Jan’s Blog Posts

Age-inclusion Please

Ageism Awareness Day is October 9. The American Society on Aging (ASA) Ageism & Culture Advisory Council has a  Fact Sheet for those who want more details on ageism: https://asaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ageism-Awareness-Day-Fact-Sheet-2025.pdf

Ageism is common and yet overlooked as one of the most socially accepted forms of prejudice. A poll reported that 82% of adults in ages 50-80 experience ageism words or actions daily. And to make matters worse, we often are ageist about ourselves! Other highlights from the ASA report include these issues:

  • Ageism covers people of many ages, both as recipients of prejudice and offenders of prejudice.
  • By age 3 children pick up age stereotypes.
  • Ageism refers to stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) toward others — or ourselves — based on age.
  • Cultural ageism slips into our movies, literature, songs, news reporting, and especially our jokes.
  • One research study found that a mere 1.5% of the characters on TV in the U.S. are older adults. If present, they tend to have minor roles and/or are portrayed in stereotypic ageist behavior.
  • Ageism is even more prevalent when it intersects with racism, sexism and ableism.
  • Those who experience multiple forms of ageism are reported to have more chronic health conditions and depression.
  • Ageism has economic implications; AARP estimates that $850 billion in lost gains to the CDP results from involuntary retirement, underemployment, and unemployment in older adults.
  • Older adults support the U.S. economy; ages 50+ support over 88 million jobs (through jobs they hold or create).
  • More than half of small business owners are 50+ years old.
  • Work contributions of older adults are overlooked: caregivers ages 65+ are often unpaid caregivers for their family, friends or neighbors.
  • In 2022 data, 1.1 million grandparents ages 60+ were providing most of the basic care of grandchildren living with them.
  • Older adults have longer periods of unemployment, face discrimination during the hiring process, and receive fewer professional development possibilities.
  • 64% of older workers report age discrimination in their place of work.
  • In one study 1 out of 5 adults over 50 experienced discriminations in their healthcare settings.
  • There are few geriatricians treating the older adult population; the average salary for a geriatrician is half of the salary for an anesthesiologist, cardiologist, or radiologist.
  • Medication-related problems are estimated to be one of the top 5 causes of death in older adults.

I have experienced ageism and while I know about the unconscious bias that exists in the U.S., it is still unsettling as I feel useful, not over-the-hill. I like author and poet Gertrude Stein’s approach: “We are always the same age inside.” Her statement can be taken in many ways, but there is a timeless quality to believing in a core self with an ability to have consciousness to each present moment. There are positive possibilities when we embrace age-inclusion.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

434. Have you experienced ageism lately?

435. What do you say when you hear ageism bias tossed into conversations?

Nonverbal Cues as Personality Parts

Pablo Picasso. Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat (Dora Maar), 1943. Courtesy Lucien Paris. This painting existed in a private collection for 8 decades but entered public space this month and will be sold at auction October 24, 2025.

Picasso’s paintings of faces can intrigue or annoy. One does not move away quickly. There is a depth that holds one’s focus, allowing one’s mind to travel sideways. My mind travels to Internal Family Systems “parts” model (originated by marriage and family therapist Richard Schwartz). This evidence-based psychotherapy is one I studied and find practical in explaining human behavior.

When I look at Picasso’s portrayal of lover and muse Dora Maar, I see multiple parts of personality depicted. Picasso is a master painter of Rorschach-like faces. There is color shock, but more importantly, there is shock from differing facial details from what one expects. Was Picasso capturing complexities of Dora or was he projecting his own complexities onto canvas? Dora’s words would suggest the latter, referencing her lover’s fragmented renditions of her with disdain: “All his portraits of me are lies…they’re all Picassos. Not one is Dora Maar.”

Well, that is no surprise! We project our “stuff” (“parts” or feelings, beliefs, sensations and actions) all the time, although we often fail to “catch” what we are revealing about ourselves.

Have you ever watched a person’s face turn “colors” when they told you their story about an event? Did their ruby cheeks of embarrassment then shift into your own feelings of embarrassment about some time in your life? We frequently act as mirrors of one another. I see fear in the eyes of this painting. Is this because I have a fearful part about the current violence on our world stage? According to a Smithsonian report, Picasso had fears of Nazis in the time frame of both this painting and his anti-war Guernica masterpiece with its horse-eye fears. Both painter and observer project personality “parts” in varying degrees.

