Unfortunately, my wife, known to me as She Who Hates Fun But Won’t Admit It, was dead-set against me getting the throne that I deserved. I had it pictured in my mind: it was going to be huge, with overstuffed arms and a velour covering and wide enough for even my big butt to fit in without crowding. I even dreamed about the thing after we decided that it was time to redecorate the living room. Drooling? Only a little.

That all came crashing down when we went out to shop for actual recliners. She wanted to get something that wouldn’t have been out of place in the court of King Louie Louie Whoa Whoa. Skinny legs. Tiny cushions for the big butts and even wood on the back of the chair. Not a throne. Not even close.

Eventually we came to a compromise (she agreed not to cut anything off me while I slept and I agreed not to whine too much. {What? That seems reasonable. [Have I been married too long?]}) We purchased two smaller recliners that (ugh) matched. Still, they were better than the cruddy chairs we’d had before.

So, here I am, dudes, telling you that a recliner is mandatory for the modern dude on the go. It’s hard for me to give up my recliner to anyone, even my beloved little dudes. Right now, my brother-in-law is sitting in my chair and it’s all I can do not to start screaming and yelling and acting like my little dudes to try and get him out of my chair.

After all, it might not be A throne, but it’s my throne.

– Richard

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Last week, I took a lesson from my son. When he is working on a report or project he breaks it down to smaller, more manageable tasks. He reads and researches. He writes an outline. He writes a draft. You get the point. He has a system and process to complete a tough project. These steps give him some manageable goals and checkpoints.

Now, we are hurting here in our home. Our retirement and investments are worth much less than they should be. My commissions are much less than they have been in the past. Not to belabor a point, but I think you get it.

Now we are considering some lifestyle changes that we don’t want to make. The tasks are daunting and the financial future looks quite bleak. But when we made a plan, we broke it down into four annual phases. Next year our goals are to not loose any money and to cut out the financial drains that we definitely don’t need, but keep the ones that we need or definitely want to. Then we can make a plan for years 2-4. Instead of panicking and making long-term cuts that we may regret, we have a plan that we can modify if needed.

Dude! there you go: a lesson from a 10 year old is pretty applicable for us adults.

– Barry

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The study found that most teenagers kept well clear of dangerous sites and used the internet for research or communicating with friends. Silly me, I thought most teens (well boys at least) used it like adults do: downloading porn.

“Those concerns about predators and stranger danger have been overblown,” a researcher said. “There’s been some confusion about what kids are actually doing online. Mostly, they’re socializing with their friends, people they’ve met at school or camp or sports.”

And here’s the return of the Grumpy Old Man. Why aren’t kids talking face-to-face with friends? Why socialize on the computer when you can actually see your friends? As a little dude, I wasn’t the most outgoing kid around, but I know I benefited from being able to get out with other younger dudes and have fun. Well, we called it fun, but I think the law had another word for it. (You know, that might not have been the best example.)

We do live in a more computerized, wired-in world. I’ll grant you that. And, yes, younger dudes and dudettes do need to know how to navigate within it, but I think they’d probably benefit from getting a little real-world interaction. Flirting and gossiping on the computer can only take you so far. And I’m not talking about one-handed typing, if you know what I mean.

So, go ahead. Unplug the computer. Go out and meet some real people. Heck, for all you know, I could be a 13-year-old girl.

– Richard

(as far as you know, anyway)

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