Potpourri
By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
My mind has been all over the place this week. Hence, you get to peer into a scrambled cranium with many thoughts.
Let’s start with 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, executed for expressing his opposition to the regime in Iran. This tells one all you need to know about the Iranian government.
Next is Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, now the kingpin of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who has risen to the top in Mexico to replace his stepfather.
Born in California, his U.S. citizenship could cause problems in taking him out. However, there is a precedent that could come into play. During the Obama administration, several American citizens involved in drug cartels were killed.
Then, the news is just in that Chuck Norris has died. Often seen as the tough guy, he’s gone and he was only 86. Close to turning 76 myself, I am qualified to say, “only 86.”
What bothers me the most these days is many think acting as if they are going to live forever and acting as if money is the secret to this. I just heard on “The Stewart Varney Show” that 18% of Americans think that being worth a billion dollars is immoral.
Really? If it weren’t for billionaires, I would not have had the career I have had nor would I have the problem of weighing too much (207.6 lbs. on the scales this morning – I labeled this column “potpourri”).
I have managed to know several billionaires, one dead, others still living. The ones I know live and die just like regular folks.
We buried Laura’s aunt last Saturday in Derby, Indiana. She was 89 and filled the church with those wanting to pay their respects, which made an old saying of mine into a falsehood.
What was the saying? I always said if you want a big crowd at your funeral, die young. Dying old yields a small crowd. Aunt Mary was known for helping out folks near and far, young and old. They showed up to pay their respects.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.