May 2008
A Fast Growing Trees suitable for Plumstead Township
Our farm, Highland Hill Farm, is located in solid clay in
Pennsylvania near Plumstead Township close to Doylestown. We
therefore like plants that grow well in clay. An arborvita, the
Green Giant is our favorite. Here is why. The hardiness zone for
the Green Giant Arborvita is from zones 5 to 8. Its evergreen
with rapid growth rates that in ideal conditions can be up to 3
feet per year. Site requirements for the green giant is sun to
partial shade, moist well drained soil but does well in clay,
and needs protection from wind . Its texture is fine with its
form conical being narrow to broadly pyramidal, reaching from 50
to 80′ in height to 15 to 20 feet in width. The leaf is rich
green graceful foliage. It keeps its foliage color in the
winter. The Green Giants flowers/fruit are .5″ erect female
cones. The Green Giant has strong wood, casts dense shade, and
has cinnamon red bark when young. This arborvita does not
tolerate salt spray. This arborvita should outlive even your
children.
Leading Without Integrity - Nu Leadership Series
“A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten.”
John F. Kennedy
Is it really necessary that a leader be high in integrity? Let’s explore this ethical behavior thought in leaders. Malphurs, author of Values-Driven Leadership, explains that organizational values co-exist on two levels, personal and corporate. On a personal level, individuals have a set of core values that dictate their actions. For organizations, these core values guide the operations.
Let’s examine an application. The movie Training Day, with its urban flavor, depicts a rookie cop teamed up with a seasoned veteran, Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). The rookie operates under the virtues of the police force (service, integrity, etc.) while Harris doesn’t. Harris’ ruthless nature gives him street credibility, but Harris’ values are at odds with his organizational values. What happens when leaders don’t align with institutional values?
If leaders don’t adhere to God’s moral framework, they can follow Harris’ path. This occurrence can be contrasted by the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. McGee, biblical author, explains that the works of the flesh are what people do and the Ten Commandments were given to control this sinful nature; however, the Christian life is meant to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23).
Therefore, leaders must follow God’s framework for establishing honorable institutions. Start today!
References:
Malphurs, A. (1996). Values-Driven Leadership. Grand Rapids, MI: Bakers Books.
McGee, J. (1991). Galatians. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Rokeach, M. (2000). Understanding Human Values. Grand Rapids, MI: Bakers Books.
Qwipster.net (2006). Qwipster’s Movie Review on Training Day. Received on March 22, 2006 at http://www.qwipster.net/trainingday.htm.
© 2006 by Daryl D. Green
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Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. He is a columnist, lecturer, professor, and management consultant. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is a doctoral degree in strategic leadership. For more information,visit his website at http://www.darylgreen.org. |
Golf Clubs For Ladies
If you are seeking a set of golf clubs for ladies, there are a few things you may not be aware of. Some of these things may include the use of shorter shafts and grips, as well as lighter club weights to add more forgiveness and distance to the majority of ladies swings. Golf clubs for ladies are built to help the lady golfer gain more confidence on the course.
You can find golf clubs for ladies just about anywhere you would find all other golf clubs made by top quality producing companies like Callaway, Nike, Wilson, Cleveland and a number of others. Shaft are available in ladies flex and club heads have a higher degree of loft to help get the ball in the air for more distance and optimized angle of trajectory.
With golf clubs, including golf clubs for ladies, remember that you do get what you pay for. If you are a beginner golfer, you may want to rent or borrow a set to determine whether or not you like the sport. Once you are decided on being an avid golfer, it would be wise to invest in a set of good clubs. You will achieve better results and will enjoy the game much more. Quality golf equipment may be more expensive, but you will hit the ball further and with more accuracy.
Dean Cecere is writer and owner of “golf-equipment-accessories.com”.
Please visit us for additional info and resources concerning Golf Clubs For Ladies
Thank you and please feel free to use this article providing the above link is left functional.
PPC Advertising
PPC By George Lamberis
What is pay per click? Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is a way
of advertising through search engines. An advertiser pays for
each click that sends a visitor to the advertiser’s web page.
The PPC search engine offers top positions among the sponsored
search engine listings for the particular keywords or phrases
you choose. The idea behind PPC bidding is such that you buy/bid
on keywords that are relevant to your product or service. The
highest bidder gets placed at the top of the sponsored search
results, the second highest bidder gets the next listing and so
on. Every time someone clicks through to your website, you pay
the amount that you bid on that particular keyword.
