NOW you tell me...

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God.. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It is never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?"
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

housing opinion

Fifty years ago, when someone wanted to buy a house, they had to have a down payment, and a good credit history. Two things changed. First, the Glass-Steagal Act was repealed, which barred banks from using depositors money for investments. Second, members of Congress - like Barney Frank, insisted that mortgages be made available to people who could not afford down payments, and who earned less money and could not afford payments. Contrary to an earlier comment, this did not mean minorities, it meant poor people. Frank, and others in his party, believed that poor people should also buy homes, homes that they could not afford. They pressured Fannie Mae, etc. And it was done. Soon, people were buying homes with no money, getting cash from the builders and getting mortgages higher than the house value. Speculators joined in, and help drive the rush. Banks sold packages of these loans. It was all fine as long as the house prices rose, then it collapsed. We need to go back to when you had to have a down payment to buy a house, and good credit. No, you cannot give poor people houses. They have to be able to buy them. Frank and his congressional allies were responsible, Countrywide and other institutions made those loans, but so did banks. Was it minorities who bought? Well, some, but it wasn't that they were minorities, it was that those who bought were people who did not have the money to qualify under the old system. And, there were those who were not minorities who bought, and the speculators bought under the same terms designed for poor people. So, now the middle class is forced to pay for all of this nonsense, and Frank will be re-elected because he is in a gerrymandered, bulletproof Democratic district. He has refused to answer any questions about his role in the crisis, as has Nancy Pelosi. They know, but the Press is not really interested in pursuing them. And, the President does not appear to be looking for a substitute for Glass-Steagal. The system is ready for another round. You cannot give poor people houses, and make conditions that speculators will join in. People need to be able to pay for what they want to buy.