Ron's Comments

"Ron's Comments"
..( updated periodically, but on no particular schedule )..

Note: These comments are offered as my own personal "meanderings"
and may not always reflect the latest or even the most accurate data
and findings related to the issues about which I choose to "babble!"
(and yes, my opinions could even change over the course of time)

Buyer Alert ... Buyer Alert ... BUYER ALERT !:
If you have an income source that you believe is "reasonably" secure, and if you have a bit of money you can put into a down payment, then you REALLY SHOULD consider buying a home RIGHT NOW, if in fact this is something you think you may do within the next few years.
RIGHT NOW is when INTEREST RATES are about as low as you may see them for the next couple decades! And, prices may be at or very close to their bottom. Low Prices, Low Interest Rates, Motivated Sellers, and a Good Volume of Inventory from which to select your desired home, makes this perhaps the BEST time to buy a home in YOUR LIFETIME. ... I am not kidding!!

One Reason Why Metro Atlanta is almost "A Perfect Location":
Do you realize how quickly someone living in Atlanta can travel by auto to an Atlantic Ocean beach, or to a Florida Panhandle beach, or to a mountain cabin, or to a weekend lodge on a huge lake with great amenities! I've lived in a number of places over the years, and I have never found a metropolitan location which had SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES of places to visit within a six-hour-or-less auto ride. The "Old South" of Savannah or Charleston is just a few hours away. A long weekend at the Florida Panhandle with its incredible beaches is a definite possibility. Mountain waterfalls and trails are even closer than that. And Lake Lanier, Allatoona Lake, or even Lake Hartwell offer incredible choices for personal or family get-aways. Even "Unto These Hills" under the stars in the Smokey Mountains is actually not that far away. WHAT an incredible diversity of activity, what tremendous choices, if you want to leave town for a little while and yet not have to travel all that far!

God Bless (and I hope God help) America
I come from rural Ohio, I live in metropolitan Atlanta, and I LOVE the U.S. as it was created within the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. When I was in high school I went, along with my high school sweetheart, to see the movie "The Ugly American." The next day (a Saturday) I was spending the day working for my Aunt & Uncle in their business, and I told them about how the movie exposed ugliness concerning America, and therefore maybe I should have second thoughts about my country. They sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms I should think again. And they didn't just tell me the movie was wrong and leave it at that, ... they gave me example after example after example after example of why I should be proud to be an American, rather than being swayed by "stuff" coming from a film. Even with many flaws, this has still been THE greatest country in the entire history of the world! I despised Spiro Agnew for his "America, Love it or leave it" words, because Spiro Agnew was a crooked politician and could not be respected. But I respect America, and I love it, because although there is no perfect system in this world of humans, of all the systems mankind has created, this is the best. I marvel at our founding fathers, and if I make it to heaven I look forward to the day when I see many of them there and get a chance to talk with them about how in the world they could create such a great nation out of whole cloth. (Yes, in heaven, because a number of the founding fathers were deeply religious, and in fact a number of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were trained in the ministry.) Slavery was undoubtedly THE blemish on this country at its founding. But as Americans, each of us individually can do something here in the twenty-first century to at least somewhat make amends for that blemish in our national past. There are improvements to be made in this country, and, there are even organizations dedicated to purchasing the freedom of slaves in parts of the world. One could contribute to that, as one small way of helping rid the planet of this sin. I hope America builds upon a good foundation to become ever-better, and is worthy of God's blessings.

God Bless Our Troops
Thankfully we have courageous and dedicated people willing to serve in our volunteer armed forces. I respect them, and hope America will stand behind them with support and love, even if politicians play word-games with them. If we lose the war on terror it will be due to the personal-power shenanigans and/or foolishness of our politicians, and not due to our men and women in the armed services. After all, "It takes a willing suspension of disbelief" to think that a large percentage of our politicians put what's best for the country ahead of their own personal ambitions and needs, or their party's ambitions and power. But I DO believe the vast majority of the men and women in our armed forces put the nation's protection ahead of themselves. To the Troupes wherever you may be, God Bless YOU !!!!!!!!!!

I Love "24":
Oh how I wish Jack Bauer was a real person at the vanguard of protecting The United States! And by the way, I loved the first President Palmer too!! (What a shame that he was permanently written out of the program at the start of the fifth season ... although his show on a different network was pretty good!) I think "24" is one of the best television program concepts ever developed, ... When it's on, I literally can't wait for each new episode. (P.S.: If you don't know who Jack Bauer is, I recommend you buy or rent the various seasons of "24". Further, although you can watch those prior seasons out of order, I think it really is helpful to start with season one and go sequentially from there --- although as we move now into season 8, that would mean a LOT of TV viewing time in order to catch up!)