How it can increase traffic, leads, and sales? -Pre-Qualified
Traffic Bidding on keywords that pertain to your product or
service, actually pre-qualifies the people that visit your
website. You determine how much you are willing to pay/bid for
each click and you only pay when someone clicks through to and
visits your website. This suggests that PPC search engines can
cheaply lead qualified visitors to your website. -Instant
Exposure, Immediate Profits Generally, it takes search engines
weeks and sometimes months to put up your website. If it is
difficult to get to your website via search engines or if you
would like to get the fastest results from the search engines,
then PPC is the most efficient and cost-effective option. Most
PPC search engines will have your website live within a couple
of hours, which means that the your site traffic and sales
increase immediately. -Consistent Top Listings PPC is the
classic method of getting your website at top of sponsored
search results for free. All you have to do is choose keywords
that are related to your website and place them within your web
pages.
As easy as this sounds, for an average webmaster this is usually
a quite daunting and arduous task without any guarantee on the
success. It takes a watchful eye and quite a bit of maintenance.
PPC with Cherryone Web Design http://www.cherryoneweb.com
enables you to focus on operating your core business while we
manage and optimize your online advertising campaign. We have
the ability to monitor and maintain your advertisements’ stats
24 hours a day, to ensure its effectiveness and cost efficiency.
George Lamberi, COO Cherryone Web Design, www.cherryoneweb.com
Turn Your Business’ New Year Resolutions in PR Revolutions
As eyes look forward to a new business year, many small business owners and entrepreneurs are hoping that this upcoming year will be the one that catapults them into success. But according to Shannon Cherry, APR, businesses often overlook a key element when making their business plans and resolutions.
“Most new businesses fail within three years - and it’s often due to the fact that many business owners think that simply hanging up an OPEN sign and placing an ad in the yellow pages will attract customers,” says Cherry, president of Cherry Communications (http://www.cherrycommunications.com), a public relations and marketing firm which helps small businesses, consultants and entrepreneurs to be heard. “What it takes is a marketing strategy that’s effective - and in the case of many small business owners - on a limited budget. They need public relations to turn the resolutions into revolutions.”
She says public relations is one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing available today. “Besides the fact that it’s low cost or no cost, public relations can help establish your credibility. It can position you as the revolutionary leader and expert in your field.”
Cherry suggests including your public relations efforts as part of a year-long, strategic business plan. “As you’re looking toward what you’re going to accomplish in the future, make sure you incorporate different public relations efforts as part of your complete plan,” she says. “That way you’ll be sure to schedule it in, just like any other business task.”
Cherry offers some low-cost public relations strategies to help revolutionize small businesses:
1) Write articles. “Articles don’t have to be long; they just need to be informative,” says Cherry. “Submitting online, as well as offline, provides a good chance to get your name in print at no cost.”
2) Write press releases. “Reporters everywhere are looking for stories, and a press release gives them the information to write that story,” she says. “Just make sure it’s newsworthy, not just an advertisement.”
3) Write a newsletter. Cherry stress a newsletter should contain content valuable to your target market, as well as promote your products and services.
4) Use your business cards. “Think of your business card as a mini billboard and start handing them out everywhere,” explains Cherry. “Include them in all your correspondence and put them in places that they’ll be seen.”
5) Start Speaking. “Speaking in front of an audience usually makes you an expert. People like to buy from experts,” she says. “Speaking is free, and it’s just like making a sales call to many people at one time.”
Cherry says successful companies make public relations a priority. “Whether selling direct, through distribution channels or via e-commerce, a successful company must achieve and maintain a strong market presence through a continuous and effective public relations program.”
About The Author
Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She’s a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get the FREE special report: ‘Get Set For Success: Creative, Low-Cost Marketing Tips to Help You be Heard.’ Go to: http://www.cherrycommunications.com/freereport.htm.
5 Dynamite Low Carb Breakfasts
Fake French Toast
Ingredients
2 eggs
4 T ricotta (or cream cheese)
dash cinnamon and nutmeg
2 pkt Splenda
Heat frying pan. Mix all ingredients together. Melt some butter in small frying pan and pour batter in, spreading a little. Brown on one side, and flip, and brown other side.
