"It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man."

Well, I lost another half a pound. The 3 apples is still a hard thing to achieve, but I think it is a big part of my losing wieght, so far. Some thoughts on goal-setting. Less than 10% of Americans routinely set goals (beyond the usual New Years Resolution). One of the things that made Ben, Ben, was the fact that he was always coming up with new goals for himself. He was also a social-climber, but he did it in very non-traditional ways, through hard work. In his day, a common tradesman like him would have to "marry up" to improve his status. He was unusual in that it he married a commoner, Deborah Read, who had no dowry and could not help him economically. Interestingly, Deborah was a very hard and cooperative worker, who was just as frugal as he, who was also very good at making money. She seemed to support him in his goals, but socially Ben achieved his eventual status as a gentleman, inspite of his wife's lowly and uneducated ways. Franklin's ability to climb out of his common existence through hard work is also part of the American Dream, but this was not a common occurrance, as marriages for economic and social status were the norm up until very recently, and may still be true. How should I know because I am not a part of the upper class? Interestingly, I found out the other day that my household income is at about the 70th centile in the US. I realize that we are probably in the middle class, although it doesn't feel that way to me. I suppose if I'm not careful or if I put a little effort into it, I could end up in the Upper Class. Pray for me, I know not what I do. Not that I'm against the Upper Class, some of my best friends are wealthy, but I'm so not like Ben, in that I don't want to be there just to be there. Although, there are some appeals to being a man of liesure, which is what Ben became at about my age. Being able to travel, write, have a jacuzzi and tennis court in the back yard...Nonetheless, to quote Ben, "It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man." So, it's off to work I go!