Have you noticed when a person is lying that they often do not maintain eye contact? (There are other possibilities for not keeping eye contact, but lying is one possibility). Other than eyes, perhaps the most obvious thing we watch in another is whether they are smiling at us and how wide their smile is. A smirk smile is vastly different from a friendship smile. These seemingly small details send nonverbal signals between individuals that there is safety, or not, in current relating.

One interpretation of the limited smile on the portrait of Picasso’s lover is intriguing: “[it] perhaps hints at the shadow of a faint, sorrowful smile,” states Agnés Sevestre-Barbé, a Picasso specialist. This painting occurred during World War II during Hitler’s reign when Nazis forces had surrounded Paris where Picasso’s studio was located. The time also coincided with an impending break-up of the 9-year relationship between Picasso and Maar. Picasso met Maar when he was 54 years-old and she was 28. The part plot thickens. Picasso reportedly left Maar after meeting his next conquest, 21-year-old Francoise Gilot.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

432. When have you looked at another’s face and made an instant leap to “read” them?

433. Do you practice “catching” the part(s) of you projecting onto another?

Anger Remedies

As a long-time student of problem-solving and conflict resolution, I am troubled by the news cycle of raw conflicts in our country. Animosity too often turns to not-so-veiled threats or violent behavior against an imagined “other.” Political individuals report a slew of death threats and in some unbelievable instances, they or their family members have been violently attacked. Anger is palpable from town hall meetings to houses of worship.   

Margaret Cullen, a marriage and family therapist as well as a mindfulness teacher, identifies what is happening when anger’s slippery slope devolves into cruelty and/or violence. She gives a first-person accounting: “When I reflect honestly, I notice that my most volatile reactions are tied to things I hate in myself—places I’ve missed the mark or failed to live up to my own ideals. Outrage becomes a shield, a projection, a way of disowning what is hard to face internally…easier to demonize the other than to wrestle with my own complicity.”  Such truth-telling seems like a place to begin a much-needed remedy to anger.

Cullen’s upcoming book, Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of Equanimity, might be required reading for politicians. As Cullen outlines her approach, an ethical value system is key: “Simply put: Unethical conduct breeds agitation; ethical conduct fosters peace. And agitation is fertile ground for outrage and projection to take root. Throw in some social media and global instability, and you are well on your way to zealotry. Peace is fertile ground for perspective and clarity to grow. Toss in some honest self-reflection and an intention for greater integrity, and you can harness the energy of outrage toward creative solutions and effective engagement.”

Yes, self-reflection, insight, and an awareness of one’s value system are always a good idea, whether the topic is anger or anything else. However, we do not see things clearly much of the time. We experience anger or some other strong emotion and imagine that it is “justified.” We do not recognize that our anger rides shotgun in the front seat of our personality pickup truck as a protector from fear, insecurity, and other tender parts of ourselves. I reflected upon this lack of self-clarity when I looked through a clouded-over glass window in a door in my new home. The murky window blocked my view of roses growing outside this doorway. Once the double-pane failed glass was replaced, roses could be appreciated with clear sightlines.   

I appreciate the metaphor in a Scottish tune, Looking at a Rainbow Through a Dirty Window (by Scottish Uilleann piper and flute player Calum Stewart, arranged for harp by Rachel Hair). Listening to peaceful music, especially with others, is a remedy for what ails. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyp3p3gRQcQ

Are you looking for rainbows and peaceful, creative solutions these days? I am.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

431. When do you catch yourself projecting your own outrage onto an “other” person?

431. How might we best enhance ethical conduct in groups of people?                   

Women and Well-being

Following last week’s blog, Men and Well-being, it seems appropriate to address women’s well-being. First, here is a 4-point working definition of well-being that is supported by neuroscience research from the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison:

  • Awareness: A heightened, flexible attentiveness to one’s environment and internal cues such as bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings.
  • Connection: A feeling of care and kinship toward other people that promotes supportive relationships through acknowledging and understanding another’s unique perspective.
  • Insight: A self-knowledge concerning how one’s emotions, thoughts and beliefs shape their experiences and sense of self.
  • Purpose: A keen understanding about one’s core values and deeper motivation to be capable of applying them in daily life.