Serves 1 big eater @ 4 carbs
This tasted more like a pancake than French toast, but was great, especially with maple syrup. if it’s difficult to flip, cut the pancake in half.
Luscious Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
1/4 cup soy protein isolate
dash salt
little water
Beat eggs well. Add cottage cheese and beat. Add soy powder and salt. Mix well. Stir in a little water, so the batter is not quite so thick. Heat oil in a frying pan, and when hot, spoon pancake batter in. Spread it around a little so pancakes are not too thick. When bubbly on top, turn, and cook until bottoms are done.
Serves 2 @ 5 carb each
Sausage and Egg “Muffin”
Ingredients
6 oz Ital. sausage
6 eggs
1/8 cup heavy cream
3 oz cheese
OPTIONAL: salsa, bacon, onion
Preheat oven 350. Spray 3 super large muffin tins with PAM. Cut up links and put two in bottom of each tin. Mix eggs and cream and salt & pepper. Pour some in each tin. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Pour remaining egg mixture in and sprinkle with rest of cheese. Bake about 20 min.(time may vary) until eggs are done and golden. Remove from oven and let sit few minutes. Use spoon to remove “muffins”.
Serves 3 @ 2.3 carbs
W/O Sausage: 3 @ 1.6 carb
These puffed up about 2″ and were really tasty
Fake French Toast II
Ingredients
2 eggs
dash cream, dash water
dash cinnamon
1 pkt Splenda
1 oz pork rinds (about 1/2 2.25 oz pkg)
Beat all ingredients except rinds. Crumble rinds and let soak in egg mixture until thick gloppy batter. Heat butter in frying pan, and pour in batter, spreading around pan. Fry until brown on one side, flip and brown other side. Serve with maple syrup.
Serves 1 @ 2.3 carbs
This was pretty good, but if you hate pork rinds, don’t try it. The flavor is not real strong, but it’s there.
Almond Vanilla Pancakes
Ingredients
5 Tbsp. almond flour (you could also use other nut flours or even soy flour
1 Tbsp. sour cream
1 Tbsp.water
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
couple of pinches Splenda
1 Tbsp of Vanilla Syrup
2 Tbsp. Oil
Mix all the above together. If the consistency is too thick for your personal taste, splash on a bit more Vanilla Syrup. Pour on nonstick griddle surface (spray spatula with Pam, because they can be a bit difficult to turn). Recipe makes 2 large pancakes. You can use butter or maple syrup on them.
Mia LaCron is the founder of low-carb-diet-blog.info - http://www.low-carb-diet-blog.info - devoted to helping individuals eat a low carb diet.
History of Coffee Timeline!
In the Beginning:
In the Coffee Timeline, myth has it that roughly around the ninth century an Abyssinian goat herder named Kaldi discovered some of coffees stimulant properties.
History of Coffee Timeline:
An unusual timeline of coffee and history for you’re viewing pleasure.
Before 1000 A.D.: When the people of the Galla tribe in Ethiopia, mixed a particular berry ground up with animal fat they noticed a rise in their energy.
1000 A.D.: when Arab traders first brought the coffee bean back to their homeland to farm the bean first time. Also made a drink out of the coffee bean that they called “qahwa”.
1453: Ottoman Turks pioneered coffees for the first time. A little unknown possible fact is that if a Turkish man doesn’t give his wife a daily portion of coffee she can divorce him.
1475: Legend has it that the first known coffees diner opened in Kiva Han making this is one more to add to the history of coffees legend.
1511: The foul Governor Khair Beg of the land of Mecca attempted a ban on coffee for fear of a riot against him. For this act the King of Mecca made coffee sacred and had Khair Beg put to death.
1607: Its believed that North America was introduced to coffees by Capt. John Smith at the Jamestown colony in Virginia.
1615: The Pope Clement the VIII heard of Italian merchant selling coffee and was informed by his priests that coffee was the tool of the devil. Clement, not to be foolish, requested a sample of the coffee and in doing so fell in love with it, so he baptized it and made it a “truly Christian Beverage.”
1645: It’s believed that the first coffee diner opened in Italy.
1652: The first coffee house opens in England. By popular demand more coffee diners open for the rich and commoners. Due to quality discussions the coffee shops were labeled “Penny Universities” because of the price of coffee.
