Let's do better at appreciating America


Happy 250th 

Oh dear Captain, I hate to tell you this, but you are not the captain at home. Sorry for the confusion, but you will have to get to that doggie mess yourself.

He slowly looks up at me. I mean down at me, and I shrug and walk away.  Welcome to the life of a fire family.

The View From Outside Social Media

Yes, it seems to be getting worse lately, and I have been pondering why. I really do ponder people. I think hard on some things, and one thing I have noticed is a lack of appreciation in our country.  I am not sure what happened, and I refuse to bring politics into the discussion, but it’s true. For some reason, people have become needy and expect more for less.

Our local firefighters, police, city workers, teachers, and staff all give so much and get paid so little. If you look at social media, you would think they do a terrible job; however, in reality, these hard-working people do a terrific job! They put a lot of effort into their jobs. I’ve noticed most people I come in touch with work harder than their pay grade.

I give them all kudos. I understand you can make more money elsewhere doing other things. It’s a give-and-take here. We live in a town surrounded by natural beauty and wildlife. Our town is continuing to grow and prosper, and there are some kind and good people here. The naysayers on social media are not giving you a true picture.


Small Moments, Big Signs
Today, for example, I stopped at the school district office and saw that the community building parking lot looked almost done, and city workers in their bright green shirts were working hard in the heat, so I made sure to tell them how great it looks!

But do you know how many cars don’t pull over for a police car with lights and sirens on? Same with an ambulance or a fire truck? I see it all the time.

A sign of lack of appreciation, sorry, I have to call this out, was when Vice President Vance went on The View. I’m sorry, but no matter who you are, and who you think you are, and what popular TV show you are on, AND no matter what your political views are, when a Vice President comes on your show, you do not use that time to bombard him with your questions and views about this administration. What happened to appreciation?

Dear Mr. Vice President, thank you for putting up with people and trying. Even Joy Behar was trying to show appreciation.

President Obama came to Joplin after the tornado, and I was able to attend the press conference. Did I care which party he belonged to? No. I had a press pass to a huge press conference after a huge disaster. I was living a journalistic dream and nightmare all at the same time. Which is beside the point. I respected him, and still do. He was here as the President of our country, to bring us aid and hope. It was our job as journalists to get his words of hope out to the people. 

It's not the job of a journalist to pound down an elected official. It's our job to document history. To provide a service to the people of the world and make sure the truth be known. Says Peggy Kiefer-Steed.

Grove Fire at Wolf Creek Park

A Culture of Thank You’s

Whew, ok, back to the ponderings. Appreciation is lacking in our country. We need more thank yous.  More appreciation to the people who have fought for our freedom. More appreciation for what we have and don’t need versus what we want.

Thank you, America, for giving us the opportunity to be rock stars or doctors, teachers, or police officers. Thank you for letting me marry my husband, who is now a captain but has to be reminded he’s not my captain.

Thank you for letting me choose to teach for 15 years in California, then move to Oklahoma and begin writing and becoming an award-winning journalist/photographer, and then becoming an award-winning  Realtor. Now I am going to make my retirement job award-winning, also as I step back into education as it changes and grows in this modern world.

One impression I hope I leave on today's kids is how to have a sense of gratitude and appreciation.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello less stress! Moving into a retirement job.

Image
Hello! I hope the rain isn't bringing you down. Grand Lake - Woodard Hollow June 2026 Lots of rain, sun, clouds, more rain, more sun, more clouds! And the wind! Oh, it howls here at Grand! It rocked the heck out of our boat the other day. I guess that's why the lake was so quiet and empty. It was a Sunday afternoon, and hardly anyone was on the water. We saw no sign of rain, so we went for it. Plus, we already had guests, so we of course didn't want to disappoint anyone. It took us most of the afternoon, but we successfully gave them the grand tour! From Wolf Creek to the Dam and back. It's days like that when you remember "this is what we work so hard for."  So, I guess it's time for me to officially let you all know I have a new job. I have a new hat to wear that I am super excited to announce.  I will be working at the Grove Alternative High School! Back to working with high schoolers and close to my grandsons.  I retired from being a full-time Realtor....
Read more

Digital and Paper Holiday Greetings

Image
Happy December, wonderful people,  This week, my ponderings revolved around digital vs. print/paper. I am one of those types of people who stick with many traditions, especially when it comes to the holidays, and one of my greatest pleasures is sending Christmas Cards.  I always send as many as possible. As many as my hands will allow me to write, and my bank account as well. This year, the cards will still be hand-signed, but more will be addressed with labels.  I will still have as many paper and ink cards as I possibly can, however, if you don't receive one this year and you want one, please know it was not for any intentional reason.  There is nothing like receiving a Christmas Card in the mail. It's still special! Even when you are as old as I am. I surveyed some friends and fellow Realtors for their thoughts about this. Many were more business-oriented when discussing the effectiveness of the internet. So when dealing with important papers, maybe it's best, but...
Read more

What do you want for Grove?

Image
What do you want for Grove? Peggy's Ponderings from the Lake Local officials have asked the community to give input on what improvements they think would be best for Grove. Photo from Facebook I gave my input at the recent open house and visited with city council members and other city officials but then I decided to drive around and try to see what Grove ALREADY has to offer. Here are some of the ideas I came up with. Grove has a historic downtown and downtown is trying so hard to improve. The recently painted murals on Grand Lake Sports Center and the old-time signage across the street are wonderful. Plus the remodel and improvements to this building were a huge improvement. And who am I to judge what kind of business is there? I don't like sushi but would say the same thing if it was a sushi bar. And thank you Dominoes Pizza for the remodel and update to your corner. If there isn't any money to remodel, fake it!  Personally, I think we should have a m...
Read more