Humorous Memories, or Memories That At Least Bring A Smile To My Face:
example 1 ... reading an article in a national magazine published in the 1950's that said the world would be out of oil by 1975
example 2 .... attending a NASA exhibit in 1963 and being told by one of the NASA exhibitors that it would be impossible to have a lunar-lander successfully blast off from the moon and rendezvous with an orbiting mother ship --- would never happen
example 3 .... hearing, & reading articles by all the experts in the 70's and even into the early 80's warning us about global cooling which was, with certainty, going to descend upon us unless we immediately began to alter our way of life (& our economy)
example 4 ..... a prominent actor of the time lecturing us, in the middle of the 80's, that by the mid 90's all life in the oceans would be dead
example 5 ..... reading about a statement made in 1899 by the Director of the US Patent Office where he suggested that the office should be closed because, essentially, everything that could be invented had already been invented
example 6 ..... I remember when the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio used to catch fire! (back around the 60's, before major clean-up was accomplished) ..... Yes, I know that was a sad thing! But at the time, it seemed so goofy that about all you could do was laugh! As a footnote, though, I'd like to add the following: Cleveland did wonderful work to get that turned-around. There have been many examples of environmental improvements, and this was one. I understand many of the restaurants and clubs down by the river have gone out of business ... still, congrats! to Cleveland for great work to clean up a truly laughable situation.
example 7 ..... I was standing beside a person watching the television broadcast of the start of a major sporting event, & after the fly-over of a fleet of stealth bombers the person turned to me & said, "Gee, I didn't know you could actually see one of those!" (... Guess they thought those planes came equipped with a Klingon cloaking device.) :-)
example 8 ..... I was truly enamored with John F. Kennedy when he ran for and won the Presidency. I was a mere boy, but had become aware of national politics and really thought he was great. I also understood and embraced his stance on national defense, tax cuts, freedom of speech, and many other key points he supported. It is humorous, but rather sadly so, to realize he likely could not win the nomination today in his own party. Where has "Profiles in Courage" gone? What a thrill to hear his inaugural address. As that young boy I really liked JFK! -- But his policies were basically conservative, and I doubt he'd even be nominated in today's Republican party, let alone the Democrats.
example 9 ..... and this one's a memory of something recent that I thought was goofy-funny. A law was put forth by our congress (the lowest rated Congress in history, I might add) stating that children in some households with annual incomes of 80,000 are poor; but even goofier (and definitely funnier!) was the fact that the legislation also said the term "children" could include offspring up to age 25. Now admittedly some 25 year olds act like children, but so do some 45, 75, and 95 year olds! ... (especially if they are in the US Congress).
example 10 ..... while visiting at my future wife's house (this visit was before we even started dating & were just friends at the time), she ordered delivery pizza, served us each our first slice, and put the rest in the oven to keep it warm for our second round. When ready for those seconds, I jumped up and said, "stay seated, I'll get the next helping." --- Five minutes later she came into the kitchen, wondering what was taking so long ... only to find the door to the microwave oven open with me standing there trying to pry-apart the MicroGoRound. Yes, I thought the MicroGoRound was a pizza-keeper, with the pizza inside of it! (my future bride knew right-away that if we ever dated or married, she would be doing the cooking with Ronald being assigned the safer duties, such as table prep, washing the produce, and clean-up duties). ... As a take-off from tv shows or movies about police actions, her statement to me when she saw me standing there was:
"Put Down the MicroGoRound, & Step Away-From the Kitchen!"

And in Conclusion:
I guess I'm opinionated about some things, and I'm also a big believer I could be wrong, and if so am willing to change my mind. But the one thing I will not change my mind about is the importance of helping people concerning things that are very personal and significant for them, such as the purchase or sale of a home. And this is an abiding fact with me ... I respect how very personal, and how very important, the process of buying or selling a home really is for most people. I Guarantee Performance Excellence, because excellent service is what you need when dealing with something as important as your home. I would like very much to sit down with you and spend a few moments finding out what you desire and need, and exploring all the ways you can be supported to achieve that.

end of babbling, ....... for now

PLEASE NOTE: All opinions offered here are totally of a personal nature, and should not in any way be interpreted as the views of Solid Source Realty Inc., the Georgia Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors, or any other organization or person.