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Never too Old

      A 10-year-old thinks about being too old to play house or school; a 15-year-old about being too old to collect Barbie dolls; a 40-year-old about being too old to go surfing. This type of thinking can prevent people from enjoying life.

      The 10-year-old may be the next Jamie Escolante. The 15-year-old’s doll collection may become very valuable. A 40-year-old surfer is more likely to be in much better health by continuing an active surfing lifestyle.

      An "I can do" attitude doesn’t have to die at any age.

      Here’s a guy who collected bugs as a kid and became an entomologist:
http://www.comnet.ca/~defayette/newinsects/intro.htm.

      Jaime Escalante was an urban teacher about whom the 1980's movie "Stand
and Deliver" was based -- interesting can do life here:
http://www.bakersfield.com/school/hhm/escalante.html

      And if you're inclined to draw, take a look at someone who did, from his early life till his death at http://www.snoopy.com/ .

                                              Temper Tamer

      The human technological hum of vehicles in the streets blunts the reality of Mother Nature’s sounds.

      In a forest, the wind rushing between the pine needles creates a soft pitch that soothes.

      At the beach, the waves spray white foam, wet whispers floating in the air.

      If your hair is standing on end, and your nerves feel like they’re going to erupt like a volcano, go to the forest, the beach, or the hills and spread your wings running, jumping, and singing with what’s really real.

      Nurture yourself with nature.

      Watch a wave roll in the sea at
http://search.gallery.yahoo.com/search/corbis?p=waves+-dog.
      For serene sights under the sea try these Web sites:
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nurp/index.html.
     Contemplate coastlines of North America at
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/index.html.
      Sunrise…Sunset…Sunrise…Sunset…images at
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/sun/index.html.

Loathing Litter

A woman dangling a cigarette between her lips deeply inhales a final drag while moving her hand to just below the lit tip. Grabbing the butt after her last puff, she flicks it to the ground stepping on it, twisting her foot in a fanning motion.

      The clouds expand wildly in the sky; weather’s taken a turn for the worse. The woman disappears into the rolling darkness. Her slight wheeze pushes a little harder as she trots away. The cloud bursts into an explosion of heavy rain crashing at the ground.

      The butt moves quickly to the gutter, squashed, wet and ugly. It moves along with the gushing water into the sewer system along with thousands more that look just like it. It swishes for miles inside a river of debris: wigs, bubble gum wrappers, oil, Fritos bags, coke cans, and other general filth. Without warning, the water is sucked up by a large sand layer sponge.

     The cigarette butt, along with its sewer pals, sits around a sea wall at the edge of the beach.

      Smoking is bad. Litter is worse.

      America's best beaches are listed at
http://www.petrix.com/beaches/index.html (Keep 'em clean!).
      Get involved in saving one of earth's most valuable resources at
http://www.watercare.net/.
      And last but not least: Keep America Beautiful at http://www.kab.org/.

Stumbling on a Great Day

      "What’ll I wear today? What’ll eat? What’ll do after work? What’ll do when I get home?" our minds chatter.

      Each day, we think about what we have to do, where we have to go, and what we’ll do when we are finished.

      Expand your world to include these questions: What can I do for others?  How can I reach out? How can I make someone else’s day better?

     A compliment here, a helpful hand there will help us to feel better about ourselves.

      Stumble on other ways to improve your day at
http://www.imt.net/~randolfi/esteem.html.
      Hum this Simon and Garfunkel song about reaching out at
http://www.playbill.com/playbill/buckley/records/tlc/ltlc13.html.

Rockin’ Your Arms

Sway right; sway left; up; down. Shake your arms and shoulders to the beat of the music. Watch other slick dancers so that you can learn new body moves. Stay on the dance floor until sweat starts dripping. Enhance the music; tame the blinking lights; scatter your feet about the floor. Meet your endorphins with a smile. Stop, sip a refreshing mineral water, and head back for some more.

      Focus on physical fun.

      Hip Hop and Break dancing at
http://www.msu.edu/user/okumurak/
      Gyrate with the dance of your choice at Dancing A to Z Links
http://www.artswire.org/Artswire/www/dance/name.html.
      Put on those disco boots and shake it at
http://members.tripod.com/discodenny/discodancing.htm.

                                               Snack Attack

      Early morning donuts, and late night pizza causing you to put on pounds? Can’t help it? Have to catch something quick in the morning and don’t have time to eat until late at night?

      "So what!" you rationalize. "The pizza has tomato sauce on it. That’s a vegetable. And the donuts have raspberry jelly inside them and that’s a fruit." Yeah right!