Perhaps you know some women who embody these concepts. I know many women who are proficient in these ways of well-being. My theory about why this is so prevalent among women is that women are the ones who give birth to the future generation. Whether they have this opportunity or not, they often are responsible for educating precious children. These givers of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness need their own well-being honed to be capable of being positive role models in guiding youth.

It is a huge benefit that women have a good amount of the hormone and neurotransmitter, oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the “love hormone.” Men have less of this hormone gem, although they do possess oxytocin. Couples in the early stages of a romantic attachment have significantly higher levels of oxytocin than singles! Oxytocin is an arousal helper. Levels of the hormone spike both during and after sex. Hugs, physical touch and meaningful eye contact all release oxytocin.

Oxytocin is not just related to reproduction; it is involved in many of the positive emotions that we experience. Research suggests that men with higher-than-average oxytocin levels show greater empathy, trust, and attachment in their ongoing relationships. Oxytocin helps parents form lifelong bonds with their children. Oxytocin also is effective as a natural stress-reliever, as it can lower blood pressure and improve circulation. It has anti-inflammatory possibilities.

Overall, oxytocin is a hormone that helps one feel balanced. When oxytocin levels are low, there are noticeable effects in an individual that are troublesome – a low ability in relating to others, a reduced empathy range, and/or greater-than-average feelings of loneliness and anxiety.  Practices like meditation, deep breathing, and yoga can help release oxytocin.

There is a great need for all of us to awaken to our birthright of well-being. This is our time, this present time, to bond with one another. Our planet depends upon it. Our country depends upon it. Our communities depend upon it. Our families depend upon it. As ballerina and member of the Osage Nation, Maria Tallchief reminded, “Very often you are in the right place, at the right time, but you don’t know it.”

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

429. When are you aware of experiencing well-being?

430. What purpose might you fulfill today?        

Men and Well-being

Family therapist Terry Real (yes, his real name) is the founder of Relational Life Therapy. His specialty for 40 years is men. He is the author of 4 books with titles such as I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression and How Can I Get Through to You? Reconnecting Men and Women. He has a reputation for “saving marriages” when hope for repair has dwindled to a couple’s last-ditch effort. “All relationships are about balance/unbalance/repair, harmony/unharmony/repair.”

Real believes men are depressed “because they are terrible at intimacy.” Furthermore, he considers that the U.S. is a “toxic culture of individualism” which does not include nurturing interpersonal relationships. He offers workshops for working with “grandiose men” who lack empathy for themselves as well as empathy for others.

What is a grandiose behavior? According to Real, a grandiose man is apt to minimize, deflect, blame, and rationalize. His grandiosity, similar to intoxication, greatly impairs his judgment. He often has experienced considerable hurt in his life and manages it through a “retreat to the one-up position…If you’re in the one-down, shame state—which is where most women are, overtly—at least you know it. But one of the insidious things about the flight from shame into grandiosity—which is where many men go—is that it doesn’t feel bad. In fact, it often feels pretty good.”   

Real’s experience is that a grandiose man will only change when his partner “starts walking.” If left unchecked, men’s grandiose behaviors often leave a legacy of crippled functioning to their offspring.

It is difficult being a man today (and difficult being a woman also). Online influencers in the “manosphere” blast misogynistic rhetoric alongside physical fitness tips. Women frequently are blamed for whatever ails a man. This toxic “manosphere” is developed through the interplay of certain chatrooms, websites, vlogs, TikTok channels, and gaming platforms. Cynthis Miller-Idriss, founder of Polarization, Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, and author of Man Up, describes grandiosity in the manosphere as often mixed with anger: “They’re performing outrage, it’s salacious, it feels good, it’s like candy for guys who are angry.”

Consider the 18th century story, Robinson Crusoe by British writer, journalist, and spy, Daniel Defoe (1660-1731). Protagonist Crusoe is shipwrecked on a remote island. A sole survivor, he begins to feel regret (and perhaps develops some self-empathy) for his former choices. He does not have a smart phone to influence his thinking, only a Bible. He develops morality. He becomes grateful for his life. He keeps himself alive for 28 years despite harsh circumstances. He defends prisoners from cannibalism. Two of Defoe’s more famous quotes apply here: “All men would be tyrants if they could,” and more hopeful, “But it is never too late to be wise.”   

