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Cherry Picking

Cherry picking seemed like a pretty good vacation from real life. Pick some berries. Eat some berries. Make a dessert. Even the kid couldn’t screw this one up with all his neediness and hunger and destructive tendencies. She had prepared for the day as if going off to war: Lauren had packed a snack, a meal, a change of clothes, wipes, toys, a book, her phone charger and two Xanax just in case everything went sideways. She piled Blake into his car seat and called to the nanny to join them. Wasn’t this going to be fun? Wouldn’t they just love taking pictures in the cherry trees? The nanny shuffled out of the house in slippers, pantomiming for Lauren to wait. Blake tipped his cup of Cheerios onto the floor of the car and Lauren waited for him to begin crying. When he didn’t, she smiled back at him in the rear view mirror. This was going to be a great day.

They had to drive quite a ways to get to the farm, setting off first through the twin pillars that marked the entrance to their subdivision, Crystal Forest, and then crawling slowly through the rush hour traffic headed toward the highway, toward the workday, toward stress. As the line of cars neared the highway, Lauren detoured into a Starbucks drive through, making the universal hand sign for drinking at the nanny, who barely looked up from her phone before shaking her head so that her blonde curls shook once, as an aspen in autumn touched momentarily by a lazy breeze. Can I have a Venti breve half-caff flat white at 200 degrees? Yeah, just the one shot and then a shot of decaf. Yeah, I know. But just don’t want to get too jittery this early in the day!

The highway was a monstrosity: fourteen lanes if you counted the access road, with four lanes blocked off in the center for toll users and high occupancy vehicles. Lauren zipped across several before inserting herself into the HOV lane. She unclenched her fingers from the wheel, flicking on the radio. Who wants music? Blake looked at her from the back seat, not even raising his shoulders in a shrug. Fine. She’d pick the music. It would be Carole King. It had to be Carole King. “Really Rosie” was the only thing Lauren and Blake could agree on, and she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his mock disinterest in what was playing. If she put on Joni Mitchell, he’d scream. She’d tried three or four times, explaining that “Amelia” was really about an airplane pilot, as if he really cared. She thought about Hejira. She thought about escape. The buildings were cut now with great space, thinning to pastureland punctuated by great gnarled oaks, hanging low with time and moss.

Lauren turned onto the dirt road and felt a jolt of excitement.  Someone had lined the drive with cypress trees. Even the nanny looked up from her phone as the sun vanished behind the green wall and left them together in the semidark. Blake craned his neck to look out the window. It’s night? No honey, not night, the trees are just tall and block out the sun. It’s night. No, not night. It’s night. Yes. It’s night.

The farm was a haphazard arrangement of buildings, hastily constructed to serve the expanding operation. An old farmhouse had been converted into the welcome center, a jolly, rustic decoupage of country living. This was the agrarian past, trapped in amber, waiting for well-heeled visitors to come gawk at it. Long raw wooden tables, lacquered with years of food and drink, lent order to an otherwise overwhelming mess. Y’all here to pick? Yes, please. Grab a bucket. Follow me. There’s some rules.

They were led along a path between the farmhouse and what might have been an abandoned industrial chicken coop. All the way, the farmhand gave them instructions. There’s no eating in the orchard. You pay for what you pick. We see you eating, we weigh you instead and you pay for that. Don’t climb the trees. Don’t take branches off the trees. If you see birds, scare them off. Have fun. Stick around long enough and the clown will be doing face painting.

When they reached the orchard, it was as eerily silent as the coop. Shouldn’t there be more people? Not on weekdays, everyone works. Weekends are a shitshow. Oops, I should watch my language with little ears around. Sorry. Anyway, it’ll just be you out here for most of the morning I reckon. Holler if you need anything. Bathrooms are back in the center next to the cafe. Don’t leave anything in the orchard, otherwise our folks’ll have to come collect them. Enjoy!

Without soliciting or waiting for questions, he sloped back down the dirt road toward the welcome center. Lauren handed the nanny and Blake their own buckets, then turned to examine the task ahead. The first thing she noticed was that the trees were short, not tall and graceful but somehow stunted, and each cut into a careful V. They were clones, an army of indistinguishable trees marching nowhere. She turned to the nanny and started to try to comment on the strangeness of the trees all being identical, when she noticed Blake.

Down. Now. He held on tightly, a foot off the ground, daring her to remove him. You said we could take pictures in the trees. I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed. Now get down before I count to three. One. Two. Two-and-a-half. Two-and-three… He lowered himself to the ground, slowly. How can I pick cherries? The cherries are so high. I’m not big. I understand, honey, but… Pick me up. We’ll find a short tree with some berries on it so that you can pick them. Pick me up. No. Follow me.

He slunk along behind her, brooding. They found a tree with low branches, low enough that Blake could reach a few fistfuls of cherries without problem. There would be others. The cherries were a deep red, not the glowing fluorescent scarlet of supermarket cherries, but a cool purple that promised to be sweet and juicy and refreshing. Lauren grabbed her first fistful and tossed them into her bucket, wondering why more people didn’t pick their own fruit. It was an easy drive. The prices were good. The location is, well, if not beautiful then at least better than the supermarket. She was plucked from her meditation by a spitting noise.

Blake looked up at her, claret juice bleeding down his chin onto his shirt. Blake, didn’t you hear the man? I’m hungry. I brought you a snack. He popped another one into his mouth, swirling it around a bit before spitting the seed out at Lauren’s feet. No more. Now spit it out. We’re not supposed to be eating them now. His eyes narrowed and his lips tightened into a scowl. He let the half-chewed cherry drop from his mouth along with whatever saliva and juice remained in his mouth. They tumbled down his front, a river of red spreading outward as it was absorbed into the fabric of his shirt and pants. He looked like a murder victim. He might be one, she thought.

Sensing that something was wrong, the nanny put her bucket down and picked up Blake’s diaper bag. She began undressing him and replacing his damp, stained clothes with the extra pair, a grey t-shirt with a black dinosaur on it, dark grey sweatpants.   Lauren returned to picking, looked away across the orchard. On a low branch, a mockingbird sat, with his gaze fixed directly on her. She shrieked. Shoo! Go! Blake was startled by her shouts and began crying, the nanny cooing something softly to him in a language Lauren couldn’t speak. Stop it, Blake. You’ll get these clothes wet too with your drool and I didn’t bring another change for you. She thrust a wad of wet wipes into his face, shaking them at the nanny. Lauren stole a glance back up to the spot where the mockingbird sat, but it was gone.

Her bucket was almost full when she felt a tug on her pullover. I need to go to the bathroom. Okay, let’s go back to the farmhouse. Nanny will watch our cherries for us. She held his little hand in hers as they walk through the tall grass, through the parade formation of trees. Blake had never been affectionate, so it always startled Lauren when he did something simple like slip his hand into hers when they weren’t crossing the street or walking through a parking lot. He could be a good kid. Once they got the farmhouse, he unhooked himself from her hand and walked forward, pushing through the long tables toward the bathrooms and then stopped, stock still.

What’s wrong? The door to the bathroom had just swung open, the sound of the hand dryer now easy for her to to hear, as Blake turned to look at her and shook his head vigorously. It’s too loud in there. I don’t have to go. I was just kidding. I can’t. You have to, honey. I want to go home to go. We can’t. We’re more than an hour from home. You’ll go in your pants before we get there. I can’t. I have to go home. He danced and wiggled and pleaded.

She walked up to him and took his hand again. She crouched low to the ground to look him directly in the eye. I promise I won’t let anyone use the hand dryer. I promise. Tears filled his eyes. I was just kidding. I don’t have to go. You do. We have to go in there. And we have to learn how to go in there, or else we’re not going to be able to keep going places like this. We’ll have to stay home every day, all day. Just then, a woman walked toward the bathroom door, and Lauren launched herself at the woman. Um, excuse me, could we use that first. He really needs to go and he’s worried about it being too loud in there. The other woman looked at Blake, who was writhing like an inflatable dancer outside a car dealership.

Lauren turned back to Blake to ask him once more to go to the bathroom. Suddenly, he was planted on the spot, his legs a perfect inverted imitation of the v-shaped trees, his sweatpants darkening, first in the middle then progressively lower. And then he was crying, silently, his mouth held open, a silent wound on his tortured face. For a moment, Lauren thought that he’d stopped breathing, but then the sound started, and she knew he’d just been getting ramped up. Let’s go. Nanny’s waiting for us.

They drove from under the shadow of the cypress trees back into the shadow of the afternoon. Blake slept in the back seat, half naked, a giant crimson blot staining his chest. Lauren picked a few cherries up from her lap and popped them into her mouth along with one of the Xanax.

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The euro is a disaster.

At least that’s the story according to Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist.

Looking at Europe, it’s not difficult to see what he means. Greece is drowning in one of the biggest debt crises in history. Italian banks are verging on collapse. And Germany is struggling under the pressure of vicious negative interest rates.

If even one of these dominos fall, Europe could go up in flames.

There’s a good reason why Britain voted to distance itself from the fragile continent. But even the Brexit vote threw fuel on the fire, casting its own banks into uncertainty.

Over here in the US, it’s like watching a car crash in slow motion. But we are not immune from the troubles in Europe. Our economies and our banks are intimately linked.

If the European banks crumble, you’d better believe it will create a financial tsunami. And that tidal wave is heading straight across the Atlantic.

Perhaps it’s time to prepare for the worst.

