I was in Bob Runyan's homeroom 12 years ago today when I first heard what was going on. I saw he was nervous flipping through channels on the television and I thought Al Queda just bombed another embassy or something and then I saw The Trade Center in NYC smoking.
Then he received a call, flipped to NBC and said, "They hit the Pentagon too." That's when I realized the Trade Center wasn't an accident and we were being attacked. It was one of the scariest days of my life. Coverage on every station from ESPN to Cartoon Network. I remember the sights of people jumping out of buildings, ash flooding the streets of New York City.
I remember wondering who would do such a thing. I remember the police and firefighters doing what they could to save as many lives as possible sometimes sacrificing their own life. I remember George W. Bush in an elementary school addressing the situation.
The terrorists took 2,977 lives on 9/11/01 and today is a day to remember those who perished, but also to let other countries know we persevered and we are still strong. This did not crush our country. The United States stood strong and fought back, ultimately catching Osama Bin Laden. Thank you to all of the service men and women who defended our country in light of the attacks and we will never forget 9/11/01 just like Pearl Harbor before. Stand strong. I'm proud to be an American. We won't let those who hate that we are a free country bring us down.
Deaths by Area of Attack
Deaths
World Trade Center
2,606
Airlines
246
Pentagon Building
125
Hijackers
19
Total number of people who died in the 9/11 attacks
2,996
Casualties in the World Trade Center and Surrounding Area
Deaths
Residents of New York
1,762
Persons in North Tower (Tower 1)
1,402
Persons in South Tower (Tower 2)
614
Residents of New Jersey
674
Employees of Marsh Inc.
355
Firefighters
343
Employees of Aon Corporation
175
Port Authority police officers
37
Police officers
23
Paramedics
2
1 firefighter was killed by a man who jumped off the top floors
Casualties on the Airplanes
Deaths
American Airlines Flight 11 (North Tower)
87
United Airlines Flight 175 (South Tower)
60
American Airlines Flight 77 (Pentagon)
59
United Flight 93 (Shanksville, PA)
40
Casualties inside the Pentagon
Deaths
Military and civilian deaths
125
(Courtesy http://www.statisticbrain.com/911-death-statistics/) As I sit here, working in Cincinnati's largest tower, I feel safe. I feel like that because of our military and the safety measures airports take now. The next time you complain about the way TSA handles things, remember why they are doing it, to protect you. Freedom isn't always free and I'm willing to wait a little longer and even get stripped searched if it guarantees my plane isn't going to get hijacked and slammed into a building. Quote of the Day: "We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."-President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks.
Song of the Day: Have you Forgotten by Darryl Worley
After a long time of not writing a Relationship Advice column, I thought I'd bring it back and clear off the cobwebs. I proposed it to facebook and the first person to respond asked me this:
The Cheater AKA The Hypocrite
The Question: I need advice on something.... How do you forget about someone you care so much for, but doesn't care about you?
The Background: Ok. I was kinda
seeing this guy. The one I told you about from pof. I have been seeing him
since October. So, we said we were dating and he ended sleeping with someone
else and lied to me about then eventually told me about it ( after sleeping
with me first!!!) So, then we made an agreement that we would be together but
see other people, but only one other person besides us two. Well, one night he
came home with me and while I was passed out he went through my phone and
didn't like what he saw. Now, he acts like we never had anything. I have done
so much for him its not even funny and I care for him so much it hurts. I just
can't do it anymore, its emotionally breaking me down.
This is a picture off of Google and not the actual subject of this column.
My Advice:Wow, yeah that is deep.
The lying in the beginning for him is a big deal because he waited to tell you
after he slept with you. I mean early on in relationships people tend to paint
themselves in another light to make themselves seem better than they really
are. It's natural everyone does it. I read somewhere like 85% of people lie
about something in their first ten minutes of the first date. If you think
about it, it's kind of like how you make yourself look good in a job interview.
You fix yourself up, you only bring up good things about yourself, and on job
interview day, you are the best person you can possibly be even if it is a
little skewed from your true self.