1668: Beer: New York’s City’s favorite breakfast drink was replaced by coffee.
1668: Lloyd’s of London almost the most purchased insurance provider in London became famous from when it first opened as a coffee diner. That travel merchants and insurance salesman frequented.
1672: The first Paris coffee diner opens.
1675: When Franz Georg Kolschitzky escaped the Rebel Turkish Soldier’s in Vienna to lead military aid back to the city. The skedaddling Turkish rebels left behind a bag of coffee grounds. Snatching the grounds as his reward, Franz used the grounds to open Europe’s first coffee diner and in doing so refined the method of filtering the grounds and adding sugar for sweetener.
1690: The Dutch smuggled a coffee plant out of the Arab port “Mocha” for transplantation and cultivation. This is where the name “Java” comes from which is one of the cities that opened a plantation.
1713: Gabriel Mathieu do Clieu in 1723 steals a seedling from France. Within 50 years an estimated 19 million coffee plants, 90 percent of the world’s coffee spreads from this plant.
1721: Berlins’ first coffee diner opens.
1727: Lieutenant colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta woos France’s Governor of Guiana’s wife into stealing and smuggling germinated coffee seedlings in a flowers basket for him. He returns to Brazil from which he was dispatched to settle a feud between the French and Dutch about country border lines, only to have successfully stolen coffee and also settling the dispute.
1732: Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous one-act operetta, the “Coffee Cantata,” was a not so liked operatic criticism of the extraordinary lengths the royal and upperclass took to keep commoners from drinking coffee.
1773: In America the Boston Tea Party allowed the experimentation with and also a popular form of protest when drinking coffee.
1775: As “Prussia’s” Frederick the Greats wealth is diminished trying to stop imports of coffee and the public scorn’s his foolishness he has a change of heart.
1886: Wholesale grocer Joel Cheek names a coffee blend “Maxwell House,” after the hotel in Nashville, TN where it was served.
Early 1900’s: In Germany,”Kaffee klatsch” is coined to describe women’s gossip. At these affairs afternoon coffee becomes a standard occasion.
1900: When the Hills Brothers start packaging coffee in metal tins, they half heartedly kill the coffee shop diners and mills.
1901: Satori Kato Japanese-American chemist of Chicago invents instant coffee.
1903: Sanka is introduced to the United States in 1923. Ludwig Roselius admits a batch of destroyed coffee beans over to chemist’s, who remove caffeine from the coffee beans without losing the flavor. Then sells it as the brand name “Sanka.”
1906: George Constant Washington, an English chemist living in Guatemala, notices a powdery condensation forming on the spout of his silver coffee holder. After experimentation, he creates the first mass-produced instant coffee (his brand is called Red E Coffee).
1920: United States institute prohibition, and coffee sales explode.
1938: Having been asked by Brazil to help find a solution to their coffee surpluses, Nestle company invents freeze-dried coffee. Nestle develops Nescafe and introduces it in Switzerland.
1940: The US imports 70 percent of the worlds coffee.
1942: During W.W.II, American soldiers are issued instant Maxwell House coffee in their ration kits. Back home, widespread hoarding leads to coffee rationing.
1946: Achilles Gaggia finishes his espresso machine In Italy. Cappuccino is named for the resemblance of its color to the robes of the monks of the Capuchin monastery.
1969: One week before Woodstock premier the Manson Family murders coffee mogul Abigail Folger as she visits film maker Roman Polanski with Sharon Tate.
1971: The first Starbucks opens in Seattle’s Pike Place public market.
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Randy works with his son on Ultimate Coffees Info and daughter on Making Homemade Soap. Randy owned and operated a very successful storefront/mailorder business from 1988 to 2003. Currently full time owner/operator of several online businesses.
9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit
As you will see I the Scripture verse I will give you in this
article - there is one very special incredible verse that will
tell you that God the Father wants to transmit 9 specific fruits
of the Holy Spirit up into our personalities.
The first three articles that we have listed in our
sanctification section all set the stage as to what God is
looking to do with each one of us. God wants all of us to enter
into a sanctification process with Him so that He can begin the
process of molding, shaping and transforming us into the image
of His Son Jesus Christ. He wants to make us more holy like He
and Jesus are. He wants to transform us by the renewing of our
minds. He wants to put right thinking into our thought process.