Panic in Italy

The crisis in Italy looks terrifying similar to the one in the US just before the 2008 financial crisis.

The country’s banks are sitting on €360 billion worth of bad loans. That’s a fifth of Italy’s GDP. The banks claim the bad loans are worth 45%–50% of their original value. But in reality, it’s closer to 20% according to Steve Eisman, the man who predicted the US banking collapse.

Sound familiar? That’s because US banks did the same thing. They wrapped up junk loans and sold them as AAA bonds, vastly overselling their true worth. And we all know how that turned out.

If the Italian banks acknowledge the real value of these loans, they could go broke overnight.

Italy’s worst performing bank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, is most vulnerable. It has already been bailed out by taxpayers (to the tune of €4 billion) and raised a further €8 billion from investors. But it needs more.

The Italian government is ready to provide a handout but hasn’t yet ironed out the details. The bank’s only other option would be to close a €5 billion deal with private investors by mid-January.

If that fails, the bank may be forced to consider a bail-in, requiring shareholders or even depositors to foot the bill.

There’s another problem too. Italy just threw itself into a political whirlwind. In a referendum earlier this month, Italians voted to reject constitutional changes proposed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Renzi promptly resigned, leaving a political void and economic uncertainty.

In the short term, it may scare off private investors who are so desperately needed by Monte dei Paschi. But there’s a bigger long-term threat. The referendum rejection was driven by the populist party, Five Star. The organization is hellbent on yanking Italy out of the eurozone. There’s a chance they’ll gain power next year, and that could spell the end of the euro.

Of course there are more than a few steps before we reach that fate. But after the populist uprising in Britain and America this year, it’s not unimaginable.

Unfortunately, the trouble doesn’t end with Italy.

Deutsche Bank Is the Biggest Risk

Germany is Europe’s largest economy, and Deutsche Bank (DB) is its largest bank. According to the IMF, DB “appears to be the most important net contributor to systemic risks.” Whatever happens there may have a global ripple effect.

The bank is already unstable, with negative interest rates eating away its revenue. The biggest challenge, however, is a possible US$14 billion fine being imposed by the US Department of Justice.

The fine threatens to cripple the bank, but Angela Merkel said “nein” to any hint of a bailout. That leaves Deutsche Bank in a tough spot. Either raise enough capital to pay the fine, go bust, or instigate a bail-in. In other words, force the bank’s depositors to pay the price.

To round off the deadly cocktail, Brexit has thrown the UK’s banks into years of uncertainty. Just last month, the Royal Bank of Scotland failed a stress test. In part, due to the instability created by the referendum.

The Brexit effect is already being felt by US banks. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley are now moving operations out of Britain. They need a new legal home in the EU.

But that won’t come cheap. The cost and logistics of moving will be significant. Worse, the EU announced last month that foreign banks must increase their liquidity and capital to operate on the continent. Bottom line: Banking in the EU is about to get more expensive for US institutions.

The Domino Effect

Institutions like Deutsche Bank are intimately woven into the US economy. Just take a look at this IMF-produced diagram that shows how deeply connected Deutsche Bank is to US banks.

If there is a collapse, it will have an immediate effect on US institutions.

The threat of slow growth and sliding GDP is also weighing heavily on the US. As a result of the Brexit vote alone, economists revised the US GDP growth down.

Make no mistake; economic problems in Europe are contagious. Investor appetite will begin to weaken. Mergers and acquisitions will slow down. It will squeeze bank profits on both sides of the Atlantic.

Economic uncertainty will also keep US interest rates low, strangling growth at home. The Fed has already delayed planned rate hikes this year due to global instability.

If the US is doomed to wallow in low interest rates for longer, banks will have to settle for lower returns. Or worse, they’ll take bigger risks with your money to draw profit.

Time for an Escape Plan?

Gold Investment is the alternative currency that can safeguard you from these types of events. Putting a portion of your savings into this precious metal will help protect you. Download your free self directed IRA rollover gold IRA information kit today.

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Browsed by
Month: February 2012

1012 – 03 (March)

1012 – 03 (March)

Sycamore Sage 3-2012 – Karen and I hiked around some of the newly acquired acreage (Hagey Property). Good views.

Membership renewals are slowly coming in for 2012. Have you continued your support for our park?

For those of you who “do” Facebook” check this out:

We look forward to the spring blooms after the Feb. rains.

The pump came from the farm of our grandfather, Math Shalka, who “homesteaded” in Alberta, Canada in 1902.  We believe he purchased the pump shortly after settling on his homestead.  One interesting piece of information is that the handle broke at some point and was repaired by a “blacksmith’s weld”.  We recall our father saying that the weld was done by our grandfather on his own forge. It remained in use on our grandfather’s farm until at least the 1940’s when it ended up on the scrap pile where it was “rescued” by Cecilia and her husband, Ray Burr.  It was then brought to Poway and, eventually, Rancho Bernardo. Lettering on the pump itself indicates that it was manufactured by the F. E. Myers and Bro. Company of Ashland, Ohio.  This was an old company started in 1870 which specialized in pumps and pioneered a “double action” system that drew water on both the up and the down stroke of the handle, thus saving considerable work. A quick search on Google has two interesting web sites — amd — which have more information about the company, which still exists and still specializes in pumps.

Donated by Cecilia Burr and Bob Shalka Feb. 2012 through Friends of Goodan Ranch

History Buffs:

·                                 Looking for a fun outing? Plan to do this run around Lake Poway (to the Ramona Dam as well if you do the 10K) on Sat. May 5, 2012.

5th Annual Cinco de Mayo Trail Run – 10K • 5K • Kids Race

?5th Annual Cinco de Mayo Trail Run

10K • 5K • Kids’ Race

Beginning Tracking Walks

Join an experienced SDTT Tracker for a FREE easy wildlife tracking walk. Look for tracks, scat,

and further evidence that coyotes, bobcats, raccoon, deer, and other wildlife have been in

the area! No reservation is necessary. Simply show up at the designated time and location:

First Saturday of every month at 8:30 a.m. at the Mission Trails

   Regional Park Visitor Center For information: or 619.668.3281

Second Saturday of every month at 8:00 a.m. at the Adobe Ranch House in

   Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve

For information: or 760.715.4102

E-mail:  “Tracking Our Native Wildlife”

Dead Birds: Dead less than 24 hours – no obvious damage – do Not freeze. Call 1-888-551-4636.Weekends: 858-565-5255

Have you found an injured or orphaned bird or mammal in San Diego County?

Call Project Wildlife at 619-225-9202. See their web site at:

We need to keep following 2 issues: the Water District’s San Vicente Pipeline www.sdcwa.orgclick on “infrastructure”; then “esp”; then “San Vicente Pipeline” and

SDG&E’s Powerlink:

     PARK UPDATE:  Trails at southeast side of Sycamore Park Drive maybe closed temporarily due to Sunrise Powerlink construction activities.  Additionally, helicopters and heavy machinery may temporarily increase noise levels, dust, and other disturbances; hours of construction are Monday – Saturday, 7:00am to 7:00pm.  For more information on the project, visit or contact Todd Voorhees at or by telephone at (877) 775-6818.

 The Parks website is  During rainy weather and post rainy weather the Parks Preserves are closed for safety and damage control due to muddy, wet trails and roads.  Please check the Parks website or call the ranger’s office at 858-513-4737 for Preserve status.

Below is the link to the most current Program Guide.

Events at Goodan Ranch/Sycamore Canyon:

Over ten miles of trails and service roads open to hiking, mountain biking and equestrian use.  Preserve visitors are welcome to visit our new visitor center.  Live animals and exhibits on Goodan History, Cedar Fire, Kumeyaay and the MSCP are on display.

Events, hikes and programs start at various Preserve locations.  Some require a one mile walk from Goodan Ranch staging to the Visitor Center. ALLOW ½ HOUR TO PARK AND WALK TO THE VISITOR’S CENTER.  Please check descriptions closely.  No vehicular traffic is permitted in the Preserve.  Transportation for those with disabilities can be arranged, by calling the ranger at (858)513-4737. Goodan staging area accessed from Poway Rd. east on Garden Rd, then south on Sycamore Canyon Rd.  Sycamore Canyon Rd.ends at parking lot.

Highway 67 staging area accessed through SOUTHBOUND Highway 67 only, half a mile south of Scripps Poway Parkway.

All events are free.  For information or to make event reservations call(858)513-4737 or email

Friday, March 16th, 2012     Sunset Star Party.   RAIN or CLOUDS CANCEL.

Saturday, March 24th, 2012     10:00am – 12:00pm Introduction to Geocaching.

Saturday, April 7th, 2012     9:00am – 11:00am Edible Plants.

       Come learn all there is to know about our local edible plants from author and college professor Lisa Chaddock.

Friday, April 20th, 2012     Sunset  Star Party.

Saturday, April 28th, 2012     9:00am – 11:00am  Coffee with a Ranger

Sunday, May 6th, 2012     9:00am – 11:00am  Wildflower Walk.

Friday, May 18th, 2012     Sunset  Star Party.

Saturday, May 26th, 2012     10:00am – 11:00am  Snakes Encounter.   .

 All Memberships are from 1 January of each year.

City_____________State__________ Zip______

____$20 Senior 62 plus      ____$20 Student

____$25 Individual

____$40 Family

____$100 Patron

 ___ $250 Corporate    ____$1000 Lifetime

13030 Birch Lane,

 Poway, CA 92064


text:
Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews 2019 [Dividends, Pros + Cons]

Mass Mutual Logo mass mutual life insurance reviews
Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews (Updated June 2019)

Many websites and individuals are on the internet providing information or discussing various topics related to life insurance.

