Dean McGillivary stopped by to show photos of their 15-foot river birch that bent all the way to the ground-it even blocked their driveway so they couldn't get the car out. When the ice melted the tree stood back up like it was before with no apparent damage.

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We had a neat little guy sitting beside us at the Sterling game the other night. He didn't look familiar to us, but upon asking a few questions, we learned that his dad was one of the referees.

Lucas was in second grade and has a baby brother who is a couple of months old. He was from Wichita and asked us if he was in Wichita. Maybe he had a nap on the way to Hillsboro.

We asked him if he went with his dad often and he said he went along to the game because his mom was having a Tupperware party. In fact, she has a lot of parties.

When the game was nearing the end he was getting ready to run. He already knows the drill.

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The grout in our shower was getting a little gray looking so we bought one of those Chlorox bleach pens. Does it work?

Didn't work too well on the grout. I wonder if it would work on my teeth.

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Social Security seems to be a hot topic these days. Actually, saving it is the real topic.

Bush wants to change it. The opposition wants to keep it like it is.

I have a completely different take on the subject. Why leave it to the politicians to fix it-or anything else for that matter? Just fix it yourself. Especially if you are just getting started with your career.

Social Security was never meant to be a retirement plan, but a safety net for those with extenuating circumstances.

What has the plan goofed up is that it is a pay-as-you-go plan. The money comes from those who are still working. At the beginning, about 32 workers were paying in for every one retiree. Now I think it's about three workers footing the bill for one retiree.

Also, people are living longer and draw on the funds for a much longer time. People like me are still around to take advantage of it because of the advances in medicine and treatment for life shortening health conditions. Had I had my recent heart problem 30 years ago, I probably wouldn't be around to collect any money.

The real answer lies in each person preparing for retirement on his or her own. If you are in your 20s or 30s, start saving now. Two thousand dollars invested tax free at 5 percent compound interest for 45 years is worth about $18,000. The same amount for 35 years is worth $11,000. Keep adding to it each month and it goes through the roof.

Repeat this every year and tally that up. If you bank online just go to your bank's financial planning section to learn all you want to know about what it will take to get you there.

Let the politicos in Washington do whatever they want. It won't matter.

n

I had a great uncle who always said, "Pay yourself first." He also switched his socks in his shoes when going to bed at night so that he would wear them out evenly.