The Goode Family?

I watched the new ABC cartoon “The Goode Family” last night. My mind set to either hate it or love it. Actually, my feeling is mixed.



It is my hope that as the series progresses the characters become more endearing. Maybe if America grows to like the Goode family they will learn more about important social issues. It might become a good thing to be like the Goodes.

Initially, I wasn’t impressed with the story. The satire was lost by attempts as bringing up too many social issues in one episode. Worst of all, the characters seemed stressed and distant and holier than thou. At times, anyone would have felt awkward being friends with this family.

However, there were a few funny and light hearted moments. My favorite moment was at the end when the mother Helen has had a little too much wine. Father and daughter have just escaped a “purity ball” and the son was excited to drive the family hybrid.

There were also more subtle points made in the show. Such as, the shopping center where with each benefit a food has the price goes up. It is ridiculous that organic food often costs more than genetically engineered products.

Overall, I will have to wait and see if the show sticks. At this point, I won’t turn the channel unless there is something better to watch. I encourage you to decide for yourself whether "The Goode Family" is good.

Benefits Really Benefit Us All

Vacations are essential to productivity, quality of life and beauty. I mean beauty from knowledge and experience, but also outside physical appearance. As I examined my photos from my recent vacation the bags under my eyes shrunk significantly from the first few days to the last few days. My smile continued to grow larger throughout the trip and my body seemed more fit from the amount of walking and dancing I was enjoying. Medical studies also back up this feeling showing that vacation can help lessen risk for heart problems and mental illness.

Now that I am back to work, I feel less mundane aggravation and am able to get my entire must-do list done with a bit of time to spare. I can move on to lower priority tasks (or write a blog entry) with this extra time.

You would think employers would be excited about the benefits of vacations and insurance companies would be lobbying Washington for mandated vacation time. However, the U.S. is one of the few industrialized nations not to require employee benefits such as paid vacation. In fact, the U.S. doesn’t even require paid time off for new mothers or people requiring family medical leave.

Many employers and those that have fallen for the idea that we have to work ourselves in the ground in order to be productive can’t seem to understand how vacation and leave benefits are exactly that-benefits! They benefit both the employee AND the employer!