Happy Independence Day to my US friends!

Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. 

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” 

On July 4th, the Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades, and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

The tradition of patriotic celebration became even more widespread after the War of 1812, in which the United States again faced Great Britain. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday; in 1941, the provision was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees. Over the years, the political importance of the holiday would decline, but Independence  Day remained an important national holiday and a symbol of patriotism.

Falling in mid-summer, the Fourth of July has since the late 19th century become a major focus of leisure activities and a common occasion for family get-togethers, often involving fireworks and outdoor barbecues. The most common symbol of the holiday is the American flag, and a common musical accompaniment is “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the United States.

Music

Reunions bring back good memories, one of the memories brought back to me at my 50th reunion was that I had managed a rock band and I was reminded of that at my reunion. I thought I did a poor job of managing the band, but the surviving members, had different thoughts. They talked about how much fun we had. The personalities in the band were strong, the musical ability of group was strong, and I was not up to the task of managing the egos involved so we went our own musical ways.

I had to admit, we had fun, made lots of music, but we broke up after a year. I love music. and music plays an important part of my life still and I except it does for many bloomers (when we were young we were bloomers, now we are older we are called boomer's, perhaps the "l" has come off the bloom). I just came across a wonder weekly column on music that I thought I would share. The column is a weekly feature of a Blog I read called As Time Goes By (What it means to grow older). 

The column is called  Elder Music was launched in December of 2008. The weekly column is written by Peter Tibbles. His knowledge of just about every genre of music is formidable. It has been gained, he says, by sitting at home listening to music. “That's it, really,” writes Peter. “I read a lot and drink wine as well. Oh, I cook a bit so I'll have something to go with the wine."

In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was a part-time deejay on a community radio station for ten years. He was originally asked to do a Fifties rock 'n' roll and country music program. Later, he did a RandB/soul show, a “general-what-he-wanted program," also filling in for the blues, jazz and classical shows whenever those presenters were unavailable.

Peter, who worked in the IT industry, is now retired and lives in Melbourne, Australia. 

The writing is full of humour and sense of fun. You can read Peter's bio here and find links to all his columns here. If you love music, and have a sense of fun check this out. This week Peter talks about the movie and the song Unchained Melody. It was a very interesting and fun read.

What if?

What if daily, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, you are admired by eyes in the unseen?

What if you were deeply understood; your actions and inactions honoured; your thoughts and deeds saluted; even your fears and challenges admired, along with the courage it took to choose them (Yeah, you chose them.)?

There is someone who believes that having a connection with a soul as adventurous as yours gives them  reason to party like "the roof is on fire."  Thanks and remember life is worth the adventure! 

Canada Day

Canada Day is meant to be a day of celebration about the birth of our great Country. On July 1 1867, at noon, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada were proclaimed the Dominion of Canada, with John A. Macdonald its first prime minister. Now, the area of Upper Canada was called Ontario and Lower Canada was called Quebec.

In most parts of the new Dominion, it was a dazzling sunny day. The reverberation of a brass band could be heard in many towns.

In Toronto, children were given Union Jacks to wave and an ox was roasted in front of St. Lawrence Hall, with the meat then distributed to the poor.

In Ottawa, a military review on Parliament Hill fired a salute. The soldiers forgot to take the ramrods out of their rifles and the iron rods arched over Sparks Street.

But there are other views and the following was written by Drew Hayden Taylor and published in the Globe and Mail in 2012.

Canada Day has always been a mixed bag for Canada’s native people. It makes us think of many things: patriotism, flags, sunburned cottagers, barbeques and exploding fireworks. That’s the good stuff.

For some, though, it’s a reminder that it was four years ago when Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the first nations, Inuit and Métis inhabitants of this country for the imposition and effects of the infamous residential-school system.

Since then, much has been said and written about that apology: Did it go far enough? Too little too late? What’s next? That is something I am afraid only educated, wealthy white men in positions of power can decide.

However, some in the native community feel that perhaps we are being a little lax in not issuing an apology of our own.

We are not without some culpability. In the centuries that have passed since that fateful day of contact, we ourselves have been negligent and irresponsible in not acknowledging our liability in many regretful incidents and events in the past.

So in the spirit of cooperation, I would like to offer up these apologies to the people of Canada on behalf of the NAFNIP (native/aboriginal/first nations/indigenous people):

We hereby apologize for being so inconsiderate as to occupy land that, one day, your people would want. Even though we did not have a postal system or an Internet, this was an inexcusable oversight. We hope you are enjoying it.

We apologize for having so many politically correct and incorrect names for you to call us – everything from native to aboriginal to first nations to wagon burner to status-card number 

In retrospect, to make things easier for you, we should have stayed in India, where we were originally thought to have come from. Unfortunately today it is really hard to get decent palak paneer on the reserve.

We hereby apologize for not understanding the subtle connections between God, children and sexual abuse. Some are still struggling with appreciating this association.

They are forgetting that, early in the Bible, it says, “Let there be white. And it was good.”

We apologize for wanting rights to minerals and other natural resources that exist beneath our feet. When you negotiated for our land, you meant to the Earth’s core.

We did not fully comprehend that when we were put on reserves where our rights to the land only went two or three feet below the surface.

Anything that falls down a sewer grate basically belongs to the Federal Government.

We apologize for being so concerned about the disappearances of so many native women.

We did not realize that the professional attitude of most law-enforcement agencies towards this issue was basically “out of sight, out of mind.” From now on, we’ll report any native women that go missing as white women with dark tans. That should speed up response time.

