Ok - I hope everybody had a great Christmas Holiday and now here we go. Now, a reminder to WATCH the inauguration. THIS IS AN HISTORIC EVENT. Have you ever said to yourself "Man, I wonder what it must have been like when....". Well, 100 years from now people are going to be saying exactly that "Man, what was it like when the first African-American was sworn in as President of the United States?'. Point being, history will be made on January 20, 2009, and not just because that is my BIRTHDAY (presents are expected and will be appreciated). We are LIVING HISTORY. How cool it that......

And now. What are we going to do about the US Economy? YOU ALL KNOW, THERE IS NO QUICK FIX. This will take YEARS (2 to 4). We haven't seen the worst yet either. That probably won't happen till September 09. Bottom line, we can't buy what we were going to buy. We can't really do what we were going to do. We now have to do what we CAN do. We have all been spoiled. Easy credit (and by that I mean no questions asked) has made us lose sight of the fact that sometimes we just CAN'T do what we want to do right now. Credit is still available to those that have the financial criteria that would allow credit. There is really no credit crunch right now. It's just that only people that can afford credit are receiving it. They are finally using the credit criteria that they were supposed to be using.

But enough about that. In addition to the people of this country tightening their belts, our GOVERNMENT - AND OUR LEADERS - NEED TO TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS. We can't afford a war right now. We can't afford to build bridges to nowhere right now. The waste of our government is obscene, to say the least. I don't know what happens to people when they go to Washington. I am sure that if you or I went there, we would wind up making the same irrational decisions. I truly believe that we can make a $50 decision, mainly because we UNDERSTAND what $50 is or represents. When people start making decisions about 50 Billion dollars, they don't have a clue what that is or represents. Most of us have no cognition of millions or billions and that means we can't even think about it, much less make a decision about it.

SSSSooooooooo........You and I now have to be the ones to make a decision. We can not wait or count on the government (whatever that really is). WE are the government. The government does not have any money, it is OUR money. WE HAVE TO GET OURSELVES OUT OF THIS CAUSE WE GOT OURSELVES INTO THIS.

But on a brighter note, we will prevail and things are still really good. The next time you get down in the dumps because you don't have money to go on vacation so you have to stay home in your air conditioned house watching your 42 inch HD TV, just think of the people in Bolivia that only get to see a doctor every two years or whenever some aid group decides to send someone. WE STILL HAVE IT MADE AND WE NEED TO STAND UP AND TAKE CHARGE OF OUR OWN DESTINY!!1

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Peace - Mike Ritchie

Once again, we have changed the head of our government. And once again, we did it without bloodshed, violence, National Guard Units, or local police. It was one thing to go to the polls and vote peacefully, something that I can not take lightly or for granted. But to carry it further, we PEACEFULLY installed the new administration, even though it was in drastic opposition to the old one. YOU AND I SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF THAT. What a great form of government and what a tribute to the people of our country.

JUST 46 YEARS AGO
And now on a personal note. My elementary, junior high and high school did not have separate drinking fountains or bathrooms BECAUSE THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THEM - THERE WERE NO AFRICAN-AMERICANS STUDENTS ALLOWED TO GO TO MY SHOOL. However, I do remember segregated bathrooms at gas stations. There was a segregated waiting room at my doctor's office. The Aiken Theatre (on Laurens) had a balcony for African-Americans (always thought it would be fun to sit up there but they wouldn't let me). What has all this got to do with the inauguration?? Forty-five years ago we passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race against the law. Forty-six years ago, I could tell a man he could not have a job, or a desk in school, or a seat at a restaurant SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK. Listen to what I am saying, Forty-Six years ago, the Aiken Theatre would have made President Obama sit in the balcony or use a separate bathroom. That is how far we have come in Forty-Six years. Now, it took a hundred years of hard work just to get to 1964, but Civil Rights as we know them have only existed as public policy in this country for Forty Six years. I amazed at the progress we have made and still more amazed at the miles we must travel to reach our goal. But I am proud of all of us. Look what we did. We peacefully elected a President. We peacefully said, AS A NATION, this is the man we want to lead us. We peacefully said "We don't care what color his skin is, we want him to be president". The last couple of months have filled me with pride, and optimism, and hope. Truth be told, I have always had these feeling about our country, but lately is has been tough.

President Obama is not the endall. He is a man, with human limitations. All a leader can hope to do is convince his followers to follow him. I believe he will succeed in that. Things are not going to change tomorrow, or radically, or even in the direction that we may want. But remember this, YOU AND I CHANGE THINGS, NOT THE PRESIDENT OR THE CONGRESS. You and I will change our policy. You and I will allow torture or denounce torture. You and I will allow bailouts or end bailouts. You and I will find alternative energy sources or continue to burn fossil fuel. You and I will find a way to give affordable healthcare to all Americans or let many of our fellow citizens suffer through inadequate or no health care at all. It is up to us. I believe we have a President that will help and allow us to do what WE need to do. That is all I ask.

Peace. Michael Ritchie

Up till now, my blogs have been about politics, and Thanksgiving, and Bailouts, blah blah. But this blog is special. It is about my brother - and about brotherhood in general.

My brother is about the coolest thing on the planet. There is nothing that I would not do for him and there is nothing he would not do for me. A brother is special - you are genetically linked, you are environmentally linked, you grew up sharing a common foe (parents, school, bullies, etc.). There is a bond between brothers that can not be explained (as evidenced by my feeble attempt here). There is a security in brotherhood - a security that whispers - no matter what - "I got you dude"! So here is the word on my brother....

His presence always makes me feel better. No matter what kind of mood I am in before we get together, I am in a better mood WHEN we get together. If I am in a bad mood, he picks me up. If I am in a great mood, he makes me be in a greater mood. Never fails. Growing up, he was the touchstone. No mater how good or bad things got, he was ready to listen and share it. His one constant attitude has always been "we'll figure this out - no big deal".

I have always wanted to be able to sing. And if I could sing like anybody, it would be like my brother (Van Morrison would be number 2). He does not realize how good he is, he doesn't hear the rich timber of his voice, or the nuance of emotion that is there. People with great talent always take if for granted, thinking that "anybody can do this". Well, guess what. THEY CAN'T. When my brother focuses, no one can touch him. Now, do I wish he would spend a little bit of time working on a guitar tone that does not sound like kittens drowning - SURE. But that is a small price to pay for having the greatest voice on the planet.

Money - my brother would literally give you his last dime. He really would. Unbelievable. Never ask you for it back. That wasn't part of the deal. You need some money - if he's got it - you got it. Been like that forever and always will be.

I love my brother - and he loves me. My three male children have taken on this model. My biggest wish for them was that would feel about their brothers the way I feel about mine. And I believe they do. Now....does my brother ever drive me crazy, infuriate me, make me lose my religion, etc., of course and ALL THE TIME. That's the fun part.

If you have a brother you are lucky. But I am the luckiest, cause I got MY brother.

Peace. Mike Ritchie