November 26, 2019 • Page 2 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com A Motivational Don’t Use Emotion To Rationalize An Upgrade Class Dave Says Dave RAMSEY Dear Dave, My husband will be finishing physician assistant school in December, just a few days before our first baby is due. We’ve got about $70,000 in student loan debt, and we’re trying to get everything paid off. Both our cell phones are pretty old, and I’d like to get a new one that costs $350 so we can have really good pictures of the baby. My job is the only income we have right now, and I’m making $45,000 before taxes. Is this a silly thing to do in our situation? Jamie Dear Jamie, This is an important question. It’s not important because $350 is a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it’s important because you’re making a judgment call as to what you’re focusing on and what you value. If you’re focusing on your husband finishing school, so his income goes up and you’re trying to get out of debt, that fine. I love it when people are willing to work their tails off to have better lives. But if that’s your focus, and at the same time you’re trying to rationalize buying something you don’t really need, that’s a bad thing. You don’t need a new cell phone for a camera, especially if the camera is the only reason you’re buying it. You can find decent digital cameras everywhere these days for $50 or less. I understand the joy that goes along with having a child. I have three kids, and we were absolutely ecstatic each and every time one was born. And, of course, we wanted good photos of them all. But right now, I think you’re trying to rationalize a phone upgrade based on the emotion of a new baby. As an exercise of your value system, that’s a tendency you need to break. This is a test, Jamie. What you’re talking about here is a luxury, not a necessity. Rationalization is one of the prime causes of overspending. Please understand, I’m not picking on you and I don’t mean to be harsh. We’ve all flunked this test at times. But this is an important moment where your judgment and values are concerned. It’s your call, but you really don’t need to blow $350 on a new phone right now. —Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week on 575 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. PRAIRIE DOC® PERSPECTIVES Language, Literature, Ethics, Music and Spirit BY RICHARD P. HOLM, MD A muddle and mixture of family and friends surrounded the dying elderly woman like she was a campfire. They came to honor and pay their respects; many generations, from all over the country. This group seemed well educated, well-read, and the intellectual discussions were tossed around in that room like a basketball. She had said, to all, that it was time. “Please stop the dialysis,” she insisted, and, it was stopped. At first, she was almost holding court, but over the days, as she was slipping across to the other side, the hymns started filling the room, spilling out into the hospital halls, helping to carry her home. Tears of sadness, appreciation, joy and family love flowed freely the night she died. Hers was a story about language, literature, ethics, music and spirit. Take away language and literature, and the appreciation she deserved for years of pushing for education and learning for her family and friends would have passed without notice. Take away ethics, and the patient wouldn’t have known she could stop dialysis. Take away music and spiritual energy, and the family wouldn’t have grasped the true depth and value of the woman or the connection and love they shared with her and each other. The humanities give us meaning, but, from where and why did they begin? There is no record or hard evidence as to how or when Homo sapiens began speaking, but there are plenty of theories. The one I like the most asserts that, at first, we sang and drummed descripRICHARD tive sounds while HOLM pantomiming hunting stories around the campfire until, over hundreds and thousands of years, words and lyrics evolved. Much later, words became literature when written down in a retrievable way, first on clay tablets, then, on papyrus, parchment, paper and, now, computers. More than one linguistic expert has theorized that it was language which facilitated the Homo sapiens species to grow and dominate. When ethical words about a common virtue, or rule, convinced, inspired and unified large collections of tribes, these ancient groups became empowered. Words from The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or the Code of Hammurabi, “A bag of barley is worth two shekels of silver,” and even song lyrics like, “Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy),” have pushed civilization forward. The history of humanity has been made bright by language, literature, ethics, music and spirit. Also bright was that room with the elderly dying patient and her loving and singing family and friends. Richard P. Holm, MD is founder of The Prairie Doc® and author of “Life’s Final Season, A Guide for Aging and Dying with Grace” available on Amazon. For free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library, visit www. prairiedoc.org and follow Prairie Doc® on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show streaming on Facebook and broadcast on SDPB most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central. We’ll come to your home or office for windshield repair or replacement WATERTOWN, S.D. – The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission proposed a change to harvest restrictions