Month: November 2024

 

An explanation: This was written in March 2016. I’ve just discovered that posts do not go back that far. So, the sentiments and much of the data are the same. It’s much more effective to count donw, 10-1, but I can’t figure out how to do that…)

1. You can’t go to Canada, easily. Although you’d think otherwise, Canada is not a likely first choice for your flight from horror. In 2013, only about 1500 Americans retired there. Another 7500 moved there to work. An astonishingly low figure! Turns out the Canadians are picky about who they let in. Farmers, sportspersons (a term in the Canadian screening process), and artists have something of a fast track. Skilled workers too. Most of us don’t fit those categories. For comparison, about 30,000 Canadians emigrate to the US yearly. (That figure is seriously outdated. In 2022, 126,340 Canadians move to the US. Here are reasons why.) Here is a link to more data about retiring in Canada. General information about immigration here. Note: It’s complicated.
2. Mexico then? About 750,000 Americans are living there now, with another 250,000 snowbirding it. Most of those folks are retirees though, gone south for the less expensive lifestyle and good weather. But guess what? You need a visa for Mexico if you’re planning to stay. You’ll also want to read the travel advisories. One person’s pros and cons here.
3. You don’t speak the language. To reside in Canada, you’re going to have to prove you are fluent in English or French.  It’s not a box you check; there is a test, for a fee. Perhaps you speak Spanish, at least some, or French. In the ex-pat communities, you’ll probably be fine. Wherever you are, an informal “tourist” tax may come with your lack of fluency. No refunds at the border.
4. You’ll miss the food. Much the same happens if you move to another state. Are you willing to give up barbeque, Tex-Mex, and chicken fried steak? Whataburger? For four years? Yes, you’ll lose weight and feel better, but this is a serious consideration, especially for Texans.
5. You can’t afford it. Parts of Central and South America are exceptions, perhaps, and you could be happy there. Unless you want to come back for holidays and birthdays and weddings and on and on. It’ll add up. If you’ve watched HGTV, you’ll already know you can’t afford a house in Canada. Switzerland—another favorite for fleeing—comes in among the most expensive places to live in the world. Rule of thumb, 50% higher. Not happening for most.
6. You’re not a celebrity. Every election cycle, a heady group of A-listers announces departure plans. This one is no exception: Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Stewart, Cher, to name a few. Jennifer Lawrence announced the world would end if Trump’s elected; does the heroine of The Hunger Games and The X-Men harbor fear?  Raven-Simoné of The Talk will leave if a Republican is nominated. She says she’s already bought her ticket, which is good, but that nominating part is going to happen. Perhaps because there are so few conservative celebrities, none has made the announcement. Bill O’Reilly plans to move if Bernie Sanders is elected, but he might not count as a celebrity in the same vein as Rosie O’Donnell. Robert A. @OriginalBubsRA tweeted, “if hillary clintin (sic) wins i will leave america and move to ohio.” Not a glowing endorsement of the right, and not even a particularly funny joke. (Here is the 2024 list of celebrities. What do you do? Call your agent and have a press release?)
7. You’ve got too much stuff. Unless you’ve embraced Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, your possessions would pose a barrier. She wants you to keep only things that “spark joy.” Dave Bruno wrote The Hundred Thing Challenge, and the mantra of living with less has entered the mainstream. George Carlin’s 1981 “A Place for Your Stuff” is brilliant, with none of the famous 7 words you can’t say. It nails the issue. Unless you’re willing to sell most of it or know someone crazy enough to watch over it while you’re gone, material goods will hang around your neck like an albatross.
8. You really can’t afford it. Item 6 puts you in another country using your own resources. It neglects what bills you’ve left behind. A 2015 Harris Poll survey cites typical American debt at $130,922, with $15,762 on credit cards. That’s a lot of money. Even if you sell most of your stuff, some folks here are not going to want you to go. Get a Dave Ramsay book maybe, and dig yourself out of debt. He talks about freedom a lot. It sounds great, but working in another country is yet another hurdle.
9. You’re not a liar. Saying “I’m leaving” is just that—saying something. It’s a way of expressing frustration. Unless you’re a Republican running for the nomination, no one probably calls you a liar. Don’t put yourself in a position where someone calls you up on November 9, 2016, offers to help you pack, and you have to say something stupid.
10. You’re not a coward. This country is worth saving. No matter what side you’re on, and with few exceptions, you likely believe that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are two of the most wonderful documents ever written. In the past, few have ever followed up on these empty threats. Stay. Get active in your party of choice. Donate. You’ve got a voice. It’s better to use it than to run. Plus, we love you and that’s easier when you’re closer.