With that being said, he didn't lie to you on
your first date, he lied to you until after you made whoopie with the dude. I
think that is worse. He is like a lot of men and don't realize how important
that step is. It attaches a women to him at a different level than they ever
were before. In this case I almost feel like he waited to tell you to have you
attached enough that you would agree to stay rather than break off the
relationship. He got what he wanted; to still have you but also to have someone
else which is disaster waiting to happen. No matter how much you tell yourself
you don't care (and this obviously happened with him) jealousy does creep up
and it will cause tension in the relationship and ultimately lead to its
demise, which is what happened in this one when he went through your phone. You may have put a lot of hours into this but honestly, I think you never fully got him back when he cheated on you.
He may have felt guilty and that's why he told you or maybe it was because he wanted to gain your trust back. Either way, it didn't make up for his betrayal. Being in an open relationship is difficult mostly for the reason of jealousy. It is always boiling inside, especially if you do so much for someone and they are off with another girl. That is hurtful, and he was being very hypocritical to you by leaving you after seeing your
phone. That's why open relationships struggle because no one is ever on the
same page. Now you are an emotional wreck, and you can't get him off your mind, which can kind of be attributed to the theory of you want what you can't have.
You've been fighting for this man since the
cheating phase of the relationship. It takes time to stop having feelings for
someone. As I stated many times, it takes about half of the amount of time to
get over someone as the relationship lasts. So you still have time that you
will be hurt. You must cope though, and learn from what happened. You should realize that it wasn't a waste of time and pick up the pieces. Honestly, as a woman, you deserve better than what he was giving you and there are better men out there willing to take your hand. The pieces of your heart, can and will be put back together. You don't even need all the kings horses and men to do so.
You just need to believe in yourself and move on. I think it is best for both
parties. I feel like if you continue on with him, and he ultimately accepts you
back, the relationship will get more and more miserable, and the point of life
and relationships is happiness, and if sadness and anger outweigh the
happiness, it's unfortunately time to move on.
Her response: Trust me, I
agree with you 100% its just so hard to try and move on because my feelings are
all still there and won't go away. Plus, I know he is seeing someone else and
that just hurts and pisses me off, because we had such good times together and
now he is just throwing that all away. I mean damn, I forgave him when he
fucked up.
My advice: I know he does
need to realize all you went through to keep him and the fact he's with someone
else makes it all the more hard. It makes you think, what the hell? Why wasn't
I good enough? When in reality, he's not good enough for you. The fun times are
hard to forget and you shouldn't. After all, they were an amazing part of your
life, and I understand the feelings are still there and are strong, but with
that being said, it's like worrying. There's no point in worrying because it
doesn't make anything better. There's no point in thinking about him, because
it won't make it better. Somewhere the feelings were lost on his end and it
takes two. I know it's hard to believe now, but the feelings will definitely go
away. You will get back on your feet. That is a promise. It's never easy to
part with someone you felt so close to. It seems like it will take an eternity,
but sooner than you believe things will get better and he will simply be your
past.
Her response: Yea, and I
know he needs to be my past, but honestly I don't want him to. I just want
things back to the way they were.
My Advice: I
unfortunately don't think they ever will. Sometimes what you want and what you
need are two different things. There is life out there beyond him and you need
to be strong.
Her response: Thank you
so much David. You have really made me feel better, I know you are right and
from this point on right now, I'm going to start being strong.
My conclusion: you're
welcome, I’ve been through having to move on before and it was never easy
especially for someone you have super strong feelings for. They will still
creep in the back of your mind but once you meet the right guy, those will stop
and you will forget all about this dude.
Another person also asked me for advice and it was a completely different situation than the previous one.
A Blast from the Past
The Situation: A man who was broken up with sent flowers a month later to the woman who broke up with him, proclaiming on the card that he had been thinking about her every moment of the past month, waiting on her to come back. The man also sent her a text saying, "hi." The thing is this guy was instructed not to contact this woman until she contacted him first. He agreed and had gone a month until last night when the flowers and text were sent. There is a new man in this woman's life and she assumed the flowers were from him and they ended up being from this guy from earlier. What should she do. For purposes of confidentiality, we will call the man Woody and we will call the woman Bo Peep.
