“Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”

That’s a quote from Anna Lappe, an American author, educator and sustainable food expert.

Lappe was likely referencing the importance of choosing sustainable foods and avoiding the stuff we know we should avoid. That is a lesson in itself, but there is another. 

When we go online and purchase a sweater for our sister from Amazon, we are casting a vote. When we search for tools and buy a drill on Facebook for Uncle Mel, we are casting a vote. And when we pay cash for a watch at a local retail store, we are casting a vote, too. How we spend our money really does say a lot about what kind of world we want. 

My friend Loren Colburn penned a column in INK magazine addressing this topic and taking it a step further. He wrote about the importance of doing business with people who do business with you and encouraging your co-workers to do the same. He acknowledged that this effort is constantly being “challenged with convenience, cost savings, availability and an endless stream of other obstacles.”

Colburn explained what so many of us know but seem to continually forget: that local businesses are the ones that “support the local property and school tax base, provide jobs for our families and neighbors, donate to local charitable organizations, sponsor youth sports and social programs and so much more.” He challenged us to become “champions of educating our communities on the benefits of buying locally.”

I accept Colburn’s challenge, and I challenge each of you to do the same. If you are looking for a place to start, check out the advertisements for local products and services in our publications that you receive at home, on racks or in digital formats. Or take a stroll down the streets of any shopping district in the community of your choice. The options are aplenty. It just depends on “what kind of world you want.”

Where will you place your vote?

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-755-2115

I was in seventh grade when my friend Brad, who was in eighth grade, told me guys like us can never use illegal drugs because we will get addicted. I didn’t fully understand his advice, but he was a year older than me and someone I admired, so I took heed. 

Today, I realize how the simple words of someone you look up to can impact the rest of your life. At that young age, I could have easily been convinced to use illegal drugs in the same way I was convinced to avoid them. My life today may have ended up much differently.

To be honest, I never really understood the attraction to roll something up, light it on fire and breathe in the smoke. My parents both smoked cigarettes when I was growing up, and the relentless stench of that kept me from ever wanting to ever smoke a cigarette, let alone marijuana. I also wrestled in high school and college, and competing in that sport meant you had to have strong lungs. Smoking anything was not part of that plan.

Drugs that don’t require inhaling are a different animal. I had my appendix taken out when I was in my 20s. It had started to burst, and I was in the hospital for an extended time. I vividly remember the nurse giving me some powerful pain medication, and I vividly remember how incredibly good that felt. Brad was right. I could have easily become addicted. Fortunately, it was not readily available to me.

Meanwhile, I did partake in moderate alcohol consumption, and I still do. My argument as an adult has been that it is legal, but I recognize that alcohol has created just as many, if not more, problems for people than drugs. I am fortunate that drinking too much alcohol gives me a horrible hangover for multiple days. So as much as I may enjoy it, I have a painful reminder of why I need to do so in moderation. 

I am concerned about illegal drug usage and its availability to kids today. Habits are difficult to break, so we all need to form good ones and encourage others to do the same.

Several years ago, I reminded Brad about his words of advice. He said he did not recall telling me that, but I do, and I owe him many thanks for steering me in the right direction. It is a reminder of how our words — and our actions — can be impactful to young and impressionable people.

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

Losing the remote control is quite common in the Goodman household. And when I ask where the remote is at, the common response is, “Which remote?”

We have the TV remote control. The sound bar remote control. The Firestick remote control. And that little, slick metal remote for the Apple TV that we seem to lose the most.

When we first misplaced it, I became so frustrated that I bought another one. Then I found the old one. Now we have two Apple TV remotes to lose. And we do. Frequently. 

We have learned that the most common spot to look is in the couch, as the remotes often slip through the cushions. Since I am the designated person to do the search, I find many other hidden treasures — a dozen or so hair scrunchies, some pocket change, more bobby pins than I can count, and a few kernels of popcorn that the dog usually beats me to. 

I remember when we had TVs without remote controls. Being the youngest child, I was the one who was told to change the channel. When that plastic knob would break (as it often did), I would have to use the pliers to turn to another station. Seriously. 

I remember buying my first VCR, which came with a “corded” remote. It was about 6 feet long and had more tangles than a string of Christmas lights. It didn’t last long. 

I bought my first TV in 1990. It was a console set on a swivel base that had a great picture and an incredible booming sound from its wooden enclosure. TVs didn’t need sound bars back then, but those who bought them did need ibuprofen after moving the 150-pounders (which I did up and down stairs more times than I want to count). Most importantly, this TV came with a remote control. No pliers. 

It’s too bad life doesn’t have a remote control so we could turn down the volume, press mute, change the channel to a different scene, or simply press off — all at the click of a button. That sounds nice, but it’s probably best that a life remote doesn’t exist. It would likely fall between the cushions, too. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

“Age is just a number. How you take care of your body determines your true age.”

