Did past gaffs lead to laughs?

Does anyone else wonder if some of our early leaders made as many gaffs speaking in public as our present-day leaders have?

We all expect perfection, but based on the number of times public figures are exposed to the media, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made and recorded.

I?ll bet George Washington and Abe Lincoln had their moments, too, in front of a crowd. But without video back then, none of their speaking boo-boos were recorded.

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I decided to load up on ?Forever? stamps this past weekend to buffer against the two-cent increase in first-class postage that took effect Monday.

There?s a limit for how many one should get. I thought six months would be reasonable. Forever may not always mean forever.

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The postal system has a big battle in front of it. With increasing use of the Internet for sending information, the demand for first-class mail is decreasing big time.

The system can make some gains, however. At a recent free-paper conference, I learned the postal system has proposed to give incentives for saturation mailers to increase their volume. As I understand it, additional zip codes added to current mailings or increased frequency of existing mailings would be eligible for a per-piece discount for one year beginning May 11.

This makes sense to me, as the delivery trucks and people are going anyway, so added volume that replaces lost volume is money in the bank.

It is a fact that saturation mail is what keeps a first-class stamp at a relatively low rate.

n

While staying at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, S.C., I kept having problems with my room key.

I then discovered that items in my pockets?a cell phone, magnetic name badge and money clip with a magnet?were demagnetizing the code.

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I took Nancy and her mom out for dinner on Mother?s Day. As we were driving toward the restaurant of our choice, I saw a sign for Hooters that said, ?Mom?s eat free.?

Nah.

n

Our country has its share of problems these days. Eventually it appears the taxpayers of our generation and generations to come will be throwing borrowed money at practically every segment of the economy.

What we haven?t heard yet this year is anything about the spiking price of gasoline.

Cost of fuel affects the little guy and small business directly. So why aren?t we getting this problem fixed, too?

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It has gotten to the place where I almost cannot watch live TV anymore. Most of the shows we watch are on DVR, so we can fast-forward through the commercials we don?t want to see. Actually, there are some that I go back and watch because I am interested or they are funny.

Fortunately, we can record two shows at the same time while watching a previously recorded show.

n

The cool weather is throwing me off this spring. Based on the temps, Memorial Day must be at least a month away.

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It?s not too late to sign up for the Hillsboro High School All-School Reunion set for May 23 at the high school. The second deadline for tickets to the banquet is Friday, May 15. Classes are represented beginning with 1932.

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