Background: Woody was someone who Bo Peep met on a dating website. The first few dates were amazing and they hit it off well. Then life got in the way. Both were busy with work and Woody didn't make much time to get with Bo Peep. Bo Peep then kind of lost interest. Woody was off hanging with his best girlfriend and ex-girlfriend. Bo Peep didn't like this much so she basically told him it was over. Woody then got really creepy and started trying really hard to win Bo Peep back. Bo Peep wasn't having it. She ignored him more and more. Woody showed up at Bo Peeps house after sending flowers, but Bo Peep wasn't home. He would buy her item after item and try and get her to go on more dates. He also said in a card that there would be rough times and they can fight through it. They only have been dating for a small time and this card was for like a longer termed relationship. Anyway, Bo Peep finally met up with him and talked him into backing off, and said she would make first contact, which brings us to now.
My advice: Bo Peep should not respond. There is no need to open this can of worms. The guy, although sweet kind of seems creepy with the fact that he's been thinking of her all month. Some may say that's true love, but it does take two and the ship sailed on Bo Peep long ago. I feel like she shouldn't even talk to the guy because it gives him false hope and she is happy with this new guy so far and she shouldn't screw that up. Although it was a nice gesture, he needs to come to the realization it is the past and he needs to let it go. He didn't take the nice hints so sometimes it's best to take the harder way.
Winner of the Day: The people who checked this paper.
Loser of the Day: Riley Cooper of the Eagles. He used the "N" word saying he will fight every "N" here at a concert. It's the digital era Riley!!! Of course that will be taped by someone. Now all your teammates and all of the league want your head and I don't blame them. You ruined your image.
Quote of the Day: "All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy."
I graduated from Bellevue High School back in 2003. It has been ten years since I walked out of the building for the last time as a student. In those ten years since my departure, Bellevue has been in the news twice for student-teacher sexual misconduct. Bellevue is a small town. Pretty much everyone knows everyone, meaning everyone knows everyone else's business. My graduating class had 47 students which is pretty small for a public school. In this small environment, one develops tight relationships with most everyone in the school. There aren't really clicks. The jock and the nerd in many instances are friends in a school like Bellevue. I hung with many different people in my time in Bellevue and knew pretty much everyone in the whole school. I know the teachers did too. I had close relationships with some of the teachers there. Not inappropriate by any means, but I feel the teachers feel a tighter bond with students at a school like Bellevue. There were some attractive teachers in my day. I mean one was a Ben-gal cheerleader. It seemed every year the Home-Ec teacher got hotter and hotter. For some reason they only stayed a year which confused me. Guys would make flirtatious comments to the attractive teachers from time to time, but none of them were serious. I mean I went to high school right after the Mary Kay Letourneu news story broke. Mary Kay was Vili Fualaau's 6th grade teacher when she started having an affair with him. Mary was married and had a family. This didn't stop her from doing what she did with the student she met when he was just a 2nd grader. I remember watching the made for TV movie on USA and it was something that just memorizes you into viewing. It's an intriguing story. I mean I'm sure all guys in this world have fantasized about being with a female teacher. If a male teacher, does this to a girl, it's creepy. When it's a woman who does it with a male student, it is hypnotizing. Mary was an attractive teacher with a home, a family, and she taught which is what she loved doing. She threw it all away for a 6th grader. Why do these women do this and what fascinates the public so much about cases such as this?
Mary Kay Letourneu
Bellevue's most recent scandal involves Sally Wyatt who is being accused of having inappropriate relations with one of her former students. She's a 25 year old graduate of Morehead State. She almost could pass as one of the students. She doesn't look any older than the student she is accused of having relations with. She coached cheerleading (by the way is cheerleading a sport? I guess so if people were getting bars for it), and track. The student was on her track squad. From what I hear, the student was asked to be a summer "running partner" with Mrs. Wyatt, notice the Mrs. instead of Ms. She is married to her high school sweetheart. Anyway, apparently a girlfriend of the student uncovered texts between Wyatt and the student and of course. Wyatt then resigned and Twitter/facebook began blowing up. The boy's facebook page was littered with "you're a legend" and more compliments.