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

427. Have you experienced any kind of relationship (as a colleague, family member, or partner) with a grandiose man?

428. How might the U.S. invest in emotional fitness — for everyone?   

Haboob Time

A week ago a tremendous dust storm or haboob dropped a haze-filled blanket over Phoenix. My son was driving at the time. He pulled off a highway for 10-15 minutes. Some choose not to stop driving, the recommended practice, receiving an accident from their choice. Flights were grounded. Homes and businesses lost power. Haboobs are a threat in dry climates, especially in the Southwest. Without warning or a possibility of containment, a haboob whips dust into a mass several thousand feet high in an intense wind that rages for a brief time. As incredible as it sounds, the haboob forcefield of dust can extend up to 100 miles wide. Sudan has an average of 24 such terrorizing dust storms annually. Haboobs also occur in the Sahara Desert across Northern Africa and in Central Australia.

This weekend many are weathering different kinds of storms. In Washington state, two firefighters were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol while on the job fighting a ferocious wildfire in a remote part of the state. Their reported reason for arrest was “illegal entry and reentry” into the U.S. This wildfire is only 13% contained. These apprehensions of supposed violent behavior are 0% contained.

Meanwhile, in the other Washington (DC), National Guard troops have been ordered to patrol the city to stem violence. Local restaurants and hotels have fewer reservations. Tour guide companies lost revenue. One company reports that typically August is high season for Washington tourists with 80 tours booked; their current number is 40. Canadian bookings have disappeared. Whether crime has been contained depends upon one’s source of statistics. The slogan of the Arizona Department of Transportation regarding haboob time is, “Pull aside, stay alive.” Can we apply this to the National Guard? Hopefully, their duty does not cost them personal street violence that they are expected to contain.

On this Labor Day, celebrations may be as somber as haboob skies. There are many folks without labor to return to on Tuesday morning. Some retired, with many choosing early retirement. Some government workers lost their career post when a termination haboob swept through their office. Without notice, a worker could receive the news at 5:00 PM and not have time to say goodbye to co-workers while being escorted out their work door. Depending upon the worker’s age, some will have difficulty finding new employment. Who helps displaced government workers reenter the labor pool? Who calculates lost revenue in ability to pay federal/local taxes? More importantly, what psychological effects trickle down to their families?

Labor Day is traditionally a time for families to celebrate American workers and to gather for picnics to celebrate the last hurrah of summer as the nation’s children start another school year. America begins this school season with another senseless school shooting. Who provides school security for children and teachers? I have more questions than answers.  

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

425. What meaning does paid employment have for you?

426. Have you ever experienced a job termination? If so, what happened?

School Days…Golden Rule Days?

“…Let’s take a trip on memory’s ship / Back to the bygone days… / School days, school days / Dear old Golden Rule days / ‘Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic / Taught to the tune of the hick’ry stick….”

Did you sing this in childhood? OK, I’m dating myself. As a youngster in rural Indiana, it was a well-known song. Thankfully, I never was spanked either at home or in school, although many children receive this wayward discipline. The 1907 song was composed by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards. Imagined crooners were adults looking back on childhood experiences in elementary school. Were Cobb or Edwards paddled in school?

As a new school year is in first gear, it rattles my psychology training that in 2025 corporal punishment remains “legal” in private schools in every U.S. state except Illinois, Iowa. Maryland, New Jersey and New York. What educational textbooks are these educators reading? And to make it clear that private education is not the only believer in spanking, it is also “legal” in 17 states in public schools (supposedly “practiced” in 12 states). Spanking is not a healthy choice for either the inflicted child or the perpetrator doing the spanking. As a family therapist, I taught parents and kids, “Hands are for hugging, cooking, playing and ____________________; hands are not for hitting.”

An online Newsweek article (8-22-25) reports that a nonprofit organization, Lawyers for Good Government, has investigated corporal punishment. Sadly, their findings are that Black children comprise 37.3% of the inflicted, and disabled children make up 16.5% of the incidents. This discrimination is disgraceful.