Choose & Cut Your Tree • Balsam Fir • Black Hills and Colorado Blue Spruce • Scotch Pine • Fraser Fir We sell the World’s Greatest Tree Stand 4 Miles East of Yankton on Hwy 50 Turn South at our Sign 605-665-4726 Ron’s Auto Glass 1915 Broadway, Yankton 605.665.9841 When I started college, I was a computer science major. Back then, computers were much different from what they are today. There were no computer screens as we have today. We worked on punch cards, and the punch card machines looked like big typewriters. We submitted our programs to the system administrators. They would run them through, and our output would come back on printed pages. This all took a lot of time. Another challenge was that there were only two punchcard machines on campus that were available to students. We spent a lot of time standing in lines. It was in these lines that I did most of my homework in the first few years of my college career. If a person was slow at typing, the line backed up a lot. Unfortunately, few people took typing in those days unless they were in office management degrees. But being in computer science, I decided that it was a skill I needed to master. The idea scared me. I had attempted to learn piano at my mother’s insistence, but I never became good at it. I was impatient, and getting my fingers and my brain to work together seemed like a Herculean task. I soon gave up. I thought that typing would be the same way, and I feared that I would fail. But I knew that if I were to become a programmer, I needed to type faster. I signed up for the class and diligently did the assignments. When the first test came back, I was disappointed in my grade. I could tell by the groans around the room that I was not the only one. After the teacher had finished passing out the tests, she turned to us. “You all did very poorly on this test. What is your motivation for taking this course?” I raised my hand, and when the teacher called on me, I mentioned that I was a computer science major and needed to learn to type. “No,” the teacher said. “Deeper than that. Why are you here at this university, and why are you taking any course on this campus?” We had an in-depth discussion about the reasons, and when we boiled it all down to its core, we came to the conclusion that the reason we took any class was because of money. The whole purpose of getting an education was to be able to get a better job and thus make a better living. “I don’t want you to think of this course as typing anymore,” the teacher said. “I want you to think of it for the real purpose for which you are here, and that is to make more money.” Then she did something I will never forget. “Every one of you hold your typing book to your chest,” she said. Once we had done that, she said, “Now pat your books and repeat after me. Money! Money! Money!” We followed her direction, and we all felt a little silly. Most of the class laughed. But each day after that we started the class in the same way. We held our books to our chests, and, patting them, said, “Money! Money! Money!” The motivation must have worked. I not only typed my papers, but I started typing papers for friends, my soonto-be wife, and others. By the end of the semester, I obtained a speed of 145 words per minute, with around 98% accuracy. My fellow students also did much better, and the teacher was pleased with the results. But for me, the greatest takeaway from the class was a deep sense of accomplishment. Now, as my math students struggle with their assignments, I am tempted to have them hold their books to their chests, pat them, and say, “Money! Money! Money!” Nah. They’d probably think it was weird. GFP Commission Proposes Length Restriction For Flathead Catfish Brady Christmas Got A Rock Chip? Tree Farm Mobile Glass Service Mon.-Fri. 1pm-5:30pm Sat-Sun 9am-5:30pm By Daris Howard 319 Walnut St. Yankton, SD 57078 605-665-5884 www.missourivalleyshopper.com for flathead catfish. The change would limit anglers to only one flathead catfish 28 inches or longer per day as part of the daily limit, statewide. This proposal originated via the public petition process. To comment in person, the public hearing will be held Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. CST at the Prairie Events Center in Madison. Individuals can comment online at?gfp.sd.gov/forms/ positions?or mail them to 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501. To be included in the public record and to be considered by the Lesterville Fire & Rescue commission, comments must include a full name and city of residence and meet the submission Sat., Nov. 30th, 2019 • 8pm - 12am deadline of 72 hours before Uncle Roy & The Boys Band the public hearing (not including the day of the Tickets: $8 each public hearing). Proceeds go to Fire Hall Addition and the purchase of equipment. Dining & Entertainment ANNUAL FALL DANCE WJ Ranch 18th Annual Cowboy Christmas (7 mi. south of Yankton, SD just off Hwy. 81) Friday, November 29 Store Open 4pm-8pm (No Activities) Sat. & Sun., Nov. 30 & Dec. 1 He See Mey Kids! Satu 1-3pm rday 10 am-5pm (All rides begin at 1pm) •Horse, Buggy & Hayrack Rides •Crafts For Kids •Petting Zoo •Family Activities •Refreshments Clothing, Primitives, Jewelry, Western Decor, Florals, Metal, Wood, Fabric, Christmas Decor & Much More! NO ADMISSION CHARGE! See www.schiferlswjranch.com If you read this you know... advertising pays! Call the Missouri Valley Shopper at 665-5884 or stop by to place your ad today! 319 Walnut St. • Yankton MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y