Good Life Protection takes pride in delivering information to consumers from an unbiased and honest approach for all life insurance companies.

In this Mass Mutual life insurance review, keep in mind we are not directly tied to any one carrier at Good Life Protection and simply want to provide you with the best review and the information that you need to know.

Mass Mutual is a life insurance powerhouse in the United States and finished in the top rankings for our life insurance companies of 2019.

Not only for traditional life insurance products but also for the guaranteed issue policy offered for seniors.  Mass Mutual currently doe not offer any life insurance with no exam required so they did not make the cut for this area of our reviews, unfortunately.

We independently represent and work for the consumers. We deliver up to date information to allow you to make the best decisions for you and your families protection needs.

However, as nice as that may be, we still highly recommend comparing life insurance rates with 50 or more of the top-rated life insurance companies before making any final decisions.

You can do this easily by using our instant quote form below or to the right (for desktop computer users)

It only takes about 10 seconds and gives you a better idea at which life insurance companies make the most sense for you and your budget.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Review 2019

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has held its standards high for many years. It is one of the largest life insurance companies that currently exist.

Founded in 1851 and currently headquartered in Springfield Massachusetts, the company continues to be a trendsetter and Goliath in the life insurance industry.

Mass Mutual currently employs more than 7,000 individuals in the United States alone. If you add in international employees, the number jumps to 10,600. Mass Mutual is currently ranking in the top 100 on the Fortune 500 list coming in at a solid ranking of number 76.

As of 2016, Mass Mutual enjoys revenues of roughly 30 billion dollars and a total of 675 billion dollars of current assets under management. Talk about making it rain!

Mass Mutual life insurance reviews
Make It Rain!

Mass Mutual began back in 1851. George W. Rice tossed out $100,000.00 dollars of his own money to begin the monster life insurance company it has become today. Back in the mid-1800s, minimal amounts of capital were required to get a life insurance company up and running.

Soon, people began to catch on the mutual company’s growth that spiked considerably during this era.

Mass Mutual offers a wide and diverse product lineup that we will discuss here shortly.

Roughly 12 more companies were born after attempting to follow suit with Mass Mutual. Mass Mutual began building its reserves up to have sufficient liquidity and funds available for claims until it eventually began to take off and launch.

Let’s look at the timeline for Mass Mutual and how things have developed over the years.

  • 1851- Mass Mutual is born and operations begin- Initial funding of $100,000.00- Mass Mutual begins selling policies in New England. As the expansion took fueled by the California Gold Rush and railroad developments, Mass Mutual continues to push on and expand into more cities.
  • New York
  • Cleveland
  • Chicago
  • Detroit
  • San Francisco

Late 1800’s – the Early 1900s- Mass Mutual begins offering policies whose proceeds would be paid over a fixed period for life. NEWS FLASH- Although this is somewhat common in today’s life insurance era, Mass Mutual was the first to introduce. All other life insurance carriers only offered lump-sum death benefits.

1940’s or Post War Years- Mass Mutual reached 1.4 billion in assets and over 3 billion of life insurance in force. By 1957, Mass Mutual reached 5.4 billion of in-force life insurance. They began forcing agents to earn the Chartered Life Underwriter Designation.

Mass Mutual moves into the money market funds market in the early 1960s.

In 2015, Mass Mutual acquires Haven Life who primarily only sells Term Life Insurance. You can see our full Haven Life Insurance Review Here.

Mass Mutual has been one of the industry leaders for many years and shows no current signs of slowing down. Different Life Insurance products and growth continues to be seen by this life insurance carrier.

Some products may be slightly higher than the other options available. Overall, Mass Mutual would never be a poor choice to serve your life insurance needs.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews of Financial Strength

Mass Mutual Financial Strength reviews
Things Are Looking Good For Mass Mutual

Mass Mutual continues to post some of the strongest financial ratings of all life insurance carriers and financial institutions in the world.

A.M. BestMoody’sStandard and Poor’s
  • M. Best Rating – A++
  • Moodys – Aa2
  • Standard and Poors – AA+

Mass Mutual holding these ratings goes to show they have dominance and belief of continued ability to meet claims. Also, it shows that Mass Mutual remains a top pick for a company that will be around for the long haul.

When reviewing life insurance companies, Good Life Protection finds financial strength ratings to be highly important. It goes to prove not only track record, but future solvency. When it comes to this review of Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company, they pass the test with flying colors.

Mass Mutual Is Considered a Mutual Company and Offers Dividends

Although the name clearly gives this away, Mass Mutual is a “Mutual Company”. In a mutual company, the policy owners comprise the ownership of the company. Think of it like this: As a policyholder, you are both a client and owner of the company.

Mutual companies pay this share of ownership in the form of dividends. The opposite of a stock company in which ownership is comprised of only the stock certificate holders of the proportionate shared that is currently owned.

There is no public trading with a Mutual Company. Also, there is no fear of majority shareholders making drastic changes or selling off pieces of the company.

So how does Mass Mutual pay back the “part owners” of the company in the share of dividends?

Let’s review this for a moment.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews and Mass Mutual Dividend Rates for 2019

Mass Mutual Dividend Rates 2019
Show Me the Money!

It is important to understand that dividends are never guaranteed. Even from a company with a rich and credible history of paying them to policy owners.

Good Life Protection wants this Mass Mutual review to provide you with up to date information. We also want to inform consumers that we have no ties directly to Mass Mutual. You should know the specifics and understand certain statistics are always subject to change from year to year.

Again, dividends are never guaranteed. Here’s a look at Mass Mutual recent dividend history:

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Dividend Review 1998-2018

Mass Mutual Graph

We cannot emphasize enough that dividends are never guaranteed by the mutual companies. However, Mass Mutual has paid these dividends loyally since 1869. If that is not enough to feel comfortable, I am not sure what would be.

The United States and world economy has gone through many tests and bad runs through time frames. Yet, Mass Mutual seems to have withstood the test of time and kept its promise to policyholders.

Understand Dividends With Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company

That’s a fantastic question and we are glad you asked.

Dividends are simply a way of getting money dumped back into your participating policies.

You do have options of what you choose to do with them. Here is what Mass Mutual will allow you to do with your dividends.

Reduce the following years’ premiums. Not a bad choice. Who would not have great protection with the rates beginning to decrease with old age?

Purchase additional one-year term insurance- This could prove to be a great choice. Great for temporary insurance needs or gaining that extra coverage you need for you and your family.

Leave on deposit to accumulate interest. Sounds decent but also sounds boring. Still, not a bad choice.

Repay an outstanding policy loan or policy loan interest. Nice! You get to use the dividend payment to repay that down payment you removed from the policy for that new fishing boat!

Purchase Paid-Up Additions Whole life Coverage- This would be Good Life’s Protections vote. This is where you will see the beauty of compound interest from a strong mutual company working at its best. Keep it growing and leave it to the side and be surprised what it can become over the years.

Paid-Up Additions With Mass Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Paid up additions with Mass Mutual is by far the most common.

It is the most common among all whole life policies that are participating. It allows the life insurance policy to add to the death benefit and cash value.

This ultimately allows more dividends to be collected on a larger participating policy. It seems that with Mass Mutual’s track record, they aim to provide policy owners with dividends year in and year out.

Applying Dividends and Paid-Up Additions to Your Mass Mutual Life Insurance Policy

We thought a few of you still may be wondering, how do these really help my policy? How is my dividend applied to my participating life insurance policy?

So, what would be better than seeing an example?

In our example, we will use a female age 30. This individual was qualified for preferred rates.

They chose to purchase a $200,000.00-legacy whole life policy with Mass Mutual. Her annual premium was $2500.00 yearly or $208.00 per month.

At the end of 2017- her cash value in her policy was $25,000.00. We already discussed before in the graph above that 2017 dividend rate with Mass Mutual was 6.7%.

We also discussed how this number does not directly relate to the rate of return.

Since this lady qualified for preferred rates, her mortality and expense charges (charges to fund the death benefit) totaled $500.00 for the year. Here is what the dividends would be doing for you.

  • 2017 End of Year Cash Value- 2017- $25,000.00 +
  • 2017 Annual Premium Paid- 2017- $2500.00 –
  • 2017 Mortality and Expense Charges- $500.00
  • $27,000.00 End of 2017 Cash Value- Dividend Interest Rate= 6.70%
  • $27,000.00 x 6.70 %= $1809.00
  • $1809.00 + $27,000.00 = $28,809.00 Beginning of 2018 Cash Value

Wash and repeat. Obviously, the interest changes year to year. You can see how the dividends can help you build value and cash within a participating policy. Good Life Protection does not necessarily believe whole life is the way to go.

A good company to look at for whole life is Mass Mutual. In fact, we feel so strongly about this that we have a dedicated article that goes in depth on this topic. For more information be sure to check out our full Mass Mutual Whole Life Review here.

So what other products does Mass Mutual offer? Let’s dive into them.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews, Term Life Insurance Options with Mass Mutual

mass mutual life insurance reviews, vantage term reviews
Mass Mutual offers term life insurance like all other major life insurance carriers. Good Life Protection wants to take a moment to review Mass Mutual and the individual products that they offer.

To kick things off we will look at Mass Mutual Vantage Term life insurance.