Sally Wyatt
Sally was the perfect recipe for someone who could get trapped in this web. She was a beautiful teacher who looked no older than the students. I'm sure boys were hitting on her constantly. She was in her own relationship since high school and never got to explore being single. She was most likely pretty popular in high school and wanted to relive the old days. She may have wanted to feel control over someone younger. Her mistake was giving out her number. You can't do that. She may have done it innocently enough, but I believe you have to know personal things will be talked about. That can't be done. She's got to be the adult. None of this is okay. Sarah Jones ended up staying with the student she had relations with and so did Letourneu. We don't know what the future holds for Wyatt but I doubt the husband will take her back nor should he. All the adolescent boys find it to be a game, and if you get the teacher then you win and apparently you're worshiped. They don't weigh the consequences of the lives they may be affecting by having this affair. That's why all the responsibility needs to go on Wyatt. She may never teach again. She may have to rework her way up in a new career like the other Bellevue teacher involved in one of these. Teachers need to draw a line. I know it's a lot different and harder now with social media but don't get in the profession if you don't think you can handle it. I do feel some sympathy for attractive teachers in the profession though, because they are constantly getting flirted with and guys are constantly trying to get with them, but you need the mental will power to handle it.
The previous Bellevue teacher wasn't very attractive and I believe hers was to try to live high school the way she wished it had gone the first time. She would have parties with the popular kids and things like that and that shows me that she wanted to relive those days. I've come to the conclusion that it just takes one reason for these ladies to do what they do. Letourneu was the gate opener and now with social media it has become easier and more commonplace for these women to interact with students. They need to be more careful. These boys are horny and young and they can lure these women in especially if they are tired and bored of their lives, trying to relive their younger days, or trying to live a new past. Sometimes the women can be predators like Nicole Howell who would invite kids from Bellevue to her bar to flirt and ultimately got in trouble for some things that happened in Dayton, and some could be prey like Andrea Conners from Highlands who I believe boys talked her into crossing the line.
Andrea Conners
Either way, the adult HAS to be the adult. You have to stop it and never even tow with the line. These women look ridiculous and the sad part is many of them are married. I suggest that they doll down and don't require them to wear makeup and try to look attractive to the students. I know that's impossible but I think I remember hearing in the Conners case that she started dressing up more and more for school when she started developing feelings for this boy.
The reason this is all intriguing to us as a public is that it involves women and men all have had that fantasy as a kid (It's intriguing in the way that the movie The Graduate is intriguing where Dustin Hoffman is getting seduced by a much older women).
The Graduate
I believe it also is so shocking but it's kind of becoming more and more common that when you see an attractive teacher you almost expect to see her on the news in a few years. It's sad that the world has come to that. Educators should be educators and nothing more. To me, school has changed a lot since I went 10 years ago. Every kid has a cell phone and they are learning on IPads. Myspace didn't even exist and we weren't sleeping with our teachers. I blame the system, technology, and most of all the women who do it. Some to feel young again, and some to feel wanted again. Whatever the reason I blame them.
Winner of the Day: The Dinosaurs, because they left when they were on top and didn't stick around long enough to see our world go through the craziness that it is now.
Loser of the Day: Ryan Braun. The guy lied about taking steroids, basically claimed he was screwed over by the system and animatedly stated he was wrongfully accused and ruined another man's life then takes a deal and admits he took them all along. This guy is lower than dirt, almost as bad if not worse than Lance Armstrong.
Qute of the Day:"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety. Other women cloy the appetites they feed, but she makes hungry where most she satisfies."-William Shakespeare Song of the Day: Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel
Goosebumps book of the Day: The Abonible Snowman of Pasadena
I have eclipsed 10,000 views since the last time I wrote. I want to thank everyone for reading my blog. I know sometimes it's pointless but I have loyal readers and for that I am grateful. I have some haters, but those haters read and every view means the same to me, so I thank the haters too. Here are a few stats for you: It took me 122 blogs to get to 10,000 views, averaging almost 82 views a blog. My first blog I wrote on this site was written on August 29, 2011, called The First One. Here is a little excerpt from my first blog, which if you click the link you can read the whole thing but I know most of you are too lazy so here is a part of it...
