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 LIVING HAPPY     
UPLIFTING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING NEWS FOR OUR MIND, BODY,AND SPIRIT   

From Carole Kane


  Vol. 2  No. 5                                                       February 19, 2012

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Click here to meet our writers, read past issues, and see comments

 

www.livinghappycenter.com  

 

in this issue
Round Squares in a Flat World - by Carole Kane
The Makeup Artist - by Debra Sanchez
Failure is Not an Option - by Dr. Arthur Lewin
Bayeux Lace - by Glynis Hedley
Another Realm: Beyond the Veil - Dr. Brad Holway
The Black Eye - By Dimitra Savvidou
Poetry Corner - "Remorse" - by Ann From England
Think a little, laugh a little

Dear Friends,

Carole Kane

Carole Kane 

M.A., N.C.C. ret.

Welcome to Living Happy,  a nice way to feel and be our best!  Rather than concentrating on all the "bad" news in today's media, Living Happy is  about good, interesting, and entertaining things for everyone.  

 

You will simply love "The Makeup Artist" by Debra Sanchez.  What an amazing coincidence (aka kiss from God).

   

Next, in "Failure is Not an Option" Arthur Lewin counsels us to take part in our children's education and not depend on those who don't think the children want to learn!   

 

Glynis Hedley is back this week with "Bayeux Lace" - taking us to Bayeux, France where this beautiful lace is manufactured, and sharing its very interesting history.

 

Our "Another Realm" corner features Brad Holway's "Beyond the Veil" - a poem about trolls and elves and imps and dwarfs.  Do you think they really exist?

 

Next, we have "The Black Eye" from Dimitra Savvidou.  I have been laughing ever since I first received it... the situation she describes is just - well, funny!

 

We finish off with a poem, "Remorse" by Ann From England, with a nice twist at the end!

 

My article, "Round Squares in a Flat World," is about feeling good and welcoming Spring with a fresh, new outlook.

 

Happy reading!

 

 

Love, Carole XXX OOO

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Round Squares in a Flat World                    By Carole Kane

 

Spring is just a few weeks away. How are we going to look when we take off these baggy sweaters and heavy coats? And - what are we going to do about THAT? Do I hear "go on a diet"? Maybe we should do something else instead. Let me tell you a little story... (I've changed their names so my siblings won't kill me!)

 

On a warm summer evening many years ago, I was sitting in my parents' kitchen with the family. We'd gotten together to celebrate a birthday. There were seven of us, all pretty large people. Waiting for the cake to appear, I felt the usual quick pang of guilt - I really shouldn't have any. I was on a diet. But so was everybody else!

 

Mama was on Weight Watcher's. Daddy was on a salt-free diet. Alfalfa was going to Overeaters Anonymous. Pansy was starving herself. Daisy was drinking high protein malteds in place of meals. Rosie, a little smarter, was going to Elaine Powers to work out. I was hypnotizing myself every day, trying to believe I really hated lasagna.

 

A year earlier, I was going to Weight Watchers, Alfalfa was taking some kind of protein injections for weight loss, Daisy was starving herself, Pansy was between diets, Rosie was on the grapefruit diet, and Mama and Daddy were both following Weight Watchers along with me.

 

Two years earlier, I was going to Elaine Powers, Mama and two friends were debating about the diet doctor down the block, Daddy was cutting down on the bread and cake, Daisy was exercising along with Jack LaLanne every morning, Pansy was on the water diet, Rosie was trying Metrecal shakes with Ayds "vitamin candies" in between drinks; Alfalfa was thinking about hypnosis as an alternative to paying for diet pills every week.

 

I won't go on - you get the idea. NOTHING WORKED EXCEPT THE EXERCISE for as long as whoever was doing it kept it up. I now realize how ludicrous this whole scene was! Seven intelligent people wasting thousands of dollars over the years for a "quick" weight loss.

 

Finally, a hundred years later, a couple of us have embraced the exercise scene, and it is keeping the weight at bay. We're still not skinny, but wow, do we feel good! Alfalfa does the machines; I prefer water exercise, as it is much kinder on "used" joints. 

 

Have you changed your mind about diets yet? I hope so. Let's get up off the comfy winter couch and welcome a walk in the spring sunshine, the camaraderie at the gym, the refreshing pool, and the uplifted spirits we will have after our workout! 

 

     - - Carole -

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The Makeup Artist                                     By Debra Sanchez

 

In the 1980's I was single and free and life was my private little party. I went to Prince concerts dressed all in purple with feathers dangling from my ears. I ran through the concrete streets in four-inch heels as though they were sneakers, sort of like the women in " Sex and the City". The shoes, however, did not come from designer boutiques but most often from Payless; the "city" was the borough of Brooklyn. You might have called my life the poor man's "Sex and the city".