Mass Mutual offers the Vantage Term Life Insurance in the following options

  • Mass Mutual Vantage Term 10 Year Level Premium
  • Mass Mutual Vantage Term 15 Year Level Premium
  • Mass Mutual Vantage Term 20 Year Level Premium
  • Mass Mutual Vantage Term 30 Year Level Premium
  • Mass Mutual Vantage Term Annual Renewable Term

This is common. Almost all life insurance carriers are going to offer the same options, so nothing here really stands out. Mass Mutual also offers some attractive riders and features within the Vantage Term products such as:

Some of the riders include the following.

Waiver of Premium Rider- This lays an extra blanket of protection for the policy owner. It allows the policy owner to waive the premiums. It lets Mass Mutual pick up the tab if the policy owner becomes disabled and unable to pay the premiums.

Accelerated Death Benefit Rider- A lot of agents and consumers such as yourself, could refer to this rider as living benefits. It is the ability to use the death benefit or some of it before death. Reasons that would trigger this rider to kick could be:

  • Chronic Care
  • Critical Care
  • Terminal Illness

Convertibility- Mass Mutual takes pride and has a heavy emphasis on the permanent products they offer (whole life).

The Vantage Term products will be convertible into permanent insurance with a new medical exam or underwriting. Your original underwriting class will be used. But, premiums will increase to reflect the change.

Mass Mutual Vantage Term Products Reviews

As we discussed previously, Mass Mutual offers the Vantage Term products in 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 Year level premium term options. Good Life Protection wants to break down the pricing of these products for you and go a little further in depth.

For all examples, we are going to use a Male- Preferred Rates (2nd best class for health ratings) at $250,000.00 of life insurance coverage.

Mass Mutual Vantage Term Life Insurance Rates, Males

Mass Mutual Vantage Term Male Rates mass mutual life insurance reviews

Let’s not forget the ladies in these examples. Same example. $250,000.00 in coverage at Preferred Rates

Mass Mutual Vantage Term Life Insurance Rates, Females

Mass Mutual Vantage Term Female Rates

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Review, How Does Mass Mutual Compare to Competition?

Now that you know the rates, let’s see how Mass Mutual stacks up against other carriers on price. After all, a true Mass Mutual review would not leave out the competitors in the same space.

The example will be the same but we will only show one age to keep things simple. Male Age 25- Preferred Rates- $250,000.00 In Coverage or (Face Amount)

30 Year Mass Mutual Vantage Term Vs. Competition

Good Life Protection stacked Mass Mutual against the other two top term providers. Our agency often uses these two due to best options currently available on the life insurance market.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Rates in 2019 and Product Options

Again, we do not have any direct ties to one life insurance carrier. We only represent and go to bat for the consumer. None of these companies should be viewed as better or worse than the others. I do want to emphasize that I talk to hundreds of people every week.

What is the biggest problem I see when speaking with most consumers?

As we can see from the illustration above, it is a very close comparison when it comes to price. All three of these companies do certain things great. Many consumers have been told or led to believe that mutual companies term rates are higher.

Sticker shock and window shopping.

Yes, reputable life insurance companies all pay claims the same. Some may be slower than others but they do pay claims. Yet, people do not treat life insurance like they do a new vehicle purchase.

Don’t Always Shop For the Cheapest Pricing Options

When you buy a new vehicle, we would all agree that the more you pay, the more you get. Right?

Well, life insurance can be the exact same scenario. Sometimes you are buying built in riders, company strength, and additional benefits that life insurance carriers excel in.

For example, Protective Life is one of the few carriers that offer you run past your expiration on your term policy. Also, not have your prices ballooned or skyrocketed. They simply start dropping your coverage down.

Any of you reading this that have experienced an expiring term knows this is a huge benefit. Speaking to an Agent who knows these things could save you more than you think in the long run.

This is not necessarily true. It depends on the company and what they focus on.

You will notice on almost every blog post-Good Life Protection and myself set out to provide, I stress the importance of working with someone who represents all the carriers or one that can give you all the options necessary.

Mass Mutual Whole Life Insurance Reviews in 2019

mass mutual whole life insurance reviews
Understanding Mass Mutual Whole Life Insurance

Mass Mutual or Massachusetts Life Insurance Company takes pride in the power of a whole policy which we will cover now.

We will look at the good and the bad associated with whole life and how Mass Mutual stacks up against the competition.

Mass Mutual has an entire lineup for whole life insurance. It is known as the Legacy Series. Within the Legacy Series, you have options of different policies that are all unique.

These policies will be participating in policies that can collect dividends and grow in value over time. Somewhat large growth with a company like Mass Mutual.

Mass Mutual Whole Life Insurance Reviews, Legacy Whole Life Products with Mass Mutual

This whole life policy will offer permanent insurance for life with guaranteed cash growth.

The level premiums on the whole life legacy 100 will be guaranteed to age 100. After which time, no more premiums will be paid into the policy.

Clever name, right?

The policy is guaranteed to build cash value of the years and never decline due to market conditions. The growth rate is not necessarily guaranteed, it is only guaranteed that it will not decline and it will grow.

Whole Life Legacy 65 Reviews with Mass Mutual

The whole life legacy 65 is the exact same scenario as the whole life legacy 65. The premiums are guaranteed level premiums to age 65. At age 65, your policy is paid up, growing cash and covering you until death.

Whole Life Legacy 20 Reviews with Mass Mutual

Again, the same scenario as before but this does not stop at a specific age. The whole life legacy 20 pay with Mass Mutual allows you to condense premiums paid into 20 years so that you have a paid-up insurance policy after only 20 years of payments.

This can be an effective way to speed up the compound interest and cash growth while getting ready for pesky insurance premiums. This could also serve as a great supplement to a well-diversified retirement plan.

Whole Life Legacy 10 Reviews with Mass Mutual

I think you are seeing the trend here. You will be finished paying on this whole life policy in a short ten years. Yes, the premiums will be larger but once it is complete. You are guaranteed to see growth and never pay a premium again.

Another strong tool for children’s life insurance plans when life insurance is pennies on the dollar or when diversifying an estate plan or retirement portfolio.

Whole Life Legacy HEVC Reviews with Mass Mutual

This product is unique compared to the other Mass Mutual whole life options. HECV stands for High Early Cash Value (HECV). This policy guarantees the policy premiums remain level to age 85.

The policy offers much higher cash values early in the life of the policy. This is typically a good plan for businesses that need to lighten the impact early in the policy.

Survivorship Whole Life Legacy 20 Pay Reviews with Mass Mutual

This product will allow you to cover two people at the same time. The death benefit will be paid by Mass Mutual upon the second death. Typically, these policies are cheaper than insuring just one individual for the same amount of coverage.

This specific option will allow you to condense the life insurance premiums into an easy 20 pay period. You will have a paid-up policy covering you and a spouse or two business partners after paying in for 20 years.

Survivorship Whole Life Legacy 100- This policy with Mass Mutual will perform the same as the legacy 100 for one individual except it will be covering two individuals. Premiums will be completed at age 100 on this specific policy option.

Each of these options could pose unique advantages and disadvantages to consumers. You should weigh your options carefully before making your ultimate decisions.

The smaller the pay frame, the larger the life insurance premiums and the opposite is true as well. The longer you pay the premiums, the lower they will be. Makes sense, right?

Mass Mutual Riders Available with the Legacy Whole Life Series

  • Additional Life Insurance Rider (ALIR)
  • Guaranteed Insurability Rider (GIR)
  • Life Insurance Supplement Rider (LISR)
  • Renewable Term Rider
  • Waiver of Premium Rider
  • LTC Access Rider (LTCR)

For an individual explanation of each rider, reach out to a licensed professional with Good Life Protection. We are here to help. Or, always feel free to click on the individual riders to learn more about the benefits of how they can help you build the perfect life insurance policy.

Let’s look at example rates for each of these options.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews, Whole Life Insurance Rates

Example Rates- Whole Life Legacy Series

We are going to use an individual achieving preferred rates after completing underwriting.

For the sake of the illustration, we will look at all Mass Mutual Whole Life Legacy products on a Male Age 40- $100,000.00-$500,000.00 in Coverage. (Non-Smoker)

Mass Mutual Whole Life Legacy

Mass Mutual Whole Life Vs. Other Options

$100,000.00 Whole 20 Pay- Male Age 35- Preferred Rates

Universal Life Insurance Reviews with Mass Mutual

Mass Mutual Universal Life, mass mutual life insurance reviews
Universal Life Insurance with Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company

Universal Life can be a bit intimidating to understand.

MassMutual offers a product lineup for Universal Life as well. Universal life has earned its spot in the industry since it is flexible. Flexibility is something all consumers often strive for.

Good Life Protection often recommends Universal Life instead of Whole Life insurance depending on the situation. Good Life Protection also wants to point out that other great Universal Life providers are available to you.

Let’s look at some options for Universal life with Mass Mutual.

MassMutual Universal Life Guard- (UL Guard)

The UL guard with Massachusetts Life Insurance is built for flexibility. You can tailor to make this policy to fit your needs. The longer you pay into the UL guard, the lower your annual premium will be going forward.

If you prefer to pay premiums over a shorter time such as 20 years or even 10, the premiums will be higher. You can even elect to make only one premium payment and you will be completely done paying for the policy.

