It wasn’t anything close to a felony. Even as misdemeanors go, it was pretty minor. Still, I didn’t want it forever on my record. Or, even worse, my conscience. My husband and I were returning home from an 800-mile road trip. I bought a cup of coffee at a gas stop along the way, and on my way out of the store, I glanced at a rack of maps and brochures—the kind of promotional and complimentary material found at many rest stops and convenience stores [...]
I was on the treadmill at the health club when an elderly gentleman walked by and greeted a man who was on the treadmill next to me. “Trying to get in shape?” he asked him. “Just trying to stay alive,” his friend replied. This reminded me of a comic strip I saw once that pictured a doctor with a clipboard talking to an overweight man who had just completed a physical. The doctor glanced at his clipboard, then asked the man, “Which fits in better [...]
I’m pouring my heart and soul into my New Year’s Resolutions this year. Actually, it’s the other way around, and I expect my resolutions to make a noticeable difference in my life – my heart, my soul, my attitude and my concentration. All in just 20 minutes a day. While trying to decide what my New Year’s Resolutions would be this year, I thought about all the advice I hear regularly about things we should do first thing in the morning. Exercising, for instance, to [...]
They spoke with eloquence and a bit of humor. They spoke with wisdom and a lot of experience. They were members of a new Toastmasters club, and were giving a presentation at our recent Toastmasters conference. The man who transported them to the conference waited in the back of the room till they were done speaking, at which time he would take them back to prison. The three presenters were from a nearby Federal Prison Camp, a minimum security facility that the men now call [...]
It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of doing, and that I’ve started a number of times but never quite finished. I’ve helped others do it, and I’ve done it twice as part of a larger group, but never on my own – until now. I’ve just published my first book. I don’t know which was more exciting, holding an actual copy of the book with my name on the cover, or seeing the book listed on Amazon, which made me feel like a “real author” [...]
I’m getting ready to take a walk this summer – a very long walk. In fact, I’m planning to walk around the world. I won’t be doing this alone. I’ll be with a group of women who work out at the Curves in Chanhassen. Curves often sponsors events and activities that give us extra incentive to keep up or ramp up our exercising. Sometimes it’s a game, such as Bingo cards in which each square says something like “Work out three times this week” or [...]