And The Deathly Hallows doesn‘t  miss a beat. Action galore. Magic sublime.

Over 1,000 people showed up at our theater for Friday’s midnight show – over half dressed as one of the characters. For a small town, that must be some kind of record. Balloons and crepe paper festooned the lobby. Everyone partied like there was no tomorrow. And maybe there isn’t.

It’s quite a letdown to know that there will be no future books or movies to look forward to. The fantasy world of Harry, Hermione and Ron has reached its expiration date. What a bummer, but what a fantastic ride!

Maybe it means old people feel they are entitled to receive money from the government after they reach a certain age.

Or maybe it means after people work their entire lives and contribute money to Social Security and Medicare that they are entitled to receive some of their money back after they retire.

Either way, where do these old folks think all this moolah is coming from? Can the federal budget be balanced while these freeloaders siphon off tons of cash from the government?

Here are the facts. Read carefully so this sinks in.

Social Security is NOT part of the budget. It sits in a fund that was set up when Social Security was created. (That is unless the government hasn’t misappropriated the money to use for other purposes. I remain hopeful that hasn’t happened, but maybe I’m an optimist.)

According to Paul Owens writing in the Orlando Sentinel on May 6, 2011 … Congress has been raiding the Social Security trust fund for years… To read his entire article go to Orlando Opinionators.

Over the years, Social Security has collected more money than it has paid out. The surplus funds have been invested in U.S. Guaranteed Treasury Bonds. AARP states that in 2009, the trust fund had $2.5 trillion in bonds, earning 4.9 percent interest.

Perhaps the finger-pointing should be aimed at Congress — not at Entitlements.

If you’re hoping to experience the joy, the pathos, and the horrors of the book, save your money. Again, I’ll have to qualify that. When Waltz beats the elephant, it’s horrifying. That’s probably the only time moviegoers wake up out of their stupor.

She would be so proud.

I wished throughout the entire regal wedding ceremony that Diana could have been there. It was hard not to think about her while watching her two handsome sons do her proud.

Kate was beautiful as she made her entrance and walked down the aisle. One can only hope that she and Prince William will enjoy many happy years together.

Diana, you did a fabulous job making your sons approachable, yet dignified and dedicated individuals. Your legacy lives on.

1. Prince William – He has done his mother proud.
2. Anwar Sadat – His death was a tragic loss to his country.
3. Joseph, Chief of the Nez Perce tribe – His ill-fated retreat of more than 1,000 miles from federal troops is legendary.
4. Martin Luther King – He had a dream. We’re still working at it.
5. George Carlin – He’s probably my all-time favorite comedian.
6. Paul Newman – A good man.
7. Danny Thomas – He was much more than met the eye. Visit the St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis to see what I mean.
8. John J. Audubon – I’m a birder, so Audubon makes my list. He spent 50 years painting and describing the birds of America.
9. Norman Rockwell - He shared the spirit of America through his paintings. I grew up enjoying his artistry on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post.
10. Thomas Edison - Every time there is a power outage, I wonder what people did before the light bulb.

These are the first ten names that popped into my mind. I probably missed a few of your favorites.

It appears even the panel of experts couldn’t agree:

The pain medications Darvon and Darvocet should be pulled off the market, according to a recommendation approved on a 14-12 vote by a panel of medical experts assembled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For those of us who suffer from chronic pain, this is a catastrophe. Anyone who uses Darvocet or its generic, propoxyphene, which is a mild drug, will attest to its effectiveness, and it doesn’t make you drowsy. In case you’re wondering how many people that is–in 2009, 10 million people depended upon propoxyphene to help make their life livable. Deaths linked to Darvocet annually – .0005%.

What I find so wrong about this is–I would like to be able to make my own choice. Give me the facts and let me decide whether the risk is worth the pain relief.

Here are some comments from Join Together. It appears a lot of people would like to make their own decisions.

According to an article on the link Darvocet should be banned.. 23 million prescriptions per year are issued, (for the last 50 years??) the article also mentions 2,100 deaths from 1981 to 1999 (18 years). This does not seem to be a high risk ratio to me. I can only conclude the people making these waves have never dealt with moderate to severe chronic pain.

Here’s another:

I hope that this medicine is NOT taken off the market. I am deathly allergic to ALL NSAIDS.

And another:

My wife had a stroke and none of the other drugs that she was given gave the relief for the nerve pain that she has. If it is taken off the market then what can she use? The other drugs are either more addictive or so strong that it causes her to sleep 24/7. What quality of life would she have without it? Darvocet seems to be the only drug that actually cuts down the pain to tolerable level.

I’m really, really tired of the government taking such good care of me.

Now, I’m in the process of trying out other drugs that might be able to take the place of Darvocet. If and when I find it, I can be sure it will cost a whole lot more than my 50-year-old medication.

I’m sure the pharmaceutical companies are happy with the FDA’s decision. They must be jumping up and down with joy.

Photo from

This is my question. If Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) won an Emmy last season for Best Supporting Actress, why have the powers-that-be given her “half” the screen time this season? Her character was beginning to shape up into a complex, fascinating personality. Getting a glimpse of her private life had kept me interested.

The new character she is sharing time with, Blake (Scott Porter), as another private investigator for the firm has, thus far, been unexciting.

Another thing that has the hour dragging is this sudden interest in the kids–boring.

I was so happy to see Michael Nouri (Caleb) join the cast. He’s been a favorite of mine for years. I hope the writers keep him on for a long time.

And it will be interesting to see if Vincent Irizarry (David) can rise from the dead. (As I understand it, this type of thing happens all the time on the soaps.)

What I’ve noticed lately is the ladies on this soap opera are withering away. It’s like watching skeletons walk across the screen.

Susan Lucci has always been petite, but now there seems to be a lot of slimming down going on. Alicia Minshew, who plays Kendall, is tall and painfully thin. Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) (where did they come up with that name?)  and Christina Bennett Lind (Bianca) aren’t far behind.

It was refreshing to see Jamie Luner’s character, Liza, in her underwear recently. She actually has a “real” woman’s body.

I hope the skeletal look doesn’t become a trend.

That said, here’s a little something on Scott Chandler’s character.

Tuesday - CBS – “NCIS” (my favorite) and “NCIS Los Angeles” have returned! And it looks like “NCIS Los Angeles” is giving us a double whammy. Make sure you stay tuned for not only the 9 P.M. slot, but for the 10 P.M., as well.

Thursday - ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” are rumored to swing in with some exciting episodes. I hope so, because they were becoming predictable last season.

Thursday - Fox – Have you discovered “Fringe?” (9 P.M.)

Friday - CBS – I’m planning on giving “Blue Bloods” a try. The story line sounds blah to me, but how can you resist Tom Selleck? Perhaps he can pull this dreariness out of the doldrums.

As far as Saturday is concerned, if it weren’t for the PBS lineups and “Saturday Night Live,” we’d be lost.

I suppose I should mention the season premiere of “The Mentalist” on Thursday on CBS. But think about this–have you noticed the formula for “House”, “Lie To Me” and “The Mentalist” are all the same? The lead character is always right. Each of them treat their colleagues as if they are merely there to kowtow to them. And they each love themselves very much. In spite of that, I seem to have been hypnotized by the Mentalist, because I’ll probably end of watching it from time to time.

Oh, well, there’s lots of new shows. If you discover one you love, let me know.

Drawing by John Darkow-Columbia Daily Tribune