In case you wonder, here are the 17 states allowing corporal punishment in schools: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Florida made a recent concession – parents must give consent — and “it depends upon the school” in 4 more, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

There is hope for change to archaic discipline in schools. According to Elizabeth Gershoff, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, “…school principals either realize that school corporal punishment is not effective at improving student behavior, that it is not necessary, is cruel and physically harmful, or that it could lead to lawsuits from parents of children injured by school corporal punishment.” 

Sarah Font, Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Pennsylvania State University, suggests, “…instilling proper respect for authority figures” and adults who received spankings believing they learned something, are reasons the outdated practice exists, despite research that corporal punishment does not improve long-term behavior.

Justin Driver, Professor of Law, Yale Law School, states, “Public school students are the only group of people in American society who government officials strike with impunity for modest transgressions.”

Who is educating government officials? Who educates the educators?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

423. Were you spanked in childhood at home or school?

424. What effects have you observed in individuals who were hit by teachers and/or parents?

Eco-friendly and Culturally Astute

In Edmonton, Canada, a 12-story residential building is retrofitted with photovoltaic solar panels that promise a reduction of nearly 150 tons of carbon emissions annually. Projected savings for both owners and residents is estimated at $80,00 per year beginning with year five.

The 1970’s building, once named Capital Towers, needed renovation. The eco-friendly makeover with a solar focus has a new name, SunRise Residential, and combines sustainable architecture along with the world’s largest solar-panel mural, a current Guinness World Record holder. “This integration provided a dual-purpose solution, allowing the building to generate solar energy while showcasing meaningful artwork,” according to the solar panel company Mitrex. Danial Hadizadeh, CEO of Mitrex, further states, “…building-integrated photovoltaics can produce clean energy, cut emissions, and inspire communities with culturally resonant designs.”  

The solar-panel art is a cultural integration of two communities. Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal named his artistic rendering, “The Land We Share.” The color-filled mural panels depict both First Nations and Chinese culture: 7 animals symbolize Cree sacred grandfather philosophy while 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac align vertically. The Cree significant animals are muskox, wolf, bear, eagle, moose, otter, and raven. The Chinese 12-year cycle of animal signs includes rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. I wondered if the muskox and ox were the same animal. Online info suggests that the shaggy-haired muskox adapted to cold environments and relates more to sheep; domestic oxen belong to a different family. While the two have similarities, they have distinct physical and behavioral traits (like people it seems to me). However, these species shared a common ancestor millions of years ago.

Artist Cardinal views his paired animal lore in a collaborative manner: “The different teachings and ideals represented by these 19 animals help us see the world in a better way, to be respectful of each other and to understand each other’s differences, and of course, to take care of Mother Earth.”

In fascinating research of indigenous First Nation individuals, scientists have discovered several migrations that originated in China. Originally, it was thought that all indigenous Americans were descendants of a Siberian population; some are, however, earlier migrations began between 19,000 and 26,000 years ago when ice sheet glaciers covered northern China and the harsh climate began a melting of the ice. Some early adventurous Chinese settled in Japan. Some pushed onward to the Americas. There are similarities in prehistoric arrowheads and spears that existed in China, Japan and the Americas.

When we go back far enough to the ancestry of various groups of people, we become more astute in our understanding that we are indeed brothers and sisters with one another. The surprising genetic links between certain Native Americans, Chinese, and Japanese people brings our understanding of one planet, one people to a deeper place.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

421. When you consider your ancestry, how many generations can you trace?

422. What meaning does another culture’s folklore have for you?               

Cultural Change and Climate Change

Receding Nisqually Glacier and its Mount Rainier runoff in 2025

Washington state Nisqually indigenous people are described as people of the river and grass. Nisqually original homeland consisted of nearly 2 million acres encompassing present-day towns of Olympia, Tenino, and Dupont, including a reach as far as Mount Rainier. Nisqually life in the Puget Sound watershed has existed for the past 10,000 years. However, drastic changes for the tribe occurred 150+ years ago with the arrival of Euro-Americans. Many current families live along the Nisqually River 14 miles east of Olympia on a reservation of approximately 5000 acres with tribal land holdings nearby of 1000 acres (which only were reacquired in the past 25 years).

Fort Nisqually was established in 1833 as the first white settlement on Puget Sound. Shifting land allotments for the peaceful Nisqually people are painful reminders of shifting movement of the Nisqually Glacier and Nisqually River on Mount Rainier. Shifting names accompany this impressive mountain: Tahoma, Lushootseed, Cowlitz, Klallam, Upper Chehalis, Twana, and Chinook Wawa preceded Mount Rainier, named for Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. Renaming a mountain is symbolic for relocating communities. Relocation is challenging; forced relocation is traumatic.