"Most overrated item of the day: Hurricane Irene. This thing is no Katrina. She sucks. Okay so she caused a little rain up the east coast. These same people were complaining about a lack of rain a couple years ago. You can't have it both ways."
I did not start blogging on August 29, 2011. I actually started blogging on MySpace way back in the day. I would've let you all see some excerpts from it, but I just logged on to MySpace to review my blogs and they deleted everything: photos, blogs, comments, about me, posts, and everything else. I still logged on from time to time to view my old blogs. There were a lot of items on there that I liked to go back and read and view. A lot of my really good old work was on there, including the origin of many things including the beginning of my "Winner of the Day" section and my "I Believe" sections. Come to think of it I am really angry Justin Timberlake and MySpace deleted all of my information without notice. In reality people don't use MySpace anymore. They go there when they want to look up something from the past, not to social network. It was more of an archive. Here is an article I found regarding all of this that you may want to read, because I'm sure there are others who would like some of their old MySpace stuff and can't access it anymore. I was completely unaware any of this was happening and they didn't give me a chance to save my work. http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/12/bring-the-blogs-back/
Anyway back to this being a joyous blog. I have 10,000 views on this one so I'm trying not to care about the 100's of blogs I wrote that are missing from cyberspace due to the doucher in the picture above. Another stat, my most read blog since August 29, 2011 was
The Pregnancy Story, NKU goes D-1, the Rock & Roll HOF, & Lindsay strips down. The only reason I can figure why is because in the title I talk about Lindsay Lohan stripping down. Internet traffic is dictated by perverts so I'm going to say that's what drove this to the top. Here's an excerpt from my #1 most popular post (I promise guys this is not one of my better blogs so don't judge):
"Here's what I'm going to write about...today waiting at the bus stop, I looked down and there, on the ground was an EPT wrapper. For those of you who are still clueless, and EPT wrapper means pregnancy test. It got me to thinking this girl who threw this out must have a story. Maybe it was a prostitute making sure she wasn't knocked up. Maybe it was someone who was raped, scared to tell anyone her story. But here's the story I think is most likely closest to reality:
Carrie, an average looking 15-year-old sophomore in high school, planned on waiting until marriage. Guys never really went up to her to ask her to hang out, and all she wanted was to be noticed. The previous summer, she started a diet and lost 15 pounds. She developed breasts and got a job at a local Arby's. She was able to shop at the American Eagles and Victoria's Secrets of the world. Her first day of her sophomore year, yeah the boys noticed. They looked twice. Colin, a star full-back for the 1st place Mustangs, really noticed.
He'd joke with his buddies, "Wow, what happened to Carrie? She got hot. I'm gonna hit that before this year's over." Colin went old school. He wrote a note which read,
Hey Carrie,
I know you aren't the party type, but if you come watch me in my game this Friday against those losers over from Lyle County, Mike's having a little get together over at his parents' place. They buy us alcohol and everything but you don't have to drink if you don't want to. I'd just love to see you there. It will be a big celebration because I know we're going to win!
Love, Colin
Colin was slick. He stuffed the note through one of those little vents in her locker. When Carrie opened the locker, the note floated to the ground. She picked up, folded in the paper football shape, and looked left and right to see if anyone was playing a cruel joke. Carrie slowly unfolded the note and mumbled it to herself. A big smile whipped across her face.
"So are you going to go?" Colin whispered as the two sat next to each other in class.
Carrie looked at Colin in a shy way and asked, "Why me?"
Colin fed her the line that it was because she was the only girl he notices and she is gorgeous and all that jazz. As he was saying these things, Carrie felt as if she was floating.
(Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog for more of the story)"
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe you should take chances and put everything you ever believed to be true on the line for one chance. I believe in Heaven and Hell. I also believe this world has traits of both in it. I believe that there truly is one person for everybody and you have to fight for them no matter how stacked the odds are. I believe that Casey Anthony did it but not guilty should have been the verdict. I believe that life is what you make it. I believe in being conservative but also risk taking. I believe that all of this conference shuffling in the NCAA is ridiculous and shows how disloyal people are over a little money. I believe you should never jeopardize your morals for anything. I believe in being loyal. I believe in hope. I believe that Tecmo Superbowl needs to be played again. I believe Serena Williams is on steroids. I believe Mike Tyson is misunderstood. I believe that the past is what you learn from but think about the future. I believe that "life happens while you're busy making other plans" thing is true. I believe Carson Palmer is irrelevant to conversation anymore so please analysts please stop bringing it up. I believe Nesquick is the best chocolate milk. I believe that designated hitters shouldn't be considered for the Hall of Fame. I believe that fate is something you can't ignore. I believe in the right to gamble. I believe in others before self. I believe in surprises. I believe that love makes you do crazy things. I believe that the heart is more pure than the mind. I believe in making someone smile each day. I believe Pete Rose should be reinstated into baseball. I believe Brooklyn's Finest is underrated. I believe in puns. I believe in throwing out all the rules for one thing. I believe Dontrelle Willis deserved better than one win. I believe manatees are fun to watch swim. I believe Michael Jordan tells it like it is and deserves to be cocky. I believe in magic or else how could I have stumbled upon her."
I write what's on my mind. It's what's going on in my brain. I write to relieve stress and I write to stay stress free. This is a tribute blog to my readers and I want to thank all of you unless Tom from MySpace reads this, then I just want to beat your ass. I hope you all enjoy reading these as much as I've enjoyed writing, and I'm sure you are wanting new material, so here is what I have, but still go read the old blogs. You will laugh and cry I promise:
Winner of the Day: Aaron Hernandez. He was just charged for murder. He played tight end for the Patriots. He will still have a job, playing tight end, for someone in prison now. He also will get three square meals and us taxpayers will pay for it so he has it nice.
Loser of the Day: Tom from MySpace. God I just want to hurt him bad. I spent several moments writing those blogs of memories. I wish he knew how important they were to me.
Quote of the Day: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill
Song of the Day: 10,000 Angels by Mindy McReady (God rest her soul)
Nicholas Cage Over-acting Moment of the Day: From Con Air
What is happiness in its purest form? Is it the innocent laugh of a newborn babe or a relaxing getaway with the love of your life on a vacation of a lifetime? Maybe it's the joy of a player hitting the game winning shot or kissing your new wife for the first time. The truth is (no I'm not playing that facebook status like game) happiness can be defined in several different ways and is not guaranteed, which is why Thomas Jefferson put "the pursuit of happiness" in The Declaration of Independence. My mom always says, "Life is what you make it," and there isn't a phrase that can be more true than that. Money doesn't make people happy. Sure the more money you have may take away some of the stresses you have in life but money also creates more stresses. That doesn't mean you can't be happy when you make money but I'm also saying you can be happy and not have a dime to your name. Look back at my mom's saying. Life is really whatever you want it to be. This world is just a blank canvas and we all have a different set of paintbrushes, but it's not about the cards you were dealt, it's more about how you play those cards. I'm using way too many analogies and cliches to get my point across, but I think happiness can be achieved all by how you carry yourself. Here are a few life lessons, free of charge on how to pursue happiness:
Don't be miserable and pessimistic. Sure things may not go your way but you can't sweat them. Life is too short to be angry at petty things, or even big things for that matter. Look at the lady from the Oklahoma tornadoes a few weeks ago. Barbara Garcia lost her entire house, but in the rubble she stayed optimistic and thanked God she at least had life, and then her dog, came crawling out of the rubble. She lost all of her possessions, but she still had her dog. She was overwhelmed with joy and without a house, or any belongings that survived the horrific disaster, she was still the happiest person on Earth. The Story
Don't hate. There is a really good movie about hate called American History X. There is a quote in the movie to the main character, Derek, from his mentor, Sweeney. He is trying to talk Derek out of all the hate towards any other race and he says, "has anything you've done made your life better?" When you look at it what is the point of hating? It's negative energy for no reason. I know it's a hard thing to do to ask not to hate, as some people may do things to you that cause a feeling of hatred, but even if you do hate, and get angry, it still accomplishes nothing. You can never achieve happiness when you hate. Here is another good quote from the movie on the subject by Danny, Derek's younger brother, "So I guess this is where I tell you what I learned - my conclusion, right? Well, my conclusion is: Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it. Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong. So I picked a guy I thought you'd like. 'We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Derek from AMERICAN HISTORY X
Do good for others. Do something nice for someone else at least once a day, even if it's something small. I try to go into each day making at least one person smile. I may be having a bad day, yes even I have bad days, and I will still make my best effort to make someone else's day a little better. That will make you a happier person. You know how it's more fun to give than receive a Christmas gift? It's the same for spreading cheer. I know it sounds cheesy but it means a lot to people to just go out of your way to make them smile. Even a, "hey how are you?" to a stranger may mean the world to them.
