another thing I have done was to investigate other options. I was lucky to run across a nice little article online that has 30 Ways to Save Money. There were a lot of interesting tidbits of information on the page and they helped remind me of some of the bad practices I had gotten into. It’s amazing how we can waste so much money on little things that don’t seem to cost much!

I was talking with my sister about the situation and she reminded me of another way to save. She told me how she had been using coupon codes from the internet to save money. I checked it out and found that I had missed a lot of opportunities to save money over the past year. I am serious about not letting that happen to me again. I hope that everyone will have the foresight to become more conscious of how we spend our money. I am sure that if you try, you’ll find a few things yourself!

One thing that we’ve been hearing about is the Chinese who are sending us items that contain a high amount of lead. Since our government has taken control and outlawed the substance being used in the items we buy all the time (Children’s Toys) the Chinese have ceased using the dangerous metal. The problem is that they have switched from lead to Cadmium.

Cadmium is just as deadly as Lead. It is a toxic substance that can slow the development of learning and can shorten a person’s life. Since the ban on lead, experts have noticed an increase in the use of Cadmium in toys manufactured in China. I hope that China will soon realize that America is serious about protecting our children’s health. I call for the end of the use of Cadmium in children’s toys!!