I met Greg today…a global citizen.

I went out front to feed the birds bread. He was just walking by and told me the yeast was bad for the birds. I appreciated his perspective, and saw how cute this little old Jewish man was, with his walking stick, backpack and fine cap. It was his accent that spoke to my soul. I kept him engaged while I listened.

We both love our home in Irvine, CA and how we are such a global city. Our mix of people has gone from white with a few blacks from the nearby military bases to a very broad base of people from around the world. He called us an “aquarium” and I liked that.

We spoke of the economic and political issues at home and abroad. He speaks 6 languages, and claimed Lithuania as home. He knew Poland and Israel. After 10 minutes I could see the world through his eyes, right here on my own front porch in Irvine, CA. I feel so lucky to be in this wonderful city, living out the life of “The Jones Family.”

I’d like to take my family story and help heal the world still. My grandparents were amazing, and the big family era was a gift. Growing up at Centennial High in Portland, OR gave me an incredible foundation to be a global citizen. I learned skills in high school that translated to office jobs and restaurant help. With a real estate license and an insurance license I created a self employed, self empowered woman who got to have and raise two sons with a fine husband. My folks are still married and healthy since 1950. I get to be the youngest of 5 kids my whole life, no matter how old we all get! We get to be a family forever.

Blood lines and DNA really do matter in life. The fact that your parents had sex, and you got to be born is no small miracle. These are issues we feel free to debate in the open arena these days, but in my grandmothers time they didn’t need to be discussed. She was very clear in her counsel that “First you get the husband, then you make the babies. And if you’re smart, you get the real estate before the babies.” She was born in 1893, and worked to raise herself and her family up in society. Grandpa Shaw was born in 1888 and I got to have him in my life until 1978. 90 years is enough time to learn some things, and he was a great teacher and hard worker. They led by example without using a lot of words. They knew where they stood in life, and had opinions to share. “If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.”

Having a family blood line continue is human nature to survive. For a lot of us, the advent of birth control has meant the end of a line. Not all family lines continue, but there is so much to learn about yourself and our DNA using the technology we have today.

Part of that is about being true to yourself. Your life is God’s gift to you, and what you make of it is your gift to God. Being a good mother comes naturally, and the miracle of child birth, and nursing a baby is a life changing experience on the most basic level. Being a family, together, with the right to persue life, liberty and happiness is the American Dream. It’s not something you do alone. We do it together, as “We the People.”

Capitalism to me works because of faith and synergy in the Universe. We use the magic that the world provides to see that the six degrees of separation really are there and we can do a lot of good in a community when we all come together. We always used the Church as a way to commune. The poor and needy were cared for through the pieces we added in society. Giving is good. Libraries and Healthcare are important. Transportation and Housing are really important. Science is wonderful and amazing, and we are smart enough to work with it. Earths resources and long term perspective are good for mankind to consider globally as a community, but also locally. Our communities have flavor and character. We share common purpose and work together for a cause we believe in. We share optimism and faith that things can be done. That we can be creative together. We share a “can do” attitude, and don’t just all be mad and shout a lot. We work to get things done and make things happen. We are productive.

Socialism is when they tell you where to go and what to do, and creative energy is not inspired. It doesn’t use the gifts the universe presents when you take away the interaction of devine intervention. The blessings of the universe don’t help inspire succeess.

A dictatorship is like growing up with a dad that always says “Because I said so.” Their demands and dictate rule even when common sense and creativity are unable to assist. People are happiest when their souls are nurtured. The arts brought us many things and the artesians will continue to carry the ball. Time has a way of moving forward anyway.

The reality that American Capitalism brought to the world was that giving, and kindness really do make you feel like a better person, and that there is good to be done with all that we have learned in this country. We were an experiment in government, and we need to maintain another 200 years of freedom as a United States of America. That is 50 states, each with a story and flavor, united as one economic force in the world.

We build an infrastructure around water, transportation, energy and communication and we look forward to the growth of life yet once again.

We survived Y2K, and crossed over from 1999 to 2000 just fine. It was a time when we felt safe and secure, with water on two sides, and friends in Canada and Mexico around us. We were happy Americans, with families, character and integrity. We were responsible working people, with great values willing to look forward and do good in the world. We loved to travel, eat and drink and those industries could help sustain many an economy. Lifestyle is the great gift of capitalism because you are free to make choices.

When I think about the youth that feel opportunity has escaped them, I feel badly. My own DNA goes back to Europe, and my English, German, Scottish, Italian roots qualified me to check the “White” box. Now I feel a need to check a EuroAmerican box, with all the choices we are presented today. The world has more complexity, but this really is an opportunity to be more open minded toward mankind and see how many similarities we have, and how many things we really do agree on.

Healing a community from the inside out is the best way to start. Be supportive of the 501c organizations to help offer a safty net within your community before Medicade programs support the poor. Have solutions to offer the Department of Health Services to meet the needs of the poor and elderly. Don’t let all the valuable real estate fall away, when this is the perfect time to think long term, with an eye toward 2025, and what would work well for your community and city IF you could think ahead? At least ask the questions so the Universe can help you find the answers. All this yelling and screaming is getting us no where and it is disconserting. When I know that one in twenty homes is in forclosure, then it is time to help those who fail. Once you are bouncing along on the bottom without resources, it’s hard to get back up.

We need to give them alternatives to crime and incarceration. That should not be a solution in society. Let’s live on the up and up and have character and integrity from within our society. It’s demanded and expected in a code of conduct. Writing laws may make it easier to enforce, but it’s expensive and time consuming. Being nice is a lost art, but I’d like to remind you to think about putting on a happy face and seeing what that feels like. I find it easy to be grumpy all the time with all the chaos of this world.

It is Political and it is Economical this time around, in a whole new way. My own research into currency goes back to my Grandfather and his knowledge of finance and money. I’ve paid attention to the relationship between work and effort, and money earned. We grew up with something called “sweat equity” and we helped grandpa tend to his real estate holdings. You worked. You paid attention and you got things done. You could earn money. He would say “You spend money seven days a week, you need to learn to earn it seven days a week too.” He led by example.

It was fun to hear Glen give me many ideas to help Europe just now. We talked about Sal Alinsky, and the way people are being led these days. We spoke of voting, and elections. We cannot and should not tollerate voter fraud. We are all ready for the new Patriot Card because we know big brother has rounded up all the information together anyway. I love my new Passport and the Western Travel Initiative card. It’s a great use of technology and we should all be using it.

With the Patriot Card you should also get a National Parks Pass and a States Parks and Recreation pass to help encourage your knowledge and travel. There is a lot to see right here in America and our family road trips have been our greatest treasure. Photos and memories will last a lifetime and then some! That is true wealth.

I want to have hope for the future. I want to have faith to believe. In the end, clean water and sanitation were our greatest achievements for mankind. That has given us our longevity! Medicine and vaccinations don’t get all the credit. Now, building smarter communities around intelligent energy…are Americans smart enough to answer that question regionally? I bet so. That would be good for the economy too.

We need to RE-EMPLOY. There are ways to be creative but the system doesn’t make it easy.
Coming together, working together, Irvine and Orange County have an incredible asset in our people and our communities. I’m so glad I met Greg today, so I know I’m part of this global group.