Both steep topography and roaring rivers characterize Mount Rainier. When developers situated roads and buildings alongside the grade of a river, they did not anticipate shifting climate changes. Repeat flooding severely damaged the Carbon River Road, taking away car access to some northwestern parts of Mount Rainier National Park. On the western edge, the Longmire development sits adjacent to Nisqually River. The river is “up” 30 feet in elevation higher than park buildings and roads which rely on a levee for protection. In 2006 one storm dumped 17.9 inches of rain over a 36-hour period on Mount Rainier, causing the park to close for 6 months.

Nisqually Glacier is losing land mass and retreating at a more rapid pace in the past century due to rising temperatures. When the summer melt period exceeds winter snow accumulation, receding glaciers pick up their melt pace. At one point Nisqually Glacier was recorded as moving as quickly as 29 inches per day! Glaciers are Nature’s laboratories for climate change. Unless there is some global stabilization of temperatures, the projection is for increased glacial retreats which in turn lead to dangerous debris flows into Mount Rainier’s rivers.

Cultural changes as well as climate changes can impact local ecosystems in some drastic ways. We often do not address the long view on a consistent basis. The concept of “7 generations ahead,” an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) credo, needs to be everyone’s credo.

 Oh, I did not mention yet that Mount Rainier is an active volcano. A cousin active volcano, Mount St. Helens, blew its lid in 1980, changing the topography in the surrounding valleys. Layers of mud and debris were sent flowing for 17 miles, while ash fell all the way east to Montana. Yikes!

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

419. When you think of climate change, what are your first thoughts?

420. How are today’s U. S. cultural changes affecting you?         

When the Chips are Down

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day happens every year on August 4th. Who knew?

The average person supposedly eats nearly 35,000 cookies in a lifetime! I wondered how many of those are chocolate chip cookies, a favorite of many since this cookie’s humble birth in 1937. Reportedly, 53% of Americans prefer chocolate chip cookies over others.

The chip cookie trail is traced to Toll House Inn in Whitman, MA. One story has owner Ruth Graves Wakefield intending to make her usual chocolate cookies, only she ran out of baker’s chocolate. She substituted chunks of a Nestle chocolate bar to her mix. Another story has Ruth being creative and deciding to try something different in her prized cookies. In any case, the Toll House cookie chipped its way into delicious existence.

Another story has Nestle approaching Ruth for her original recipe which the company added to their wrapper of chocolate chips (which they began producing for Ruth’s cookies). What was her compensation? She made the company considerable chip cash, while she received a lifetime supply of chocolate and $1.00! Hmm…is this true? Supply and demand economics does not always play fair.

An original name for Ruth’s chip cookies was Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie. If you want to read up on the entrepreneur who possibly sold her recipe for unlimited chocolate, there is a clever book about her:How the Cookie Crumbled: The True (and Not-so-True) Stories of the Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie by Gilbert Ford. Just so you know, it is a children’s book for ages 4-8, but it highlights a woman entrepreneur’s experience. Ruth’s Toll House Inn restaurant became a popular stop.

“When the chips are down” comes from gambling and not from chocolate chip cookies – when all the bets are made and there is no going back, the cards are about to be turned over to show who “wins.” It is a moment of seriousness. Some might even say an ominous moment.

We seem to be at such a time in our U.S. supply-and-demand economy. Who knows which stories will emerge from a current chaotic chain of events? It might be a good time to bake some chocolate chip cookies and give them to strangers. Listen to their story. Be compassionate. We need to pull together in the country.

Some bakeries give away a freebie on this trivial holiday. You could go bakery-hopping to taste-test variations, although I recommend making them yourself. The smell of wafting chocolate from the oven is worth it. An online suggestion places 3 chips on the top if it bothers you when all chips are down inside the cookie. Inevitably, some have more chips than others.

Anyway, there are so many chips that are down in our world today that are of greater consequence than cookie-dressing and counting chocolate chips.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

417. What are your when-the-chips-are-down issues?

418. When is the last time that you baked cookies and gave some away?