Thursday

Whoa!  Exactly six weeks to the Turkey Trot!  LtPC has a lot of preparation to do between now and then.  The early line is the Over on a 60 minute time target.

My pal Pete is over at ND for an estate planning continuing education conference for the next couple of days.  He and another attorney from Des Moines (who is an ND Law School grad) have been going to this annually-held (and highly-regarded) program for several years.  Actually, I went to it a couple of times in the early '80's when I was working a little more in that technical area.  Of course, there is a home game in South Bend this weekend (USC)...but the boys are taking a pass since it is a night game on Saturday night.  Just too long to be away from home.

The latest effort by the PN is tree-trimming.  When he mowed the yard (again!) last week, the lower branches on those two trees in my front yard must have bothered him enough to take some action.  When I got home the other night, there were several small bound bunches of freshly cut branches in the parking by the street awaiting pick-up on garbage day.  He really does have too much time on his hands.

My only comment on the stench in Washington is, "This is statesmanship?"  Actually, I do have one additional observation.  And this is my own thought, not a conservative talking point.  I think that it is disingenuous to make the argument that raising the debt ceiling doesn't increase our deficit.  I know that it's parsing words and definitions.  But really? 

My Top Ten list of things learned in my most recent Tax Day exercise:

1.  Tax work on complicated returns is NEVER over.
2.  Electronic filing makes the actual filing of returns more efficient for the preparer.
3.  Deferred decisions on alternative tax-treatments finally get made.
4.  Available flat-surface space in my office amazingly opens.
5.  Promises to clients to look at some other issue after the deadline now come due.
6.  At least one client will call on the filing date with a new piece of information.
7.  Random solicitation calls pay no heed to the due date.
8.  When you're too busy to watch entertainment TV, you don't miss it.
9.  I still do some of the same exact ministerial work on client files that I did in 1976.
10. "Military-time" is really more like 14 hours on and 10 off rather than 12 and 12.

Today is another day of re-programming myself to all of the non-due date (Ordinary Time for you fallen-away Catholics) tasks at hand.  And there's lots to be done.  The rest of the calendar year will continue on a vapor trail.

Hope y'all have a good day in your neighborhood.

BCOT