     You can pretty much bet you’ll have some side effects from this -- your face breaking out if you’re a teen, and your back and arms if you’re older.

   Then, even worse, a mass of fat starts forming around your mid-section if you’re a guy, and around your bottom and thighs if you’re a girl.

      Adult onset acne and fat aren’t all bad, because they can be shed at any time, right? Heck no! Yo-yo dieting is the fat evil stepsister from Cinderella. Pounds sneak up during your next binges.

      Begin your diet journey with minor diet changes, a donut every other day or a big plate of steamed veggies or crisp salad at your local health food restaurant once in a while. You’d be amazed at how one can acquire a taste for broccoli.

      Good eating is synonymous with good health, and moderation is the key.

      Are you eating right? Test your eating skills here:
http://exhibits.pacsci.org/nutrition/.
      Use these food guides for healthier eating at
http://monarch.gsu.edu/nutrition/ or http://www.ganesa.com/food/index.html.

Writer’s Block

      A young writer wanted to be published. He wrote a novel and submitted it to a publisher.
      He waited…and it was rejected.
      He rewrote it, resubmitted it… it was rejected again.
      With each rejection letter he received, a feeling of desperation followed. A San Francisco fog persisted in his brain.
      A good friend urged him not to go this alone.
     "Join a writers group," the friend said.
      So the writer joined. When he walked into the meeting of the group, there were 4 people, all older than 75. "I can’t do this," he thought.

      Members of the group waved him to a seat, and to his surprise, he listened to sensible sentences, ingenious ideas, and a picture of the past so vivid, so clever, that he thought he was there. The plots were thick with intrigue; the characters ranged from fickle to remote, so layered that he felt he knew them.

      He learned. They listened to his writings. He took in theirs. He rewrote.  He submitted again. He got published!

      A mind of experience is a mind of hope.

      Writer info and links at http://www.writerworkshops.com/ and at
http://www.writerswrite.com
And for those who are inclined to write stories for kids try,
http://www.scbwi.org/ .

                  Cereal: Getting a Grrreat Start to Your Day

      Looking curiously at the back of the cereal box while eating your favorite crunchy, sweet grains of rice, wheat and/or corn can bring a morning smile to your face.

      The crispy cardboard, enhanced with bold announcements of the awesome stuff inside the box, invites you to jiggle, tap, and slide it around as you deliver the geometric shapes to your mouth with a spoon dripping with milk.

      As you maneuver the box, you notice that, like the box, your personality can be just as interesting. You too can flow like a large cereal box blue ribbon announcing to your friends, family, and the rest of the world a greeting that'll blow their mind, Hey everyone, how the heck are ya!

      Your newly contagious attitude will spread to others as quickly as the cereal disappears from your bowl. Don't leave Tony the Tiger and other cereal box characters disappointed. Put a smile on your face.

      For quick reference about all that goobly gook on your cereal box type in: http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/3278/cereal-guide.html, and don't spill milk on the keyboard!
      Add "Good Morning" (or other fabulous things) to your Web site at
http://www.builder.com/Authoring/Stupid/ss03.html.
      Or, if you're so inclined, watch hungry squirrels and birds (best in the
early morning) at the Squirrel and Birdfeeder Cam (http://birdhouses.com/feedercam.html) while you're eating your cereal. That'll put a smile on your face!

Bright Colors-- Watch that Pocketbook!

     Beware of the effect of bright colors on your wallet and pocketbook. I was standing in Crown Books the other day and noticed a number of books with bright red, yellow and green covers.

      The books screamed, "buy me."

      As I picked up a history book the colors on it invited me to involve my other senses: I felt the book, my fingers touching the smooth binding; I smelled the book, my nose buried inside the freshly printed pages; I read the inviting well-worded text. I wanted the book. I bought the book. When I got home, I even read the book. The problem was that I bought about 10 more books, none of which I had the time to read, all because the colors said grab me.

      In bright red, green, and yellow restaurants I glance at a bright green, blue, red, and yellow menu, and when the waitperson asks that invariable question, I dictate a long list of food items.

      Ditto for the department store where I buy more than I can carry, the clothing store where I buy more than I can fit into my closet, and all those other brightly colored places.

      When I take out my brightly colored charge card to pay for it all, no problem. I feel good. It’s not until I get the black and white bill with a long list of charges when the bright colors disappear.

      Beware of those bright colors!

      Look for the bright colors at http://www.mcdonalds.com/.
      "Shop, click, and win" at Visa International (http://www.visa.com/).