You can either elect to guarantee your benefits for life which are known as Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL) or you can shorten the guaranteed time frame. Typically, these policies are great for two major reasons:

  • Legacy Planning
  • Income Protection

Mass Mutual Long Term Care Reviews 2019

Mass Mutual Long Term Care

MassMutual offers long-term care insurance in the form of their product known as, Signature Care. This product is one of the best long-term care insurance options currently available. This is not a rider or an extra perk on a traditional life insurance policy.

This is a policy of its own to protect against a growing issue that most people, unfortunately, will face. For males and females combined, studies show that the chances of needing long term care are rising over 50%. The average male and female need long-term care typically for 2-3 years.

Those costs can add up quickly. The long-term care policies with Mass Mutual can help reduce some of the burdens.

Let’s break down the plan a bit.

Long Term Care (Signature Care) Reviews with Mass Mutual

Mass Mutual structures its long-term care to be a participating policy.

The same concept as discussed before with whole life insurance with Mass Mutual. It is eligible to receive dividends but they are never guaranteed. It is also a little tougher to see in action on long-term care with Mass Mutual.

The dividends will be credited to your account either when:

  • Insured Reaches Age 65
  • 10th Year Policy Anniversary

The product is currently available for people ages 40-75. Only three underwriting classes are available for the long-term care product with Mass Mutual.

  • Ultra-Preferred
  • Select Preferred
  • Preferred

Many options are available with how to structure Mass Mutual long-term care policies.

MassMutual Care Choice One (Hybrid), Life Insurance with Long Term Care Through Mass Mutual

MassMutual also offers a signature product known as, Care Choice One. It is the downfall for some of you because it is a single premium product. You pay once and then it is complete. I am sure this could also be considered an upside for some consumers as well.

This policy allows you to use cash values from your life insurance death benefit to cover the cost of

long-term care. In the event your life insurance benefits have been depleted, you can still kick in the long-term care part of the policy to cover the cost.

The Mass Mutual care choice one is also a participating policy allowing you to be eligible to collect dividends.

Again, dividends are never guaranteed. You virtually are using this product to protect assets and avoid wealth depletion.

In exchange for your premium, you will be given either a lump sum death benefit or a four-year benefit of long term care insurance or a combination.

Here is a more in-depth look at the Mass Mutual Care Choice One product.

Mass Mutual Single Premium Immediate Annuity

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance also offers annuity products. The most popular option is Mass Mutual’s Retire Ease product. The Retire Ease product is a single premium annuity meaning, you would perform a onetime purchase and or premium payment.

In exchange, Mass Mutual would be guaranteeing you an interest rate return and lifetime income. When purchasing the annuity, you would have several options of payout options.

These would all greatly impact your revenue stream. Mass Mutual currently offers the following payout options on the Retire Ease product.

  • Single Life Male
  • Single Life Male with Refund
  • Single Life Female
  • Single Life Female with Refund
  • Single Life Period Certain (10 Year)
  • Joint Life Annuity
  • Joint Life with 10 Year Period Certain
  • 5 Year Period Certain
  • 10 Year Period Certain
  • 15 Year Period Certain

Many factors go into deciding which one of these options is best for you and your individual needs. You should work with a professional to go over the pros and cons of the different shapes and sizes an annuity can be structured.

Mass Mutual Disability Income Insurance Reviews 2019

Radius Disability Insurance

Mass Mutual Disability Insurance

MassMutual offers disability income insurance in the form of their signature product known as, Radius Disability.

Your benefit period can be structured to pay after an elimination period of…

  • 30 Days
  • 60 Days
  • 90 Days
  • 180 Days
  • 1 Year
  • 2 Years

Next on the list would be your benefit period of either…

  • 2 Years
  • 5 Years
  • 10 Years
  • To Age 65
  • To Age 67
  • To Age 70

Mass Mutual also offers up to nine additional riders built into the disability policy.

Mass Mutual Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance Reviews 2019

Mass Mutual also offers Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance. The product is only available for individuals ages 50-75. For a deeper look at Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance, see here.

  • $2,000.00-$25,000.00 of coverage is available
  • No Medical Exam Needed
  • You cannot be denied coverage due to health status.
  • Level Premiums for Life
  • Guaranteed Death Benefit for Life
  • 2 Year Mandatory Waiting Period for Full Death Benefit

Our overall take on the product at Good Life Protection is that it is flawed compared to other Mass Mutual products. It is higher priced and not advertise in the best light. It reminds us a bit of how Colonial Penn advertises its whole life.

For a full overview of Colonial Penn, you can read our full Colonial Penn Life Insurance Review Here.

Mass Mutual advertises for as low as $10.00 per month but that is simply for a female age 50 at the lowest coverage amount.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews of Underwriting

Mass Mutual Underwriting

Mass Mutual is not the toughest underwriting company that exists. It is also not the easiest underwriting process.

Anyone with normal health will have no issues. Even with minor health issues, you should have no problem.

Major health issues are not a strength of Mass Mutual unless considering the Mass Mutual direct guaranteed issue life insurance.

Good Life Protection always recommends using an independent broker such as us to analyze your situation. Also, to give you the options for the best life insurance carriers that can fit your budget and health.

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Reviews of Financial Products Offered

Mass Mutual also offers a wide variety of financial planning tools and products. With Mass Mutual, you can begin common retirement planning vehicles such as…

  • Roth IRA’s
  • Traditional IRA’s
  • 401 K Rollovers
  • Investment Services
  • Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
  • Unit Investment Trust (UITS)
  • Mutual Funds
  • Advisory and Trust Services

Other options with Mass Mutual

  • Medicare Supplement Insurance
  • Variable, Indexed and Fixed Annuities

Reviewing The Current Disadvantages of MassMutual in 2019

Although it seems most of our review of Mass Mutual has been promising thus far, we do want to point out the ugly with Mass Mutual.

These are Good Life Protections biggest complaints and negative feedback for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance.

TOP 5 MassMutual Complaints

  • No Non-Medical Exam Options- Mass Mutual currently offers no non-medical exam options except the Mass Mutual Direct Guaranteed Issue. This leads us to our next complaint.
  • Guaranteed Issue Product is overpriced and can be purchased cheaper or with level benefits.
  • No online quoting tool currently offered. Thankfully, we are here to help with that! Give us a call anytime. We are here to help.
  • Universal life sweet spots are for individuals age 60-80 at certain face amounts. They need to reduce universal life pricing to compete more with the younger markets.
  • Not mobile friendly. I am sure this will change soon but Mass Mutual is not a mobile-friendly carrier. They do not allow easy mobile access for user logins and account login information.

TOP 5 PROS of MassMutual Life Insurance Company

  • One of the richest histories of all life insurance carriers. Great claims history, customer service, and incredible financial strength rating.
  • A wide variety of competitive products
  • Top 5 Long-Term Care products on the market
  • Top 3 Whole Life and participating policies providers
  • Very strong investment expertise and financial product lineup

Final Word, Mass Mutual Is One of the Best But Always Review All Options

We hope that all the Mass Mutual Life Insurance reviews available don’t make it difficult to understand the company or what they have to offer

It is tough to say anything bad about a company like Mass Mutual.

They do a lot of things well and are very competitive in many markets with many products. They perhaps have the best permanent life insurance products available.

They have held that reputation for many years. With a huge variety of companies always trying to be in the mix for business, it is impressive in our eyes that they have been able to have such a stronghold on the permanent product market.

Mass Mutual does not show any signs of slowing down and continues to unravel new competing products and stay as an industry leader.

Good Life Protection always recommends looking at all options. You should always work with someone who can show you all the life insurance carriers. Thankfully, we are one of those companies that can do just that.

Did you enjoy our Mass Mutual Life Insurance Review? We would love to hear from you. Comment below.

Overall Grade Report- A


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Living Too Long With a Single Dream

the-great-gaatsby edit

A lot can be packed into forty-four years. F. Scott Fitzgerald proved it. In more than one or two ways his life paralleled those of one of his characters, James Gatz or Jay Gatsby. Both suffered from the ill effects of wealth and a decadent lifestyle, their own ego and overt self-confidence, and alcoholism.

Take away the drinking and I too, have a little in common with Fitzgerald, but to a greater degree with his Gatsby character. Money things corrupted me as it did him. Growing up poor I too wrongly thought material wealth was the key to happiness. I have loved women who were not good for me just as Gatsby’s “Daisy” was for him. Just as she did to him, more than once my heart was given wholly and completely to one who professed love for me, only to be ultimately left behind.

Having never read “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald nor having seen the movie version made in my time I did not know what to expect when I headed out to take in the movie yesterday. It was a film I was determined to see on the big screen but almost missed out. My last chance was at a nearby “cheapie movie” theater. It is the writer’s use of language and ability to pant vivid images in my mind I will long remember. Here are a few quotes particularly memorable to me.

If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promise of life… it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.

His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.

It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four of five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.

He looked at her the way all women want to be looked at by a man.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in 1896 and died of a heart attack in 1940. He is generally thought of as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th Century and specifically remembered for his vivid descriptions of the “Jazz Age”, a name he coined. “Gatsby” has been frequently referred to as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. In spite of how Fitzgerald is viewed today, he died believing himself to be a failure and his work forgotten.

Seeing “The Great Gatsby” yesterday opened my awareness up to F. Scott Fitzgerald and his work. Now I have several novels to read and three old movies to see; one from 1949, another from 1974 and a TV movie from 2000. There was a silent version from 1926 made in Fitzgerald’s time I would dearly enjoy seeing but sadly it is a famous example of a lost film. A trailer is all that is known to exist.

For a man who loves skillfully written books, good stories and well done movies, I am delighted to have something new come on to my path. I am grateful to have discovered Fitzgerald and Gatsby.

…he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world,
paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.
He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky…
A new world, material without being real,
where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air,
drifted fortuitously about…
F. Scott Fitzgerald

About James Browning

A seeker working to grow each day and be a better version of my self. Through sharing I commit myself deeper to my ideals and beliefs.
This entry was posted in Inspiration, Simple Pleasures, Works of Art and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.


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Includes the standards information and advice quality framework accrediting bodies must meet.

First published:
1 July 2018
Last updated:

Becoming an IAQF Wales Approved Accrediting Body
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Tag Archives: Be Like Jesus

Best “Be Like Jesus” List

John Smulo posted this two years ago on his blog and reposted it recently.  It is the best “be like Jesus” list I have come across.  Every link is worth checking out.

1. Get baptized by the craziest guy in town.

2. Say and do things that are guaranteed to make religious people want to kill you. Repeat again, and again, and again, and again, and again and don’t stop unless forced.

3. Do amazing things for people and ask them to not tell anyone.

4. Hang out with the most despised, marginalized, looked down upon, and shunned people you can find.

5. When possible, forgive and restore people, even if they betrayed you.

6. Live in a way that provokes gossip.

7. Win the most grace competition.

8. Keep the party going.

9. Serve people (note: nose plugs may be required).

10. If you’re sad cry.

11. Empower people to do the extraordinary.

12. Act like a rock star in a hotel temple.

13. Radically simplify theology.

14.Break human-made religious laws. Repeat consistently.

15.Prioritize the most important over the important.

16. Let women with questionable backgrounds pay your bills.

If you would like to copy this and put it anywhere feel free.


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The Regina Archdiocese has relieved one of its priests from his duties. Rev. Robert MacKenzie is fighting extradition to Scotland. Google Maps

Regina archbishop says Church faces steep learning curve in dealing with abuse

Priest fighting extradition to Scotland over allegations

As an extradition order against a Regina priest for allegedly abusing boys in a Scottish boys’ school plays out in a Canadian courtroom, the archdiocese continues to try to find its way in helping victims of sexual abuse.

“There is nothing easy about this,” said Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina. “We’re struggling to find a way how to walk with victims.”

While Rev. Robert Mackenzie is not accused of any misconduct from his roughly 30 years in the Regina archdiocese, several complaints have been made against him concerning incidents that occurred at two boarding schools in Scotland from the 1950s through the 1980s.

The retired priest, now in his mid-80s, has denied all allegations and is fighting extradition. Al McIntyre, MacKenzie’s lawyer, said his client is devastated and will be looking for a judicial review of the decision.

The archdiocese had relieved MacKenzie of his priestly duties in 2016 and he has been living at a home for retired priests in Regina, following protocols in place to deal with such situations.

The protocols around abuse have been updated in recent years, but at this point, the archdiocese — and the Canadian Church — is still coming to grips with the scourge of clergy sex abuse that has rocked the Catholic Church worldwide.

Archbishop of Regina Donald Bolen

Bolen knows the Church still has a long way to go.

Attention was ramped up on the issue last summer when a Pennsylvania grand jury report exposed thousands of cases of sexual assault that were covered up, leading to a cascade of calls for change, both inside and outside the Church.

Bolen said his diocese is “committed to transparency and to accountability and to responsibility, and we’re being encouraged to listen to victims and to learn from victims and to walk with victims and to prioritize victims.”

Bolen is under no illusion that the steps being taken now are going to put an end to the scandal and make it go away.

“We make lots of mistakes,” said the archbishop.

“It’s such a big learning curve for us. As Church we simply have such a deeply imbedded instinct of protecting the Church. It’s even more deep than protecting the clergy. Somewhere along the line the voice of victims has been suppressed and that has caused such deep pain.”

In Regina, Bolen said he’s been lucky to have worked with a small group of abuse victims committed to working with the Church to bring about needed change.

“There has been an incredible generosity and willingness from victims to share their experience and let the Church learn from it,” he said.

Pamela Walsh, an abuse victim, has worked closely with Bolen in trying to bring about needed change in the Church. One way to get the victims’ voice heard has been the creation of special services regarding clergy sexual abuse.

A service styled on the Way of the Cross – the Christian devotional that marks Jesus’ last hours before his crucifixion – has asked people to “move into the trauma of abuse,” Walsh wrote on the archdiocesan website.

Walsh said “the group managed to enter into each other’s wounds, creating a powerful text that invited others to hear the painful torment of clergy sexual abuse.”

“Education and raising awareness within the Church structures and for non-victims were among the main goals, with the idea that people might begin to see how victims suffer in silence as the result of clergy sexual abuse,” Walsh wrote.

Since the first service was held in Shaunavon in southwestern Saskatchewan, it has been held, along with newer services, in parishes throughout the archdiocese.

The archdiocese also established the CARES Healing Community, which meets weekly to accompany victims on their healing journey.

While Bolen agrees the right steps are being taken in putting victims needs first, he can’t gloat over what has been done to date.

“I’m not trying to set us up as the shining example compared with what went before,” he said. “There’s not much shining about what we’re doing. We’re trying to be deeply honest.”

Dioceses are in constant contact and trying to learn best practices in dealing with the crisis, but it can’t be done without hearing the voice of victims, the archbishop said.

“We’re on a big learning curve,” said Bolen. “We can’t do it without the help of victims.”


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Signs stolen, bench damaged at Paris school

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Mischief to Paris Central School is under investigation by the Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Officers were called to attend the elementary school on Broadway Street East in Paris in the County of Brant at approximately 2:15 p.m. on June 10 in response to a mischief to property.

Officers investigated to learn that someone stole the crosswalk signs and damaged a wooden bench in the early morning hours.

County of Brant OPP are asking for assistance from the public in locating and identifying the suspects or suspect vehicles in this case.

Anyone with information about this or any incident in the County of Brant can call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or leave a message at, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

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Brant historical plaque stolen from museum

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Brantford Police Service is currently investigating the theft of a historical plaque from the front of the Brant County Museum.

On Thursday, Feb. 14, the police was notified by the museum that a historical plaque had been stolen. Sometime overnight, the sign was removed from its pole on the front lawn.

The historical plaque honoured Arthur Sturgis Hardy, Ontario’s fourth Prime Minister. Hardy was born in Mount Pleasant.

Brantford Police Service is asking the public for assistance.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Detective Ryan Grant of the street crime unit at 519-756-0113, ext. 2284 or Crime Stoppers at 519-750-8477 or 1-800-222-TIPS.

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Almanac White & Red are real, farm-grown wines. At the Grange  all our wines are grown on our family farm in Prince Edward County. Caroline Granger and her daughter, Maggie grew up in the County and know the land well. They make wines that taste like a unique place.

About Almanac

These wines are available in 100 LCBO locations across the province; from Windsor to Thunder Bay to Cornwall.  Almanac is a taste of Prince Edward County, wherever you are in Ontario. The LCBO allows for home delivery (small fee) and store delivery (free) to get these wines into a location near you .

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Emergency preparedness from a Counterintelligence Agent

Make a prepper stove with just scrap

Learning how to make things out of scrap like a prepper stove that could save your life should definitely be a priority. You should be focusing more on learning stuff than buying stuff. Any time you can learn how to make things from what you find, you no longer have to carry it. As I always say, “skills don’t weigh nuthin.”

An alcohol stove is one of those things that’ll make life much easier. Much better than a campfire. Yankee Prepper has several videos on how to do things, so this is just one of them. Here’s Yankee Prepper showing how it’s done.

If you like the Yankee Prepper, you should visit his website. He has several useful videos there.

If you’re not into actually making a stove and don’t have the mad skills of Yankee Prepper (but you should really learn how), I’d suggest getting something like the Solo Stove. These things are super-efficient and great to have for not only camping but for around the house during extended power outages.

Here is Jack Phoenix demonstrating one:

Click the photo below to visit the site

Solo-stoveThe Solo Stove is a natural convection inverted downgas gasifer stove that incorporates a secondary combustion for a more efficient and cleaner burn. The bottom vents allow air to enter and flow up the bottom of the grate to feed the primary combustion, a top down smolder.

In addition, air entering in from the bottom vents heats up within the inner wall and rises up and out the top firebox vents causing a secondary combustion at the top of the stove. The Solo Stove actually cooks the smoke out of the wood and then burns the smoke not once, but twice! This technique makes for a cleaner burn which means less smoke and also allows the stove to burn more efficiently.

Buy nowForget the Fuel: Our stoves cook your meals with nothing but the twigs you collect on your journey, eliminating the need for heavy, expensive, polluting petroleum gas. It’s easy to light, fast to boil and clean to use.

Gasify your Wood: A unique gasification and secondary combustion process lets our stoves achieve a highly efficient and more complete burn. This means you’ll use fewer twigs to achieve a boil. It also means less smoke while cooking.

Travel Lighter: The Solo Stove only weighs 9 oz and eliminates the need to carry fuel canisters – a great way to lighten your load. It also nests inside most pots leaving you with more space in your pack.

Stay Green: By using renewable resources for fuel instead of petroleum, you’re reducing your carbon footprint. You’ll also keep fuel canisters out of the landfill.

Be Prepared: The Solo stove isn’t just for backpacking; it’s great to have on hand when you’re in an emergency or survival situation. You’ll be able to cook and will never need to worry about running out of fuel.

Keep in mind that you can also get Camping stoves at Outdoorplay.com because they usually include free shipping so I would check them out too.

About graywolfsurvival.com

I am a former federal agent and military veteran who has deployed to combat theaters in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan and have almost three decades of military and military contracting experience.

My goal is to help families to understand how to intelligently protect their family and their way of life against real threats, without all the end-of-the-world doomsday crap.

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Order now

In response to numerous customer requests, below are Frequently Asked Questions.

If you require further information, please contact us by visiting our comments page.

Why did Greco Pizza decide to create a GlutenGone™ menu selection?

Your new Gluten-free subs are amazing!!!! Finally a healthy choice that is also delicious for those of us that can’t have gluten. Thank-you!
Lori L.

Customer demand. Every day, more and more people are realizing they have a sensitivity to gluten. They may have been recently diagnosed with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or just want to live a Gluten Free lifestyle and still want to enjoy their favourite pizza and subs.

What is gluten?

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley, rye and related wheat species such as spelt and kamut. It helps baked goods keep their form and chewy texture and is also added to other food items more and more, both for consistency and taste purposes.

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease is a medical condition in which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by a substance called gluten. This results in an inability of the body to absorb nutrients: protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which are necessary for good health.
Although statistics are not readily available, it is estimated that 1 in 133 persons in Canada are affected by celiac disease.

A wide range of symptoms may be present. Symptoms may appear together or singularly in children or adults. In general, the symptoms of untreated celiac disease indicate the presence of malabsorption due to the damaged small intestine. For more information please visit http://www.celiac.ca

Are GlutenGone™ Menu Items Gluten Free?

Love your gluten-free pizza!Can’t wait to try the GF subs! Thanks for offering gluten-free products.
Cindy M.

Greco Pizza’s GlutenGone™ Menu Selections are made with ingredients that are not made with gluten, however Greco cannot certify that they are 100% gluten free. Our GlutenGone™ Menu items are prepared in Greco Pizza restaurants, that also produce products made with gluten, therefore there is the possibility of cross contamination of gluten between these products. Any person with a severe reaction to gluten should not consider these to be 100% gluten free. GlutenGone™ menu is NOT recommended for Celiac patients. There is always the small risk of cross contamination.

What does Greco do to lessen the risk of cross contamination with GlutenGone products in their stores?

There is always the small risk that a GlutenGone product could have come in contact with minute particles of gluten in the restaurant. Even small particles of flour can become airborne in the restaurant and contaminate GlutenGone products. While this risk is minimal and the amount of gluten would be very small Greco advises any customers who have a severe reaction to gluten to be aware that we cannot certify 100% that gluten is not in any GlutenGone products. Greco trains its staff in the importance of ensuring separation of gluten and Non Gluten products in the store. Staff training also includes using separate pizza paddles, cutting tools and utensils when preparing GlutenGone products to minimize the risk of cross contamination. Human errors however can occur despite our best efforts to ensure all GlutenGone products are free of any gluten.

Where are GlutenGone™ Pizza Shells and Sub Buns produced?

Pizza shells and sub buns are produced in a dedicated gluten-free bakery allowing us to ensure the highest level of customer safety.

Are your sauces and cheeses made with gluten?

Greco Pizza’s pizza sauce, donair sauce and pizza cheese are not made with gluten.

In addition to your pizza sauce, donair sauce and pizza cheese, what other ingredient do you carry that are not made with Gluten?

Aime la croute sans gluten et aime la croute mince.
Rose P.

Donair Meat
Dry Cured Pepperoni
BBQ Chicken
All Veggies

Can I purchase your pizza shells and sub buns for use at home?

Currently our products are only available for purchase as completed menu items.

GlutenGone™ Pizzas

Donair – Famous Greco Donair Meat using 100% pure Beef topped with Onions, Tomatoes and Pizza cheese swimming in Greco Donair sauce.
Pepperoni – Full flavoured Dry Cured Pepperoni and Pizza Cheese.
Veggie – A garden paradise – Fresh cut Tomatoes, Onions, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, and Pizza Cheese. We will add olives and hot peppers upon request.
Meats – Perfect for the ultimate carnivore. Dry Cured Pepperoni, Bacon Topping, Sausage, and Ham covered with Pizza Cheese.
Works – Our most popular. Dry Cured Pepperoni, Bacon Topping, Mushrooms, Onions and Green Peppers covered with Pizza Cheese.
Hawaiian – Need a vacation, visit Greco Island – Ham, Pineapple and Bacon Topping with Pizza Cheese.

GlutenGone™ Garlic Fingers

Our delicious pan pizza dough baked to a golden brown with garlic butter, pizza and asiago cheeses. Combined with our own secret donair sauce, and you have a runaway hit!

GlutenGone™ OvenSubs®

Donair – Dry Cured Pepperoni, Donair Meat, Onions, Tomatoes, Donair Sauce, Cheese.

Pizza – Garlic Spread, Pizza Sauce, Dry Cured Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, Cheese.
Veggie – Mushrooms, Pineapple, Onions, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, lite Italian dressing, Cheese.
Hawaiian – Garlic Spread, Pizza Sauce, Ham, Bacon, Pineapple, Cheese.
Chicken – Chicken Strips, Onions, Tomatoes, Cheese.

For nutritional information click here

*Although no gluten ingredients are used in the making of this product it is made in a facility that also produces gluten products and therefore there is the possibility of cross contamination with gluten products.

Best Managed Companies Canada


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New Year Drinks and Vasilopita 2018

Merry Christmas from GPWN and a Happy New Year full of health, prosperity and professional fulfilment! We look forward to seeing you at Jak’s Kings Road on 13 January from 6 pm for our Vasilopita!

Event Details

Date: Saturday 13th January 2018

Time: 6pm

Venue: Jak’s Kings Road

Address: 533 Kings Road, London, SW10 0TZ

Best Wishes


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She Should Have Gone For Solar Panels

Methane Power or Solar Cartoon

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If you have any thoughts on these issues we'd love to hear your comments on our Google+ page or twitter @GreenBizWatchUK.

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Grillo-Werke AG

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All offers are subject to change and non-binding. The author expressly reserves the right to change, supplement, or delete parts of the pages or the entire content without separate notice and to discontinue publication thereof either temporarily or permanently.

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The author hereby expressly declares that no illegal content was found on the linked pages at the time the links were made. The author has no influence whatsoever on the current and future design, contents and authorship of the linked/referenced pages. For this reason, the author expressly dissociates himself from the contents of all linked/referenced pages which were changed after the links were first established. This statement applies to all links and references set up within the author’s own website as well as to external entries in the guest books, discussion forums and mailing lists, directories of links and all other forms of databases whose contents are accessible and can be accessed externally. Only the provider of the page to which reference was made shall be liable for illegal, incorrect or incomplete contents and notably for damage resulting from the use of or failure to use such information provided, but not the person who merely refers to the publication in question via links.

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MonkeyJump Music Party with Vanessa Trien!
Join us as we Sing, Jump, & Play!

GroovyBabyMusic pairs up with performing songwriter and music educator, Vanessa Trien to present her personally-designed new program, "MonkeyJump Music and Movement Party!"

This unique program draws from Vanessa's original family music from her four award-winning CDs and beyond! This program combines an interactive sing-and-dance-along with a special free play portion so families may socialize as children explore and play in a safe, inviting space. Each music party is followed by free play time will allow families to “mix and mingle!” During this 3-week program, families sing along to Vanessa’s original tunes and join the band with percussion instruments, parachutes, bubbles and more, to really get the party rocking. With 16 families per class, this program stretches beyond the music class format and is more free, since the focus will be a community-building music party!

MONDAYS (9:45-11:15am) 6 weeks: October 21-December 2 (NO CLASS November 11)
at Inner Space, 15 Station Street, Brookline Village

TUITION: $225 for 6 week semester includes Vanessa's award-winning CD, Discounted Sibling fee $110
MusicMonkeys (newborn-age 3) 45 minute music class followed by 45-minute free play party

9:45-10:30am MUSIC
10:30-11:15am PLAY

The 9:45 am class begins with a lively, guided 45-minute music and movement class, followed by a 45-minute unstructured free play time with toys, tunnels, sensory experiences and games offered each week by Vanessa. Total time: 9:45-11:15 am.

More about MonkeyJump Music Party:
About her MonkeyJump classes, Vanessa says, "My vision for these classes is to offer a warm, inviting space for families to connect with their babies and toddlers through joyful, educational, music and movement-rich experiences, as well as with a community of other families. Community building can happen as young children become accustomed to exploring and socializing with other children, while parents will benefit from new connections and friendships, as well as more confidence to make music an integral part of their everyday lives at home. So, let's have a music party!"

More about Vanessa Trien:
Vanessa Trien is well-known in the Brookline community for her packed kids' shows with her band, "Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys," and her four Parents' Choice Award-winning family CDs. She also taught Music Together® classes with Groovybabymusic for a whopping ten years, and has spent the last five years teaching early childhood music in preschool classrooms for Brookline's BEEP program, and through Young Audiences' "Expanding Horizons Through Music" program. Last winter she began exploring her ideas with trial MonkeyJump classes in Brookline Village and is looking forward to sharing these classes again this winter in its new winter home of Inner Space Yoga.


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Home/ Diigo In Education/ Group items tagged management

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Nigel Coutts

The Trouble with Change Management in Schools - The Learner's Way - 13 views

    Taken simplistically there could be a feeling that due to the complexity of large systems change becomes an uncontrollable beast with a mind of its own.

The Role of Learning Management Systems in Middle Schools - 14 views

  • a
  • ll learning styles and levels can be met. Teachers can organize their classes and post different documents, assignments, tests, etc. for their students to work on without the students knowing they are receiving something that has been specifically developed for their own level.
  • many benefits in middle level education
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • paper copies of their absent work; now teachers post worksheets, links, videos, and other resources
  • flipped classrooms can be created
  • communication increases. Groups are developed within the system for sharing resources, sending messages, and connecting with staff and students.
  • attracted to technology outside school;
  • built-in reward system in which teachers can give badges to students for good attendance, participation, etc. to reinforce positive behaviors.
  • opportunity to communicate
  • Class participation and collaborative work increases
  • Parents
Martin Burrett

Executive leadership: you can't be in two places at once! by @MaximJKelly - UKEdChat - 0 views

    "As a headteacher, I had become quite used to doing things in my own way. Over a number of years I had developed my own style, grown comfortable and confident about my personal convictions and educational philosophy and had found, I thought, an effective way to deliver my kind of leadership and make my school my kind of school."

Teachers Network: Productions: Classroom Management for Secondary School Teachers - 24 views

    "Classroom Management for Secondary School Teachers"
Gonzalo Constenla

Gestion Escolar - 4 views

    Es un programa gratuito que permite el acceso a bases de datos del alumnado y profesorado. También tiene funciones administrativas como facturación, emisión de recibos y gestión de cobro.

7 Outstanding K-8 Flexible Classrooms | Edutopia - 53 views

    Classroom arrangement
Martin Burrett

UKEdMag: Classroom Leadership vs Classroom Management by @RTBCoaching - - 29 views

    Few people enter the teaching profession because they are passionate about controlling behaviour or disciplining prospective pupils. Most become educators because they want to make a positive difference in students' lives. However, countless well-intentioned yet potentially ill-prepared teachers find themselves in situations during the school year where they feel compelled to use forms of intimidation, manipulation, bribery, yelling, scolding, or even false praise to make students behave. These archaic classroom management techniques often backfire- as they did for me early in my teaching career-and result in students losing respect for and disliking the teacher.
Steve Kelly

See the history of changes made to a file - Docs editors Help - 29 views

  • If you want to see the changes you and others have made to a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or drawing, you can check the revision history.
  • Reverting to a previous version of a document doesn't eliminate any versions, but it moves this previous version to the top of your revision history.
    Important! When accessing Revision History and 'Restoring a Previous Version', no changes are 'eliminated!' The selected version is simply moved to the top of the revision history panel. This is huge: it means that students can't inadvertently (or intentionally) remove edits that form the history of the collaborative document!

Best Practices For Setting Up Effective Trello Boards - Trello Blog - 62 views

    Some pointers on how to use trello lists

25 classroom management strategies to get silence from a noisy group of students - Beha... - 127 views

    25 great ideas for getting loud classes to quiet down.
Matt Renwick

Why Change Management Fails | Psychology Today - 51 views

  • They fail fundamentally because it is conceived as an outside-in process, moving about parts of the organization, rather than an inside-out process which focuses on change within individuals.
  • 70% of large-scale change programs didn’t meet their goals
  • when changes fail, people often grow cynical.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • think differently about their jobs
  • change doesn't happen without individual people changing their thinking, beliefs and behavior
  • change efforts often falter because individuals overlook the need to make fundamental changes in themselves.
  • managers don’t act as role models for change
  • combine efforts that look outward with those that look inward
    • Matt Renwick
      Kind of how we kept our vision statements, but also added the mission, instead of getting rid of the vision altogether.
  • alignment with their own life purposes
  • cognitive dissonance
  • Linking strategic and systemic intervention to genuine self-discovery and self-development by leaders is a far better path to embracing the vision of the organization and to realizing its business goals.
  • Anyone leading a major change program must take the time to think through its "story"
  • explain that story to all of the people involved in making change happen
  • behavioral data to affect employee performance
    • Matt Renwick
      How we monitor levels of instruction as a school.
  • change is an inside-out process

Class Dojo Updates with Messaging - 22 views

    Message parents about the behaviour of their children
Lauren Parren

How Breaking Parkinson's Law Can Radically Improve Your Life - 56 views

    Manage time, space, money and more! All in one short article.
Liane St. Laurent

Use Chromebooks for Student Assessments - Chrome for Business and Education Help - 57 views

    How to set up chromebooks to securely deliver assessments.
Don Doehla

How to Trust Your Students via @Edutopia - 31 views

    "Education is catastrophically deficient in trust. Pro-accountability education reformers presume that, absent carrots and sticks, classrooms would be overrun with lazy and incapable teachers. Traditional instructors presume that, absent carrots and sticks, classrooms would be overrun with lazy and incapable students. Both viewpoints emerge from a noble desire to make classrooms high-performance spaces, but in actuality they suppress excellence."
    An excellent article - must read! via @Edutopia
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I am making a cake to take to the office tomorrow! A chocolate cake with gin buttercream (with a little cherry juice) frosting.

Problem: I am in Juneau for the summer and I don't have my stash of gluten-free baking things.* So I did a box mix. It is not one I have used before and I don't know how it will taste. I do not want to ruin all my new office-friendships by feeding people a bad cake. Normally I would make a cupcake on the side to test, but I forgot.

Solution: Frost the top of the cake only with an extra thick layer of buttercream. Cut it in squares a la brownies to make square cupcakes. Eat one of the resulting 16 small squares as a test. Top each remaining square with a maraschino cherry.

Inadvertent problem: SO MUCH EXTRA FROSTING. Why does this always happen?

This is a good plan? Confirm/deny. What do I do with all the extra frosting (make more cake???)?

*There is no way I would finish a package of xantham gum in 3 months and that shit is like $16!


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So Mikhail Kalashnakov has died.

The NYT covers the death here:….

It's sad. It's sad when a person dies, even when that person has lived a full life, and even when that person invented a weapon that killed thousands upon thousands of people.

But you know what's sadder still?

The obit doesn't even mention Kalashnakov's dancing career, his genius on the ballet stage, or his star turn on Sex and The City.

I guess it's true that all we care about is war.


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Ever thought you knew a song was sung by a singer but you were wrong. This past week I heard two songs when shopping Ch Ch Changes and An Old Fashioned Love Song.

I always thought Ch Ch Changes was a Paul McCartney song when he was with Wings. Nope David Bowie. How I did not know this I do not know.

The second song is a wee bit more complex. Paul Williams actually wrote Old Fashioned Love Song but it was for Three Dogs Night. Williams did actually record it later on. I always thought only Williams recorded the popular version. That what I was listening to at the store was not Williams but Three Dogs Night.

Here is Paul Williams version they do sound different. I love this version sung with the Muppets.


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There’s zero reason our (non-elected) governor won’t sign this into law.

Between Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia, I keep thinking of that scene in the Handmaid’s Tale during the handmaid’s delivery when they are reminiscing about how they used to do ultrasounds back in the day but stopped when there was nothing which could stop a pregnancy from going to term.

(our elected piece of shit governor stepped down from campaign finance issues, current governor was elected as lt. governor and then promoted with Greitens resigned)


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“Growing Tree recognizes that children can recover from traumatic situations and experiences when given a supportive environment. We are optimistic that we can get these children from the streets and give them a well-deserved future.”

– Melvin Kennedy, Director of Growing Tree Child Care Program in Monrovia

Our Projects

Clay Street Kids

We pay the school fees for 33 disadvantaged children in the downtown Monrovia area.

Sass Town Child Care Center

We are building a future home for some of the thousands of children on the streets in Liberia.

How you can get involved

Growing Tree Liberia and our partner organization in Monrovia, Growing Tree Child Care Program, live on donations alone. But if you are unable to support us financially, we have many other ideas for how you can help the children of Liberia.

News and Updates

Exciting things have been happening in the Sass Town Community in the last few months. The building for the child care center has begun!


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Art, Printed: Computers are redefining fine art. But is that a good thing?

Watching a lumbering 3D printer slowly churn back and forth, painstakingly adding minute layer to minute layer of material to an ambiguous shape is far from exciting. It can take hours—sometimes days—until a final product reveals itself. But for as cumbersome as 3D printing can be, the technology has had a profound impact on the art … [ Read more]

To Discover the Future of Food, Ask the Chefs

Three leading Minnesota chefs break bread, drink wine, and talk about the way food will be eaten—and cooked—in the decades to come W When we start talking about the future of food, we immediately consider questions of waste and sustainability, or whatever the cake-pop-like-object of the moment might be. It’s easy to get immersed in protein … [ Read more]

Back to the Foeder

Minnesota breweries are using a historic technology to spur sour aging innovation When you settle in at the bar in Wild Mind Artisan Ales’ taproom, it’s easy to feel like you’re micrometers away from being sliced by craft beer’s cutting edge. Rows of stainless steel brewhouse equipment glint behind a glass vista to the bar’s … [ Read more]

Artist Profile: Brad Jirka & Katherine Jones

Before it even hit the printer, Brad Jirka and his wife/collaborative partner Katherine Jones spent upwards of 65 hours on the model for this cover. Between laying out the initial design and recreating it 40 different ways in the 3D printing software formZ, the design duo behind Northfield studio Bohemiawerks eventually came full-circle, landing on … [ Read more]