First, a note about the art. “All those little toes that are climbing down the stairs – you can see the fascination with the patterns of the toes that are circling in the angels of the Mystical Nativity … The Mystical Nativity worked a particular magic on members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle in Edward Burne-Jones’s 1880 The Golden Stairs.”  I thought about inviting you to a desert isle for contemplation, but yes, all those toes—some of them owned by real people—struck a better chord.

“Ain’t it awful?” Not just a grammar-challenged question, this game is one of many that psychologist Eric Berne describes in Games People Play, perhaps one of the most essential descriptions of human behavior on record. What I hear regularly these days is “Has it ever been this terrible before?” Or as a statement, in which someone assumes that, no, things have never been worse. The game itself is little more thsn speculating and complaining. No one actually does anything to make things better, or even proposes potential solutions. Doing so would assume a knowledge of history and a capacity for change, both always in limited supply.

Technically and strictly speaking, the post today is an edited version of one from several years ago called “Not to worry…” It has been expanded, but since tomorrow is THE DAY when some/most people are expecting cataclysmic events, I thought I’d resubmit it. I’ve recently said “we’re doomed” too many times. I have a big event on Thursday that may or not be canceled, and Wednesday’s mood may affect that. So if we aren’t doomed or canceled, Friday will dawn and on we’ll go.

“I remember the first time it happened—or, more accurately, the first time it didn’t happen. On a playground, autumn of 1961, beautiful day, some kid said to me, “The world is going to end on February 4.  Jeane Dixon said so.”  Other than that, I don’t remember much except the real and urgent dread of a day in the future. February 4, 1962, came and went. No cataclysmic events of an earth-ending nature.

Since that date, many such predictions have also come and gone.  A few were horrific in their own ways. Not many people remember that Charles Manson ordered the murders of Sharon Tate and others at her home in order to incite a race war he had prophesied, Helter Skelter. The Heaven’s Gate suicides, also awful.

Some dates were obvious and got lots of attention: The year 1999 because it wasn’t 2000 yet. The year 2000 in spite of the fact it wasn’t the new millennium, and then 2001 which was. The Mayans did a number on 2012 before we learned they had no concept of an ending of time. Their calendars had to do with a complicated cycle. Someone made a movie. Not a very good one, but no doomsday for us either.

More recently we had another date: September 2015, either the 15^th or the 28^th. Or maybe the 13^th. Writing for Discovery.com, Glenn McDonald called these predictions “an all-star celebration of paranoia” because so many possibilities exist for destruction, comets being the main culprit. And another date came and went.

These days, we have a new source of worry called Planet X or Nibiru, a giant celestial body due to whisk by in October 2017. (Such events are usually written about by people using italics, boldface, and bad grammar, as you’ll see if you follow the link.) We already missed the February arrival date, but apparently someone got on the stick to find a new one. Again, NASA says no, but government trust level being what it is…

So why bring this up? Jeane Dixon wrote for the newspapers, and her predictions were news even when they didn’t come true. FaceBook hoaxes still abound. Think of those kids on play grounds next fall when someone is going to say, “Well, you know, the world is ending in October.” Parents, teachers, friends, it’s time to step up. Be aware of current prediction sites. Know what to say if the topic surfaces. Ask open-ended questions like “Anything bothering you?” I wish my parents had. It would have saved me some grief.

In spite of 66 unfulfilled predictions since 1961 and continued NASA assurances, I will be prepared for less exotic emergencies. I have a kit in place. (NASA doesn’t care, but FEMA does and has a great site—ready.gov.) As a person of faith, I’m supposed to be ready anyway. I hope that I am. I don’t like living scared.”