Know Your Freedoms & Rights

The other day my wife and I were exploring the new Montgomery Whitewater facility. We both agreed in time it will become a valuable asset to the quality of life for the River Region, both in terms of lifestyle and economically. As we were leaving to head back to our car, Sandy noticed a weed in one of the landscaped beds and she immediately bent down to pull it. Sandy is a Master Gardener, and she doesn’t tolerate weeds much. I encouraged her to let their landscaping crew do what they do but she would have none of it…she pulled more along the way. She will solve the weed problem, one weed at a time.

Jim Watson, Publisher jim@riverregionboom.com

Talking about weeds led me to discover one of most wonderful things about America, innovation, and ingenuity. As I was reviewing the news of the day, I came up on a man who created something called LaserWeeder. It’s a 20-foot-wide piece of farm equipment that is used to eliminate weeds in a farmer’s crop space through the power of robotics and lasers. It can eliminate 200,000 weeds per hour with an 80% cost savings in weed control! The founder uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to program the machine to recognize the weeds and kill them. Amazing!

We as Americans have the freedom to think about ideas, like the LaserWeeder, to discover and create new solutions for problems we all can relate too. Eliminating weeds is a great example. Unfortunately, in America, we have allowed our government to have a bigger role in our lives and we risk losing the freedom to think for ourselves, innovate, and dream of new ways to improve our lives. Know your freedoms and rights, and as we celebrate our Independence Day this month remember that in America our fight for freedom is an ongoing battle, so roll up your sleeves and celebrate the greatest day in our history, Independence Day!

This month’s cover profile is Julianne Hansen, an artist who loves to share her work, ideas, and the importance of art in the world. Julianne is the owner of Julianne Hansen Fine Art & Pottery, an art studio located in Historic Downtown Prattville at 173 W. Main Street. She is also the creator of the Alabama Poppy Project, which is a tribute to deceased loved ones who served in our military. She has a great story to share, and I know you’ll enjoy it, please share with friends and family!

We have plenty other good reads this month on how to plan a summer trip with your grandchild, or how about how to get along with the other grandparents…we’ve all been in that place! One of our writers had a firsthand experience with dementia when her husband was diagnosed and she wrote a book about it, and she thinks it’s time to change the conversation around dementia. Our dear friend Greg Budell has discovered the need to get dumb when it comes to our phones, he may be on to something. Finally, Jeff Barganier ask us to run his feature from last July because he is a patriot and has deep concerns about the direction that our country is heading. I agree with some of his concerns, and we all need to be prepared to participate in our democracy when called upon.

There’s plenty more to read and share with your friends but don’t forget to try to complete the BOOM! Word Search for a chance to win $50 BOOM Bucks! Congratulations to Danetta Parker, June’s winner!

Thanks for sharing BOOM! with friends and family, I appreciate it.

Age well my friends. Celebrate Freedom this July 4th!