In the first article we have listed under this section titled
“Sanctification,” I gave you the specific verses from Scripture
that showed you that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that
this sanctification process is done with you in this life.
However, you will not be a passive robot in all of this. You
have to be willing to work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit
once He begins to start this process within you.
Your job is to get into the Word to find out exactly what it is
God is going to want to change about you. You will need to find
out what qualities God will want you to try and “put on” into
your personality and what qualities He will want you to try and
“put away.”
This article will be the first of a series of articles giving
you all of the appropriate Scripture verses showing you exactly
which qualities and attributes God wants to get worked into your
personality and which qualities that He will want to pull out of
you.
And there is no better place to start this series of articles
than with the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit. If you want to start
off by keying on some of the more positive qualities that God
would really like to get worked into your personality - really
study and meditate on these specific 9 qualities.
When God the Father purposely isolates and spells out 9 specific
qualities that will be coming directly from His Holy Spirit - He
is really letting you know the extreme importance of these
specific 9 fruits. These 9 fruits are major fruits and qualities
that are coming directly from God Himself, and every Christian
should do the best they can to work with the Holy Spirit in
getting all 9 of these fruits worked into his or her personality.
I’ll first start off by showing each of these 9 specific fruits
so that you can have all 9 of them isolated at the top of this
article. I will then give you the Scripture verse that these 9
fruits are coming from. I will then do a brief commentary on
each one of these fruits so you can fully understand what each
one of these fruits are and how they can dramatically change the
quality of your life and your state of being if you are willing
to allow the Holy Spirit to start to work all 9 of these fruits
into your mind, soul and personality.
Here are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Longsuffering
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
Now here is the specific verse from Scripture where these 9
fruits are coming from:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
(Galatians 5:22)
Before I get into the appropriate commentary on what each of
these fruits are all about, note the following:
1. The word “Spirit” is with a capital “S” - which means that
these 9 fruits are coming directly from the Holy Spirit - not
from us.
2. What this means is that God’s love, God’s peace, God’s joy
and God’s goodness can be started to be transmitted up into your
personality. These are His attributes and His personality
qualities that will start to flow and mesh into the core of your
personality. Think about the ramifications of this - that God
the Father Himself is allowing us to share in a part of His
divine nature by allowing His Holy Spirit to transmit and impart
these nine qualities right up into our soul and personality!
That is why God the Father is specifically telling us in this
verse that these 9 fruits are coming directly from the Holy
Spirit - so that we can fully appreciate the magnitude of such
an experience.
Jesus has already told us that He is the vine and that we are
the branches. The branches draw their life from the vine - not
vice versa. Just as the branch draws its life from the vine - so
we too draw our life directly from Jesus. Jesus will release His
life to us through the Holy Spirit in exactly same way that the
vine will release the life of the tree into the branches.
In one short, but incredible powerful Scripture verse, God the
Father is giving all of us an incredible revelation on what can
go on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm for those that
are willing to work with Him in this sanctification process.
The Secret Power in Business
Many years ago when I was just starting my first business, a very good friend said to me “If you can’t go out and promote what you’re offering, go get a real job with a paycheck at the end of the month, because you won’t make it on your own.”
Blunt, eh?
At the time I was mortally offended at his attitude. But over the years I’ve eaten many slices of humble pie in front of him because I realized he was right all along. While I was blinded by the exhilaration and excitement of doing something I loved, I wasn’t so keen to look at the realities of what it takes to run a successful business.
I’ve learned a lot since then those heady days. One of the things I learned is that business activities fall into 3 categories.
1. Marketing and selling your product or service
2. Delivering your product or service
3. Administrative tasks
I deliberately put marketing and selling in the first place because if you don’t market and sell successfully you won’t have any clients to deliver to and you certainly won’t need to do any admin.
Many entrepreneurs don’t like to hear this. Like myself many of us go into business so that we can do what we love. We focus on building the skills our professions require. Taking more classes. Attending yet another seminar. Reading more books. Catching up on the latest methodologies. The education is never-ending because there’s always something new and exciting to learn.
But when it comes to getting the word out, we stumble.
For me the big breakthrough came when I stopped thinking of myself as a writer, consultant or coach and I started seeing myself as a marketer whose top priority was marketing my business.
And the most surprising part of this? My shift in mindset has not affected the quality of work I turn out for my clients! It did however mean overcoming some negative emotions around marketing and selling.