 

One of my favorite things to do in those days was to spend many dollars on makeup and perfume. In my favorite pharmacy I started to encounter a makeup artist I will call Dora Darling. She was about my age with hair just like mine (big) and perfect makeup (lots) and such an intimidating air that she might have been behind the counter of Christian Dior rather than Medical Hall Pharmacy in Brooklyn. As I would walk in, she would haughtily hold out a lipstick and proclaim, "It's perfect for your coloring...I thought of you". Thing is, she was always right. Whenever I wore makeup chosen by Dora, people would comment on my beautiful eyes or my way with a blusher. I came to cherish her, and when she moved on sometime in the late 80's, I missed her terribly.

 

Many years have passed and I now live in New Jersey. I never again had a makeup person like Dora in my life and she was sorely missed until I started shopping in Sephora and met a makeup artist just like her! She was haughty, intimidating, perfectly made up, and always right. After knowing her for around two years I expressed my gratitude for having her in my life and I explained that I hadn't encountered such a true artist since I knew a Dora Darling in the 1980's.

 

Have you guessed? I was speaking to the original Dora Darling, in the flesh, restored to me in Freehold, New Jersey! We didn't recognize each other without the big hair, the big shoes, and the youth. We've had many laughs about it and tell the story to anyone who will listen. I recently told it to a friend who paused for a long moment and said, "So I guess the point of this story is that there is one good makeup artist in the world and you have her!"  
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Failure Is Not An Option                                           By Dr. Arthur Lewin

 

Tell me, how is it possible that we can land a man on the moon, send probes way out of the solar system, spy on worlds impossibly distant in space and time, produce the greatest university system in the world by far, but we cannot teach Johnny, Jamal and Jose how to read?  Ignore those foolish, well paid, empty suits and empty dresses droning on and on about the failure of our schools, as if it's a problem they really mean to solve.   

 

Just as a people get just as much tyranny as they are willing to tolerate, we Americans will have just as much ignorance amongst our native youth as we have a mind to put up with.  As in all things, it is up to us, the people, to set things straight.  

 

Take your kids, and grandkids and neighbor's kids and relative's kids and talk sense to them!  Tell them about the stars in the heavens and the ants in the grass. Tell them about the brain and its hemispheres and all the stories you have heard down through the years. Give them books about whatever you think they would like, even if they are biographies of athletes, or romance novels or sci-fi tales. And when you watch the ballgame with them, tell them why you see the man hit the ball long before you hear the crack of his bat.  Show them how batting averages, ERAs and shooting percentages are formed.  

 

www.picture-book.com 

 Write them stories and musings, and ask to see what they have written or would like to write. Take them to the bookstore and the library, and read the newspapers together. Open the door to knowledge and learning and the possibilities of life.  Don't believe the hype!  Like kids all around the world they have a great thirst to learn. Try and slake it, but you can't. Knowledge is a thirst, a hunger that only grows the

more It's fed.   

Arthur Lewin  

  www.readlikeyourlifedependsonit.com  

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Bayeux Lace                                                                         By Glynis Hedley

 

When I was a child, my father gave me a fine cotton handkerchief bobayeux lace hankyught on a business trip to France. The corner of this tiny square was exquisitely embellished with what he explained was Bayeux lace. At the time, this meant nothing to my infant self, but when I moved to France several years ago, seeing a signpost to Bayeux brought back memories of my father's gift.

 

Of course, Bayeux is perhaps most famous for its tapestry, but I was intrigued to know if hand-made Bayeux lace was still produced and I was delighted to come across the Conservatoire de la Dentelle de Bayeux whilst exploring the town.

Three women sat at tables working on the most intricate pieces of lace. They manoeuvred the tiny bobbins, twisting the fine threads around what appeared to be hundreds of pins, with great speed and dexterity. The designs were intricate, depicting flowers and leaves.  

 

I discovered that in the 17th century, lace was a highly coveted possession but at this time there was no real industry in France and in general lace was imported from Italy and Belgium.  This meant that a huge amount of revenue was leaving France, an unacceptable situation. So, lace-making was established in France and it became law that foreign-made lace could no longer be sold or worn. Astonishingly, there was even a public burning of non-French lace!

 

At the height of the industry there were thousands of lace makers throughout France producing both bobbin and needlepoint lace, but now there are only a handful of artisans still occupied in the profession of hand-made lace.   Today, the Conservatoire makes lace for some of the famous couture houses of France and also accepts individual commissions.

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Another Realm   


Beyond the Veil

By Dr. Brad Holway

Are there other folk besides ourselves?   
I've heard old people tell me tales
Of trolls and dwarves of imps and elves
Seen faintly when the light is pale
And dappled shadows fall on spongy forest loam
'Tis said at dawn and dusk they leave their homes  

In dark sepulchral cavern halls
Half-lit with mystic eldritch light
With shiny flowstone on the walls
And canopies of stalactites
Suspended above elven monarchs' thrones
Of phantom gold and dragons' bones   
dwarf elf
I've never heard an elven piper play
Or gazed into a cave-troll's face
But they're sometimes seen at close of day
By children of the mortal race
Walking through some green and leafy dale
And peering deep beyond the veil.

