Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
I love that nature pretty much knows only one thing. Be. Just be. Eat. Grow. Go about their God-given business. These pictures are from the Mill Creek greenway in Nashville, Tennessee. Piper and Asia appear courtesy of their management, “Beagles’R’Us”. 
Thanks for stopping by!
-Out of the Wilderness
Among all the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic is affecting bank accounts all across the country in the form of stimulus checks. Some folks have or will have a direct deposit while others, like me, have an actual old-fashioned check. Why I got a check when the IRS definitely has my account and routing numbers I’ll never understand but anyway… I guess that’s the efficiency of government for ya 🙂
Before tearing open the envelope I paused to consider 3 options, 3 routes to take with this new money. I know there are many options and a million wrinkles to the scenario but take a look at the ideas below and let me know what you think!
1. For those with any kind of loan… Put all of the money towards the loan principle (probably the wisest decision) – by doing this you’re reducing your monthly payments in a long run. Everything about this decision screams wise, mature, smart.
2. For anyone who’s a fan of risky business… Put the entire sum in stocks (risky, but more fun than option #1) – if you were happy before the money, you’ll be happy after even if you lose it. Or if you have some luck, it’ll multiply in the stock market.
3. Noteworthy piece of memorabilia… How about the most risky choice – DON’T OPEN THE ENVELOPE! This option is obviously more far-fetched than option #1 or #2, but maybe you’d like to take a gamble that in 30 or 40 or 50 years the unopened envelope containing the stimulus check might be worth more than the check amount. Thinking about auction value for historic documents, etc. Obviously, this is a very unconventional choice, and most risky because at some point the check will be out of date and it could very well be worth $0 in 30, 40, or 50 years.
What is your heart telling you? There are other ways to take action with the stimulus money not discussed above but I thought these 3 options were quite interesting. What is your heart telling you? What unconventional ideas do you have? Chime in below and thanks for stopping by!
-Out of the Wilderness
This phrase is something I’ve heard a number of times within the Biden camp. Today I heard it again, this time from the one and only Hillary Clinton.
Facts over fiction.
There are a few things I find disturbing and/or ironic in this endorsement of Joe Biden for the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. But the only thing I’ll mention in this post is the irony in the lower thirds of both of these folks. Facts over fiction… and they’re listed as “Vice President” and “Secretary”! Hahahaha! What is it, 2009? How hard is it to include “Former” in each of their name tags?
It’s a circus out there, folks.
-Out of the Wilderness
I will be starting this post with a completely unsubstantiated claim:
Billie Eilish is the new Lorde.
OK, so now I’ll try to back this claim up with data.
Lorde pretty much fell off the map back in 2018 after her sophomore album, “Melodrama,” was released in 2017. To date, it’s sold under a million whereas her first album (“Pure Heroine,” 2013) blew up all the charts and has since sold over 4 million.
Enter Billie Eilish.
Billie Eilish’s debut album came in 2019 and, like Lorde’s first album, has slaughtered the charts. She has a couple of big hits from that album and is basically the belle of the ball at this point. Both Billie and Lorde were 17 years old when their first albums debuted. Lorde was 21 years old when her second album was released, and as of this post Billie Eilish does not have a second album made public.
I don’t feel like looking into this anymore. 🙂
But in my mind, Billie Eilish has picked up where Lorde left off. What are your thoughts? Will Billie’s second album be as well received as her first, or will it slump like Lorde’s second album did?
Thanks for stopping by!
-Out of the Wilderness
When I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago, a tragedy happened! Not a real tragedy like this date that went horribly wrong, or flying my drone into a tree…
…but a tragedy my dog Asia would have been devastated by. I say “would have” because luckily, she never found out that her frisbee went missing! Well, I say “luckily” but luck didn’t find her frisbee. My parents did!
The frisbee is often thrown into the ocean and one particular day, it was thrown into cool water and then we all left on a boat excursion. A few hours later the frisbee was nowhere to be found and no one could say exactly where they last saw it.
My brother and I scoured the shoreline but came up empty. I was upset at first because Asia loves this frisbee, but if I’m being honest, I was more upset about the lack of care from responsible parties. I guess I’m officially an adult when things like that bother me. I had given up on finding it and somehow was able to let the carelessness of others wash by like water under a bridge. I can tend to hold grudges, so this was progress, right? I guess I’m officially a Christian when things like this can be “let go” of. Thank you Lord 🙂
I made it back to Nashville frisbee-less and not more than a day later got the text from my Dad that what was lost was now found. Hallelujah! Amazing grace! OK, that doesn’t exactly fit but I’m so happy to know Asia will have her frisbee again when we get back to Florida, thanks to her favorite grand-puprents!
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 