Thoughts for the Day, February 9, 2022: Like a rose needs to be trimmed to become a beautiful flower, the teenage boy’s brain needs to be trimmed to become a functioning adult.

While raising our teenager sons, I used to have a discussion with my good friend David Clifton about what happens to teenage boys’ brains. We both concluded that teenage boys’ brains were like roses.  During their teenage years, the brains of teenage boys were going through a trimming process, like what needs to happen to roses for them to become beautiful flowers.  During this trimming of the brain, things like common sense are cut back to a minimum while irrational behavior is left untouched.  If the teenage boy could live to early adulthood without getting into too much trouble, eventually common sense would grow and take over the irrational behavior, like how a trimmed-back rose turns from a green prickly mass of stems to a beautiful rose full of flowers worth giving to the love of your life.  The following story confirms our theory.

A 17-year-old watched helplessly as his car slid into the Rouge River on Monday evening when he got out to relieve himself. The Melvindale teen was driving along the riverbank when mother nature called, so he figured a little stop couldn’t hurt. He quickly learned he was wrong when his car started sliding and there was little, he could do to stop it

On a sadder note, concerning a teenage driver, the Flint Police Department confirmed that Flint Police Capt. Collin Birnie died in a traffic crash Friday night. The crash occurred about 6 p.m. on Elms Road in Mount Morris Township during Birnie’s drive home after the end of his shift. Bernie’s vehicle was hit head-on by another driver that lost control and entered the opposing traffic lanes. The other driver in the crash was a juvenile.  Not only are our law enforcement officers subject to life and death exposure every day as part of their jobs, but they are also subject to the same risk all normal citizens face.

During my forty years as a finance person, I have always emphasized the importance of not using one-time funds to fund ongoing recurring expenses.  With all the one-time money the State of Michigan has in its coffers, I am concerned the state legislature and the governor, to look favorable to their constituents, will use the one-time money to fund ongoing expenses in the states upcoming budget year.  I know this sounds cynical, but I have seen this happen too many times at the state and local levels.  Too many times, I have been asked to fix the problem after the fact.  It is never pretty. 

What are you doing to stop the violence?  Get vaccinated and get your booster.

Orchid of the Day; Dolly Parton, who has always been a great philanthropist, today announced that all employees of Dollywood will be eligible for free tuition and books to attend college.

Onion of the Day: The 17-yearold from Melvindale who allowed his car to drift into the Rouge River while he was relieving himself. See above story.

Quotes of the Day:  . “He is 100% fine. His car is currently a bit wet or better said…… submerged.” The Allen Park Police Department in a statement regarding the 17-yearold who allowed his car to drift into the Rouge River while relieving himself.

Song/Video of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxWgYnYBtBM