With View From My Lanai, I must first confess a rather rigid philosophy: I truly believe that charity begins at home, and it begins with sharing our time and life savings with our children while we are still alive.  Our kids seem to love that philosophy, which--over the past decade or so--has made it possible in part for them to share our vacations with us or visit us in The Villages, Florida (our hometown since July of 2010, when I retired after serving 16 years as Florida State University's chief public relations officer, a 24-7 job).  

Over the past few months, I have been involved in some volunteer work for The Villages Hospice House. I have been one of the prime movers in organizing a golf scramble fundraiser, which will be held in May.  I had been asked to help, and I agreed because my experiences with relatives passing away with the kindly assistance of hospice showed me that this organization is nothing short of excellent in the manner both the dying and the families of the dying are treated. 

However, this work has diminished my focus on my family, and when I complete this charitable work next month, I will return to focusing my charitable efforts on my wife and family.  Sometimes I think the world would be a much better place if we just kept the focus on our families because we have only so much to give.  And I would bet that if we all looked closely at our children, and, perhaps, other relatives, we would find many needs to fill and little time or money to spend elsewhere.  

All this in not to say that I believe we are not entitled to be happy and do those things we personally enjoy-- such as golf and travel in my case--because if you're not happy, you probably won't be able to help those around you be very happy. 

OK, enough philosophy.   Next Post: News and Views --From My Lanai.