Laugh. Let loose sometimes. I find that some of the best times are chilling and just letting loose with my good friends. Be around funny. I know everyone has a different sense of humor but laughing can and will help you to pursue happiness. Life is too short to work and be serious all the time. I get there are times to be serious but there are also times when you should enjoy yourself (please no perverted jokes here unless it makes you laugh then by all means do).
These are just a few of many things you can do to help achieve happiness. Happiness is inside you. Never take life for granted. I know it's simple but go live. Don't live for someone else or make someone else your priority do what you want. Find love. Love your dog. Love your spouse. Love your significant other. Just find it somewhere. Bring your happiness out. There are so many different ways. A friend of mine on facebook posted this is her happiness (direct quote): "Happiness is whatever gives u that feeling in your stomach that gives u
butterflies and makes u so excited. It can be anything. Your favorite meal or tv show to the
love you have always longed for finally come true. My kids give me happiness. When Gracyn
hugs and kisses me and calls me momom. That's my life, my future my everything and I
would do anything to see her or Christian smile." Webster's defines happiness in two ways: 1. a state of well-being and contentment: Joy. 2. a pleasurable or satisfying experience. There are way more definitions than that, but what is your state of well-being? Don't hold yourself back. Go and find it.
Winner of the Day: Shena Moore. Who is she? Well I don't know her from Adam, but I do know a family tried holding her down to cut off her fingers and she still has all of the phalanges she was born with, so she is lucky and I am sure HAPPY she still has the fingers. Here is the story and below is the family who tried cutting them off. They ARE NOT winners.
Loser of the Day: Major League Baseball. Why do these guys not get the memo to stop taking the ol' roids? About 12 people are going to get suspended for taking them making it the most suspensions in professional sports at once. But dilemma? Would you take them to make millions but the only catch is your reputation would be diminished? Toughie huh? And here's Ryan Braun who is on the list.
Quote of the Day: "For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Song of the Day: Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin
There have been several Free Art Friday drops made by me today in downtown Cincinnati. Three of which are magnets made by Nicolette Stefanopoulos, the founder of the Cincinnati chapter, and the forth is the poem I wrote earlier. All we ask is that you post if you retrieve them on the facebook page, Cincinnati Free Art Friday. Like the page too while you are at it. You can also tweet us your discovery @FAFCincinnati or #FAFCincy.
How to Find The Hulk
How to Find The Game Boy
How to Find The Bow
How To Find The Poem (I'm sure all the ladies will be flocking to this)
If I were a bird, I could just fly away.
South for the winter, come back in May.
I could be a swan, maybe a blue jay.
But all I am is a human today.
If I were a bear, I would be so strong.
I would fight enemies when they were wrong.
I could sleep in so winters were not long,
But I am human; all I have is song.
If I were a mouse, nobody could see.
I would be a blur whenever I flee.
I could keep to myself and just be me
But human is really all I can be.
If I were a hog, I could eat all night,
Bathe in mud, not a problem in my sight,
I could outsmart my enemies and be bright.
But I am human, if that is all-right.
If I were the sun, I shine on the bay.
Brighten you up when the skies were so gray.
I could burn my enemies, with one ray,
But all I am is human today.
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