That was something Lemar Koethe, the founder of 7 Flags Fitness Center, the former health club on 100^th Street in Clive, told me in the 1990s. I tried at the time to get Lemar to run an advertisement for his health club with his photo and this quote as the headline, as he was proud of how fit he was for his age. He said I was trying to play up to him. He was right. But it was a great quote, and it would have been a great ad. 

But is age just a number? Not according to many programs that seem guilty of age discrimination. Senior citizen discounts are one. Kids-eat-free campaigns are another. So are any other programs that offer special pricing for people based solely on their age.

Many of our laws also appear to discriminate based on age. Is it OK to require a person to be a minimum age to be able to do something, but not require the same person to quit doing that activity at a later age?

Here in Iowa, we have to be 16 to obtain a driver’s license, but there is no age when we are required to permanently park the Pontiac. We have to be 18 to access our right to vote, but we can vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris at any age. We have to be 21 to legally purchase alcohol, but we can keep buying pints of Smirnoff well into our 90s. You may appropriately argue that many older people are still capable of participating in all of these activities. Agreed. But aren’t many people who are younger than the minimum ages capable, too? And if these laws don’t discriminate based on age, then what does? 

You can use science to support this argument, to some degree. Numerous studies show that the human brain does not fully develop until age 25. If that is so, using the current logic, then why do our laws allow anyone younger than 25 to drive, vote or buy alcohol? Numerous studies also show that cognitive decline most often occurs at age 70 or older. If that is true, using the same current logic, why should anyone older than 70 be able to drive, vote or buy alcohol?

I am being silly, of course, but our age-restrictive laws and offers are debatable, to say the least. Meanwhile, don’t expect any changes soon, as only one thing can be certain. At the end of the day, Lemar was right. Age is just a number. 

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I received much advice from the farmers I worked for growing up, but one simple instruction really sunk in. Each day when I would come out to the farm to do chores, I would slip on a pair of large rubber boots. When I say large, I mean up-to-your-knees large. I quickly learned to appreciate these boots when scooping liquid hog manure from the concrete pads referred to as “open fronts.” These boots were rinsed off each day and left to dry in the shop area of one of the machine sheds, ready for the next day’s work. 

But before slipping these on each day, I was advised to turn them upside down and give them a shake. “You never know what might be inside them,” I was told. Seemed silly to me. If I felt a corn kernel in there, I would just kick the boot off and shake it out. No biggie. Then one day when putting a boot on, I felt some motion on my leg. Hickory, dickory, dock! Except there was no clock. Just a fast little mouse that scurried from my toes up to my belt line. “You are lucky it didn’t go inside your pant leg,” the farmer told me. He was right.

Ever since then, I turn my boots upside down before putting them on. In fact, to this day, I have a habit of turning every piece of footwear I wear upside down before I put it on. It’s a good practice with an even greater meaning. 

How many times in life do we ignore the advice of others and march forward recklessly? Or make a bad hire without thoroughly checking references? Or start a new project without thinking through all the details? 

Yes, it is a good practice to turn most everything upside down and give it a good shake before committing — just in case. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I misplaced my keys. I am not saying I lost them, as that could be interpreted to mean I will not recover them. And I absolutely will recover them. Someday. Meanwhile, I am struggling to keep my sanity. Sound familiar?

I normally use a carabiner to clip my keys to my belt loop. It’s a little trick I picked up from Schneider on “One Day At A Time.” That process has worked magnificently. Until recently. I changed clothes at an event a couple nights ago, and I thought I threw the carabiner in my duffle bag. I thought. 

I am apparently not alone. According to a Lost & Found survey released by Pixie in 2017, Americans spend $2.7 billion dollars every year to replace items we can’t find. Two-thirds of us spend up to $50 a year to do so. And those are numbers from seven years ago! 

The Pixie survey reveals that 45% of us lose the remote controls to our TVs at least once a week. Phones are next at 33%, then eyeglasses at 27%, shoes at 24%, and wallets/purses at 20%. And those dastardly keys? Well, 28% of us lose them at least once per week. Sigh.

Pixie’s research also reveals that Americans spend an average of 2.5 days a year — nearly half a workweek — looking for misplaced stuff. The study also shows that 60% of people have either been late to work or school because of lost items, 49% have missed appointments or meetings, and 22% have missed flights, trains or bus rides.

The average time spent searching for a misplaced item? According to Pixie, it is 5 minutes and 20 seconds. I wish. I am clearly well past that.

But surely losing these keys isn’t my fault. Well, it most likely is, but that doesn’t keep 63% of us from blaming others when we can’t find our lost items.

So, the search continues.

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115