You can blame Facebook today as that’s my source!

          I'm sure you know my generation represented a time when we; respected our parents; drank water from the hose; always stood for the flag; played outside; had toy guns; got spanked a lot and yet we survived!

          Consequently, my age group qualifies to be called Seenagers.

          That's because as Seniors we now have everything we wanted as teenagers, only about 60 years later.

          I don't have to go to school or work for that matter. I get an allowance every month and I have my own pad. Heck, I don't even have a curfew. At least for now I have a driver's license, have my own car and I can afford the gas and insurance.

          I have a real I.D. and the people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant. In fact, we’re not scared of anything. Having been blessed this long what would scare us? And, I don't have acne, life is indeed good!

          If you are a Seenager you'll feel more intelligent after learning the following.

          Understand if the brains of us older people seem to work slow it’s because we know so much. We have not declined mentally with age; it just takes us longer to recall facts because we have so much information to sort through.

          Did you know scientists also believe Seenagers are often hard of hearing because with all the information in their brain it puts pressure on their inner ear?

          You've also probably noticed sometimes older people go into a room to get something only to find out they can't remember what they came for. This is NOT a memory problem, but rather; it's nature's way of helping Seenagers get more exercise.

          So there! Now you know!

          One more thing: I have friends I need to share this information with but right now I can't remember their names, so if you see any of my friends please share my thoughts with them. I appreciate your help.

          Oh, except for that doctor I saw yesterday. He was confused. When I told him about my left leg hurting all the time he said that was just old age.

          I told him that was silly because my right leg is the same age and it doesn't hurt at all.

          Hope you enjoyed.

          I'm Seenager Steve Sauder

          Broadway musical Hamilton debuted in February of 2015.

          It tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, American statesman who previously played an underappreciated part in our country's history.

          You likely know Hamilton best for being Secretary of the Treasury for George Washington, but that is just a small part of his legacy.

          We saw the show at the Music Hall in Kansas City on Sunday.  With capacity crowds, the norm nearly 60 thousand people will see Hamilton in KC.  Hold on to your hat! Guessing the average ticket is $250.00 this run should gross over $14 million!!

          Let me share some things we've learned.

          Hamilton was an immigrant born in the British Isles to a mixed-race couple out of wedlock. He was orphaned but taken by a prosperous merchant who helped him find schooling and end up in America where he took an amazing route to become one of America's founding fathers.   

          Alexander Hamilton accomplished a great deal; he is credited with founding America's financial system and being the dominant writer of our constitution and much more, but he was not a saint.

          He and his wife had 8 children but was rumored to have had a long relationship with his wife's sister, but that was never confirmed.

          Hamilton did have an affair that ruined his political aspirations thus making him America's first politician felled by a sex scandal.

          Alexander Hamilton was George Washington's key ally both in the military and in politics.   

          Hamilton, the musical is about the founding of America and the unique and interesting characters involved.

          Hamilton was created by 37-year-old Lin-Manual Miranda who went way outside the box to make compelling entertainment out of Cabinet meetings, political pamphleteering and debates over banking, according to the review I read.

          The show is provocative for sure and Miranda showed his genius with major two decisions.

          First, the music is all rap and hip hop. That got me because I don't like either, but wow! it was effective.

          Next, Miranda decided to make the race of the actors irrelevant. The show's cast is filled mostly by African American actors even though the characters most of them played were, in fact white.

          With race being not a concern American history takes center stage. That’s brilliant!

          My reviewer wrote, If the revisionist magic of Hamilton works, it will inspire young fans to dig deeper into the stories of American revolutionists and not be put off by the fact that they were mostly white men in waistcoats That is exactly what Hamilton is doing – inspiring people to dig into the American story!

          It's the best stage show we've ever seen -  period. Please, if possible find a way to go see Hamilton. It's in Kansas City 7 more times including twice today.

          I’m Steve Sauder

Solar?

What do you know about solar power?

Although solar panels look funny on tile roofs they are common in California where solar becomes a requirement on new homes in 2020.

Recently on Facebook, there was an offer to check out solar so I bit and it was determined we might qualify for Tax Credits on solar installation. The presentation was very professional so I agreed to a meeting.

Chris, the technician knew his stuff. I gathered up electric bills for the last year and he had an aerial picture of my home giving him needed dimensions etc.

Chris determined that to offset our average electric bill we'd need 33 panels qcell at 315 watts. Didn't mean much to me, but based on our usage we could almost completely eliminate our electric bill.

Of course, the $64 question was how much does this cost?

$43,000 if we use their financing option for 15 years with 30% or about $13,000 knocked off with the federal tax credit. If we paid cash the initial cost would drop to $39,000.

Interestingly the monthly payments on the 15-year plan were almost equal to our electric bills.

So, with no money down and applying for the tax credits we could install solar and nearly eliminate our West Star bills.

That’s a no brainer, right?

Well, maybe not quite that easy.

First, what about the ascetics? About 80% of the east side of our roof would need to be covered. Since we are kind of proud of our home's look, this is a big issue.

What about the roof? Kurt Steinkuhler said if installed correctly solar panels shouldn't be a problem, but he would not put them on an older roof like mine. So maybe a new roof comes first?

What about insurance premiums?

The solar company said in most cases insurance companies see solar as an enhancement to home thus adding value creating the need for more protection.

Insurance agent Chris Metcalf did some checking and found several different ways solar panels are handled by insurance companies including adding an endorsement, but all increase premiums. Conclusion: increased insurance cost is not a major impediment, but premiums will increase.

So, for Bobbi and me while solar would be a basic break-even deal and add value to our house the fact we probably won't live there for fifteen more years and neither of us particularly like the way solar panels look on houses we are not adding solar.

But for Bobbi's daughter who is building a home in the country near Lawrence solar might make sense - especially with high power rates in the country.

This has been an interesting exercise and I feel a little more educated on solar power and hope you do too.

I'm Steve Sauder.

My topic today is the plight of my Democrat friends and the conundrums they are facing.

A conundrum is by definition: a problem that is difficult to deal with often including a question that is a trick.

The Democrats want badly to make Donald Trump go away. That sentiment is not theirs exclusively, but it does present some tricky questions.

Their choices are Impeachment or defeat President Trump’s re-election attempt in November of 2020.

Grounds for impeachment appear to be plentiful and the Democratically controlled House could easily get that job done, but failing to have President Trump found guilty in the Senate is a totally different story.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds the trump card here and she's convinced impeachment would be a mistake, but not all Democrats agree with her.

The second conundrum facing Democrats is a presidential primary race with no less than 24 candidates.

Recent polls tell us Trump can be beaten if the Democrats pick the right candidate, but how do they handle or even remotely control a race with so many horses? That's a sticky one.

All the polls except the President's suggest the current front runners in the race for the Democratic nomination would beat Trump. Those same polls say Trump could likely be defeated in 12 states that he won in 2016! The potential for success is high!

An additional point of interest comes from George Will the well respected syndicated columnist who says many young voters have made up their minds that the Republican Party is a dumb party.

Additionally Will says many young voters think they like socialism even though they typically don't trust big government.

Kind of looks like easy pickings for the Dems in 2020 except for one thing - who is their candidate?

"Sleepy" Joe Biden as Trump calls him is the early leader. Actually "sleepy'' may be a pretty effective nickname following the overactive guy he wants to replace!

Senators Warren and Sanders are the candidates of massive change, but the cost for their ideas might even make President Trump blush.

There's a bunch of other contenders but looks like these are the better choices.

My friends are facing several conundrums for sure. It's going to be an interesting 17 month.

I’m Steve Sauder and there’s something to think about.