TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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October 3, 2009
Volume 7, Number 19
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country
2. Top Drawer Article
3. Top Drawer Tips
4. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY
What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

 

The latest news from the talking heads is that Carpenter Country is going down the tubes.

Well, not just the short one’s small space, but the entire fifty-three-thousand-plus square miles of land mass that comprises the state where she lives.

The reasons – housing foreclosures, ever increasing taxes, higher priced or nonexistent homeowner’s insurance, over the moon unemployment, topped off by two electric utilities asking for big dollar rate increases.

So, what’s to be done about these critical problems? No one seems quite sure - except the short one. Her idea is - do nothing.

For the next few heartbeats how about if we quit worrying and enjoy the shorter lines at the supermarket checkout, the less crowded restaurants, the almost uncluttered roads and the nearly empty beaches.

Without all the hustle and bustle it’s easier to listen to the roar of the ocean. Marvel at the rainbow of color in a Gulf sunset. Watch the night sky turn a deep, dark velvet and then light up with bursts of lightning or millions of stars.

Soon enough the serenity of Paradise will give way to the next building boom. Then the sapphire skies will refill with the roar of planes. The streets will echo with the bluster of traffic. The smell of diesel fuel will clog the air. Nighttime will be cluttered with ever expanding light pollution.

For the moment, the land of sunshine and sand is restful, peaceful, hushed and calm. Before a new round of progress rattles the subterranean waterways and causes sinkholes to open beneath our feet -

Let’s savor this wonderful state of tranquility.

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

The Revised GI Bill of Rights
by
HL Carpenter

 

In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, giving military veterans unemployment benefits, a government loan guaranty for homes, farms and business properties, and a college education or technical training.

Sixty-five years later, those benefits soldier on – with a few improvements.

Read the entire article here

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

 

Tip: Educational benefits for veterans include those available under the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill (Active Duty or Reserves), the Reserve Education Assistance Program, and the Post Vietnam Era Veterans' Educational Assistance Program. The US Veterans Administration website has a breakdown of the monetary benefits of each plan.

Glossary Term: Yellow Ribbon Program. A provision in the Post 9/11 GI Bill that authorizes additional funds for certain qualified veterans who attend schools with educational costs exceeding the normal benefits.

Financial Horoscope: Harvest some new skills in the light of October’s full moon. Take a teleclass, listen to a webinar, get a book from the library. However you choose to enhance your financial education, your effort will pay off in the long run.

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

LaLa Land
by
HL Carpenter

 

If you’re planning a vacation in LaLa Land, you may want to reconsider. The country, which recently celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its independence from the neighboring state of Reality, is experiencing an unprecedented influx of immigrants.

Read the rest here