Admin tasks can be delegated. And unless you’re offering something highly specialized that only you can do, delivering your service or product can often be hired out as well.
But if you’re the kind of person who can generate tons of leads, persuade someone to call or come by to find out more, and then turn that person into a paying client, you become the indispensable rock that your business is built upon.
Would you rather focus on what you do, become brilliant at it but struggle to pay the bills, or are you willing to be content with “less-than-perfect” and become a marketer who puts the emphasis on spreading the word so that you have a steady stream of clients and a booming business?
Now it’s your turn: What’s holding you back from becoming a “marketer” rather than a “provider of services or products?”
Copyright 2006 Maggie Dennison
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Maggie Dennison is a Marketing Consultant and Writer. She is the author of “11 Steps To Marketing Materials That Get You Clients NOW!” Maggie holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology, and is fascinated with what triggers people to do the things they do. And that’s exactly what marketing materials are all about. Pick up a free report “11 Hot Keys to Website Content That Works” at her website http://www.MyMarketingMessage.com. |
The Secret Weapon To Beat SARS Is In Your Head
Just when you thought you had all the fun you could possibly handle with Saddam Hussein, North Korea, Al Quaeda and the winter that just won’t die, along comes SARS - severe-acute respiratory syndrome.
I recently fielded a call on this subject from one of my biggest fans: “You moron. What do you mean we can fight SARS with our heads? Can’t you see? We are all going to die. Die. Die, I tell you.”
“Please, mother. Don’t panic. Panicking will only make it worse.”
“What do you mean make it worse? How can it be any worse? People are dying all over the place. It’s all over the news. Every day. This is just horrible.”
“So far, out of six billion people on earth, only about a hundred have died. Most of those are on the other side of the planet. That’s not good for them, but the risk for us is way smaller than it seems.”
“Then why does it seem like it’s everywhere? Why won’t the TV people stop talking about it?”
“Well, the TV people have all sworn a secret oath. They are to maintain high professional standards, report the news as objectively as possible and do whatever is necessary to scare people to death. See? It’s simple.”
“I don’t know …”
“Sure, mother. Why do you think that if somebody walks into a McDonald’s and blows away a table of nuns, it makes the headlines all over the country, but when 500 thousand people walk into McDonald’s and order Big Macs that same day, there’s not a peep out of the media.”
“I don’t know dear.”
“Why do you think we always hear about airplanes crashing to the ground, but never about airplanes taking off safely? Three hours late, mind you, but safely nonetheless.”
“Well …”
“And why do you think that the media focus on the handful of politicians involved in bribery, corruption, sex, violence, nepotism, pick-pocketing, slander, lying, demagoguery and falsifying their resumes, when they could probably find a handful of upstanding, honest politicians?”
“OK, dear. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps the media is blowing this politician thing out of proportion. But what about SARS?”
“SARS is simple. We all fight disease best when we are less stressed. So everybody should take a vacation and relax on a Mexican beach. Then SARS would be defeated.”
“But dear, do you really think six billion of us can fit onto a Mexican beach?”
“I suppose not. Which means we must take other measures to avoid stress. We can start by avoiding stressful situations, such as malicious colleagues, cantankerous in-laws and violent movies.”
“OK, I’m taking notes.”
“Make sure you get plenty of sleep.”
“Why? Does SARS leave people alone while they sleep?”
“No, but well-rested people fight off diseases better than worn-down, tired people.”
“OK, what else?”
“Keep fit. Eat nutritious meals and get plenty of exercise.”
“But won’t exercise just wear me down? Then I’ll be a sitting duck for disease.”
“Don’t exercise THAT much. Just enough to keep fit. And pray.
“I can do that.”
“And don’t pick on people with slanted eyes. Believe it or not, people are keeping clear of anybody who looks Chinese. I know many people of Chinese ancestry who have never even been to China. I know people born in China who have not been there for years. Why avoid people based on their ancestry, when SARS began just a few months ago?”
“I make decisions based on ancestry all the time, dear.”
“You do, mother?”
“Sure, why do you think I am your biggest fan?”
About The Author
David Leonhardt is the Happy Guy, author of “Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness”. Sign up for your free “Daily Dose of Happiness” at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html, or visit the Self-actualization Resource Center at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-articles.html.
info@thehappyguy.com