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The Black Eye                                                              By Dimitra Savvidou

 

Last Friday, I woke up and I felt that something was wrong with my right hand. I felt like I had squeezed my hand under my pillow in a strange position but I was not sure, I could not remember.

 

 I realized that I was feeling a light pain on my index finger. I looked at my palm and I saw that my index finger was swollen. It was double its normal, size but no signs of infection or any type of bruise existed.

 

Anyway, the day went on.

 

The following morning, I woke up, I looked at my finger...no change.  I started thinking that I might suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. You see, I become 50 years old this year...middle age crisis...aging fears, hysteria and so on! (Smiles!)

 

I got ready and rushed to a meeting.  It was a meeting among us, four counsellors, of an organisation dedicated to victims of domestic violence.  Please, note that the day was very bright and I was wearing sun glasses as I was entering in the building where the organisation is located - there is a reason that you need to remember this detail.

 

The meeting went well; we exchanged and shared a lot.  Suddenly, one of my colleagues looked at me and said, "Dimitra, you have black eyes!"

 

I respond, "No, I do not have black eyes, I have brown eyes."  

She repeats, "You have A black eye!"  

I am surprised... "What do you mean?"  

She says: "You have a black eye, as if somebody punched you".

 black eye Ernie

I rushed to the mirror and yes, I had a bruise under my right eye (not really a whole black eye).

 

I said, "Look, I also have a swollen finger..."

 

Everybody started laughing as we realized that I had probably "abused" myself during my sleep!  This case was not just a "domestic violence" case, but  a "self-abuse" one!

 

The main question is how I did manage to sleep throughout, without waking up from the pain or the uncomfortable position of my finger pressing almost inside my eye!

A Mystery!

 

 

Dimitra Savvidou

Writing, Teaching, Counselling  

 www.lovingministry.net

www.lovingministry.org

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Poetry Corner 

 

Remorse  

By Ann*  

 

 I don't know quite how often,

 that night  I called her name.

 I don't know where I went to,

 the streets looked all the same.

  

I never really meant it,

when I told her to go.

'Twas just a misdemenour,

not really bad, you know.

 

Yet off she went like lightning

she took me at my word.

 I shouted I was sorry,

It seems she never heard.

 

And all that night I sought her,

through all the wind and rain.

At last as dawn was breaking,

I turned for home again

 

I didn't really want to,

my temper still I cursed.

But then at last I found her.

 

My cat had got home first

 

 *Ann is Mary Boyette's Pen Friend from England 

 

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Think a Little, Laugh a Little 

 

 Something from the Bar?

A man is sitting in the coach section of a flight from New

dogs lazy
contributed by Jo Pico

York to Chicago, biting his fingernails and sweating profusely. Noticing his disturbed expression,  a flight attendant walks over and says, "Sir, can I get you something from the bar to calm you down?"

The man gives a nod of approval while shaking terribly. Seconds later she comes back with a drink. He downs it quickly and seems to calm down.

Ten minutes later, the flight attendant sees him shaking and biting his nails again. She brings him another drink which he downs immediately. A half hour later she returns to see him shaking uncontrollably, and almost in tears.

"My goodness," the flight attendant says, "I've never seen someone so afraid to fly."

"I'm not afraid of flying," says the man.

"Then what's the matter?

"I'm trying to give up drinking." 

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Why Your Dog Can't Use Your Computer

 

SIT and STAY were hard enough;

CUT and PASTE are out of the question.

The fire hydrant icon is simply too frustrating.

He can't stick his head out of Windows

(Tail wagging is a dead give-away that
 he's browsing www.purina.com instead of working
)

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 "One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life."  

-- Kahlil Gibran --    

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Your Space - For Guest Writers, Ghost Writers, and Commentators

 

THANK YOU!  to  Debra Sanchez, Dr. Arthur Lewin, Glynis Hedley, Dr. Brad Holway, Dimitra Savvidou, and Ann from England for their wonderful articles this week.  And thank you to Jo Pico for contributing the doggy cartoon. 

 

Our amazing group of writers and contributors bring so much to our readers!  If you'd like to comment about their articles, just click on the Living Happy link below.

 

Would you like to contribute an article?

(Whatever form it might be, please try to keep it no more than 250-300 words.)   

    

This Could  be YOU!

Remember, every writer in the Living Happy Writers Group started out by offering a story or article.  You are invited to join this eminent group.  Just submit something - click on the Living Happy link below.  I look forward to  reading your work!   

 

For Comments and to Contact Living Happy  click this link.  

Thank You!    

 - - Carole - - 

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