Many of us also believe that with the passage of Bill C51 Canada has taken one large step backwards toward a paternalistic and some would say fascist state that will destroy the country that progressives have been trying to build for years. So there is much to celebrate this Canada day, but there is also much to remember and if no action is taken, much to mourn.

Leave the government out of your business

Planning for the end of life also allows you to be in control and if done properly will make sure your wishes are followed and not those of well meaning relatives or friends or the government. Here are some ideas to help you keep control even though you are sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. Always consult a lawyer and a financial expert as you build your estate plan.

Avoiding Probate

Probate assets are assets that people hold in their own names at time of death. These assets pass on to heirs according to terms of a will, subject to court supervision.

The probate process often entails delays and costs, but some estate planning strategies can be used to mitigate those drawbacks by passing assets to heirs outside of probate. These strategies include joint ownership, beneficiary designations and transfer on death designations. (Trusts can also be used for this purpose.)

Joint ownership. This refers to assets like bank accounts jointly owned with another person. It is a common strategy for couples. The joint ownership makes it far easier for the surviving spouse to make financial decisions following the death of a loved one.

Unless spouses struggle with issues of trust, it usually makes sense for the two to own assets like bank accounts, investment accounts and houses on a joint basis, with the right of survivor-ship.

Beneficiary designations. Many financial accounts allow the account owner to indicate (designate) the person or persons to whom to transfer the asset upon the owner’s death. People can make such designations for retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs, and also for annuities and life insurance policies.

When they specify a beneficiary, the assets will pass to the beneficiary outside of probate. (Note that beneficiary designations take precedence over any provisions in a will.) Many people name primary and secondary beneficiaries, so that if the first beneficiary dies before the owner, there is no question about who the new owner will be. Important: Retirees should review beneficiary designations periodically—perhaps once a year— to be sure they are up-to-date and that they continue to represent the account owner’s wishes.

The Health Care Proxy  document is so important that experts generally recommend that several people have copies on file, including:

• Family members

• The family attorney

• The primary care physician

• The hospitals most often used

Naming beneficiaries is usually a straightforward process, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

For example, a common designation might be “my wife, if she survives me, and if not, equally to my children.” A potential problem with this is that grandchildren, if they exist, could be left out of the inheritance if their parent predeceases their grandparent. Adding the legal term, per stirpes, to the designation can overcome this problem. Per stirpes essentially says that equal shares of the inheritance will pass to branches of the family.

If family members have special needs, it is wise to use caution before naming them as beneficiaries. If they receive an inheritance, it may cause them to lose government benefits. An attorney should be consulted before designating beneficiaries in such cases.

Transfer on Death. For taxable accounts held at brokerage firms, the owner of the assets may want to have the brokerage set up a transfer on death (TOD) provision. Some bank accounts use TODs, too. A TOD acts like a beneficiary designation, so the assets pass directly, outside of probate. This is particularly helpful if the owner has no spouse or partner to name as joint owner.

Many retirees want to consider their close friends and charities in their estate planning. Wealthy individuals may set up charitable trusts to fund specific causes.

Those with less wealth who want to make significant contributions can invest in charitable funds offered through investment companies. The account owner can take tax deductions at the time of donation, and specify scheduled payouts from the fund.

Business ownership is another area for special consideration. The owner will want to plan carefully who will run the business upon the owner’s death. Specialized life insurance may need to be factored into the transition, so that ownership will transfer with minimal disruption. The assistance of a good attorney can be critical to the outcome.

Leaving Detailed Information

Standard estate planning documents do not cover all the information that survivors will need after the death of a loved one. Wills are usually quite general, covering disposition of major assets, but they typically do not mention lesser assets or family treasures and keepsakes.

If controversy is likely to erupt over the disposition of such lesser assets, the retiree may want to consider leaving a letter of instruction with the executor.

Letters of instruction do not have the legal standing of a will. They are, however, more flexible, and can be changed easily. Such letters should provide needed clarification for families whose members get along well with each other.

For contentious situations, it is wise to seek the assistance of an attorney who can set up legal documents that spell things out.

Retirees should also leave a detailed inventory of all bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and insurance policies. This is of utmost importance for couples where one member handles most of the financial affairs.

Investment management is another important area. When one member of a couple handles all the investments, the couple should consider establishing an investment management plan. This plan would lay out how the surviving spouse should handle the investments after the more-informed spouse dies.

The investment plan should help the lesser-informed spouse avoid becoming a target of unscrupulous individuals who pose as investment professionals and then raid the couple’s accounts. It’s an excellent idea to set up financial relationships and services while both spouses are still alive, so that the surviving spouse has a trusted resource available when the other spouse dies.

Finally, people should make arrangements for a trusted person to have access to computer passwords. These may be necessary for accessing accounts, closing down electronic billing services and more. It’s wise to keep the passwords in a secure place, off the computer, at all times. When setting up an estate plan, people also need to decide whom to inform about the location of this important list.

As a rule, it is better to err on the side of leaving too much information rather than not enough. In addition, those who will be responsible for executing the estate plan should have the opportunity to read carefully through everything that applies to them. It is important to deal with any needed clarifications promptly so there will be no misunderstandings later on.

Families are often geographically dispersed. This can complicate management of an estate following death. It may help to provide family members with at least summary information about the estate plan. This will enable everyone to act immediately, when death occurs, without having to make a long trip to locate documents or find key financial advisors and institutions.

Regular reviews, at least yearly, will help keep the estate plan up-to-date. Following is a worksheet to use when conducting those reviews as well as in organizing and communicating estate planning information. Some experts also suggest creating a list of things that need to be handled quickly after death—such as stopping health insurance premiums and pension checks, and notifying the insurance company if a house will be empty

Here is a chart to start you on your journey