Love and Humor: A Winning Combination

Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, To Have and Have Not, Ghost, Pretty Woman, Officer and a Gentleman...What do each of these films have in common? Quick answer: all have been included in some listing of great romance movies. But, let's not argue. I'd rather take a minute looking at films that have humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideals. Love and humor is a winning combination.

In short, let's look at romantic comedies. In my view some of the very best films in this genre were products of the gifts and talents of Norah Ephron. Her films were not only commercially successful, but her brand of "chick flicks" found a place in the hearts of an adoring public.

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Funding Disaster Aid for Oklahoma: Republicans Inhofe and Coburn-The Shoe is on the Other Foot

After catastrophic tornadoes ripped through the state of Oklahoma, it certain that residents who lost homes and businesses will turn to the federal government for emergency disaster aid. It'll be interesting to see what position the state's two Republican senators will take .

Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, both Republicans, are fiscal hawks who have repeatedly voted against funding disaster aid for other parts of the country. They also have opposed increased funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers federal disaster relief.

Late last year, Inhofe and Coburn both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. In a December press release, Coburn complained that the Sandy Relief bill contained "wasteful spending," and identified a series of items he objected to, including "$12.9 billion for future disaster mitigation activities and studies."

In 2011, both senators opposed legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA when the agency was set to run out of money. Sending the funds to FEMA would have been "unconscionable," Coburn said at the time.

Oklahoma currently ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declarations, which kickstart the federal emergency relief funding process. Just last month, President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for the state following severe snowstorms.

And despite their voting record on disaster aid for other states, both Coburn and Inhofe appear to sing a different tune when it comes to such funding for Oklahoma.

In January of 2007, Coburn urged federal officials to speed disaster relief aid after the state faced a major ice storm. A year later, in 2008, Inhofe lauded the fact that emergency relief from the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be given to 24 Oklahoma counties. "The impact of severe weather has been truly devastating to many Oklahoma communities across the state. I am pleased that the people whose lives have been affected by disastrous weather are getting much-needed federal assistance," he said at the time.

The cost of the recovery effort for this week's tornadoes is likely to be high. After a spate of tornadoes in the state in 1999, Oklahomans requested and received $67.8 million in federal relief funds.

Let's see how these two "fiscal hawks" vote when the shoe is on the other foot.

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Paying Debt Vs. Planning for the Future

The challenge of paying down debt, whether college loans, house payments, or credit card debt, while saving for the future can be daunting—especially in a weak economic environment. For many, paying off debt is easier and more emotionally satisfying than building up savings. That's because debt obligations can be whittled down in to concrete chunks, while savings goals are more ambiguous and can change as easily as changing one's mind about how much to save. And, of course, contributions put into regular savings can be taken out and spent on a whim.

The top three financial priorities for African Americans, each chosen by more than half of respondents in a recent study, are reducing debt, saving for retirement, and building an emergency savings account.
But is paying off debt ahead of saving for the future always a good idea?

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African-Americans Retiring Early With Lower Savings

  The new retirement age is getting younger for many Americans who can least afford to retire.

A new study released Tuesday by Prudential finds African-Americans retire earlier than the general population on average, despite significantly lower retirement savings.

About 25 percent of African-Americans surveyed expect to retire before age 60, compared to 20 percent of the general population. Among current retirees, the average retirement age for African-Americans is 56, according to the study, three years younger than the general population.

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Slow is Faster than Never

Anyone could tell she was annoyed with the result. Although she lost weight from the previous week, her irritation was palpable.

“One quarter of a pound? Four lousy ounces!” She continued to stare at the scale. “I exercised. I wrote everything down. I even stayed away from the hors d’oeuvres at the party. This is too slow. I won’t hit my right weight until I’m 60!”

Standing down from the platform, I heard her grumble as she snatched her purse. “Who needs this frustration?” With those final words, she stormed from the meeting. The next time she came to a meeting, she weighed 43 pounds more than when she left- and was three years closer to the “dreaded” age of sixty.

At times it is difficult to remember that “slower is faster than never.”

Few events are more exasperating than diligently following a plan, faithfully monitoring your efforts, expecting breathtaking rewards, and ending up feeling punished for the effort. Hope vanishes, motivation evaporates, and the seductive siren song of harmful habits slyly lures us off track. After all, rarely does one give up when all is doing well.

Success requires enduring many such indignities; it involves making a lifestyle- not temporary- change. Logically, we know that “lifestyle change” must last...well, er, um...a lifetime (hence the term). Emotionally however, we want to experience all the payback, without making the required investment. As a further analogy, we crave the benefits of wisdom without enduring the exposure to life.

It does not work that way. The process will not be rushed; it must be fully experienced.

Success is more likely when we understand the benefits begin immediately; we do not have to wait to enjoy them until we get “there”. To the contrary, that magical land where temptation is non-existent and motivation is ever present is fantasy; there is no better prescription for failure than betting the farm on such unrealistic expectations.

Those who obtain their goals are still faced with the same temptations and frustrations as those of us still striving for our objective. What differs is they persevere through rough periods by changing focus, not by ignoring the delay.

Setbacks cannot be avoided. Although it might not feel so in the moment, each one presents an opportunity to understand the process, ourselves, and make the adjustments necessary for long-term, SUSTAINED change.

Jennifer Hudson-Before and After

At those crossroads, look back, not ahead. The future is always unknown, yet the road already traveled-no matter how short the journey- is lined with accomplishments: some small, others more significant.

Motivation returns when the focus changes. Remember, slow is faster than never. That means I'm in for the long haul.

Dedicated to all those struggling to overcome obesity. Hang in there!

Source: Weight Watchers memories

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