Health and Beauty do not necessarily go together. I have seen very many ugly people who seem to be in great health, for some reason. For years I felt like crap. I went to the doctors, who ran test after test, most of which required gallons of my blood each and every time or else entailed lying perfectly still while they slid me into a plastic tube that was just bigger than my body. I then must lie there WITHOUT moving AT ALL while the machine hums, thumps and sound...

     Gift certificates are wonderful. Yes, they are a bit impersonal. But that is the world we live in. Some people are open enough to share what they want for their birthday or Christmas. Others have so much junk that you have no idea what they want, or if they need anything at all. I suppose you could buy everyone on your list a new Corvette and they wouldn’t complain, but few of us have that ability other than Oprah. Gift certificates give ...

     What isn’t there to love about movies, whether they are on DVD’s, VHS tapes or on the big screen? Movies were a big part of my life when I was growing up… or should I say “getting older”, as there is a difference of opinion as to whether or not I ever grew up at all. Just call me “Peter Pan’, I guess I never really saw the point to it. You die soon enough without labeling yourself in such a manner, is all that I am saying. Anyways, back to t...

  See crafting for the most part, unless we are talking about newer dolls that eat things, poop things or get recalled for ripping little girls’ hair out or having their computer chips replaced by some prankster so that they utter vulgar profanities when activated. Those are not dolls, those are simply mass-merchandised attempts to suck every last dollar out of your pocketbook. And they seem to be doing this very well, judging by the number of new ones that come out...

Crafting is probably one of the oldest hobbies in America’s history. Even the pilgrims crafted, history tells us. On the first Thanksgiving, I am sure that at least one of the Pilgrim ladies gave one of the Native gals an embroidered scrap of linen as a gift. The recipient using it to blow her nose on probably countered the intentions behind this, but it was the thought that was important.

     Crafting flourished in the New World, probably because there were no WalM...

Stereos and televisions and personal MP3 players and such… a few more things that take away from quality time, for the most part, but on rare occasions can add to it if properly applied. “Music is the gift that keeps on giving,” I was recently told by a close friend of mine. Of course, I think they just wanted a copy of a new CD that I had just purchased, but the thought was still a good one. Although I have to say that music has been a great part of my life. It h...

     What can I say about computers and networking, really? I sit here using mine, typing away. I check my email, research my writing, play my online games and Google myriad things on a daily basis. I have met people online that I would never have run into without a computer, and have learned so many things through the Internet that my mind feels nearly overwhelmed. Why, just in my junk email alone today, I got my home loan refinanced, met horny women in my area while b...

     These are things like autographs and baseball cards and movie props, I suppose. That fact that people collect these things astound me, I have to say. These are all things of Man, and will fade into history except for those few people who have no lives other than to dwell in the past. I am not talking about people like archeologists, who study layers of the earth so that they can tell me that 1500 years ago my ancestors ate fried chicken too, because stuff like t...

     Coins are a pain. I think everything should cost an even dollar amount. After I buy things, then the government can get their odd portion. Speaking of the government, am I the only one that thinks that Congress and the House of Representatives are useless and should be dismantled? After all, the President doesn’t have to listen to them, or consult them or anything, that has been proven over the last few years. We can invade a country without them even knowing abo...

     Well, what can I say other than the obvious fact that if we didn’t have these, there would be a lot of ugly people running around naked… so in my opinion, clothing, shoes and accessories are basically a good thing.

    I am not a dresser-upper. That is a fact. I will wear a t-shirt till someone makes me throw it away or it finally self-destructs. Now before you think that I am a slob, I am talking about in the home environment. I know that T-shirts have no pla...

     Cell phones… what can you say? They are a lifesaver at times and a pain at others. There seems to be no escaping them, except for the good old excuses “I must have been out of my area is why I didn’t get your call” and “I guess I left it turned off.” But the few times when I broke down or ran out of gas in the middle of winter a mile from the gas station… that is when they were worth their weight in gold. Talking to that special someone for hours whil...

     My life has revolved around cars, vehicles, and parts. Not so much around boats, I really don’t have much use for water other than making iced tea with it and showering in it. Although swimming pools surrounded by beautiful women do have their allure, I have to admit. Having been born and living most of my life in Kansas, I really wasn’t exposed to the water much. We did have a farm pond, but it was more mud than water, and I am not sure that you could sink if ...

     I enjoy taking pictures immensely, as proven by the boxes of photos that I have. Photos of my children doing all sorts of things, pets, cars, scenery, weather, snow, ice, rain… you name it, I have probably taken pictures of it. Some of the time, I have even had the film developed and have gotten to see the pictures that I have taken. My house has scads of rolls of film lying around that I have never “gotten around to” taking in to get...

     I have worked in the business and industrial fields many times in my life, and quite frankly, didn’t care much for it. It tends to be cold and impersonal for the most part, striving towards “efficiency” and “cost-productive procedures”. Sure, I use products that they make. But maybe they could just be a bit nicer to the people who work to make those products for them, instead of sitting in their conference rooms in their suits ordering in lunch before hea...

     Books are treasures. Books are friends for rainy days and summer afternoons. Books are ideas, and thoughts, and heartfelt feelings and fantasies all squished into little letters and smooshed onto dead trees. Writing these books, on the other hand… is a labor of love. It starts out fun… while the ideas are flowing and you are creating a world of your own, your characters coming to life in your mind, then onto the paper. Then… the work starts. Commas… perio...

     What’s not to love about babies? I especially like other people’s babies. You can play with them, tickle them, toss them into the air… well, maybe not the last, just ask Michael Jackson about that one. But nonetheless, you can have fun with the little tykes. Then when they get fussy and start bawling or stinking… you can just hand them back to their parents and go on about your business. That is the best kind of baby… at times.

    Then th...

     Mass produced art is tasteless and devoid of all character and serves only one purpose… to make your wall fit in exactly with everyone else’s who bought that same lithograph of some woodland scene, beachfront sunset, or dog’s playing poker. While the last is momentarily amusing, after about the first day it simply becomes annoying. Art is an expression of an artist at a particular moment in time. If you copy it, you demean it and lessen its worth. Give me a...

Antiques-

     Antiques are mostly dust catchers- good for little else other than requiring periodic dusting and cleaning. There are exceptions that I do enjoy, though, either for their aesthetic appeal or because of their history. Some token that my children gave me for example, or an item that belonged to an ancestor of mine. A pellet-rifle that was made in Czechoslovakia that belonged to my grandfather, who died before I was born, would fit into this category, as w...